Update at 2:40 p.m. — A spokesperson for the county confirms that several vendors were shut down by Arlington health officials over the weekend. As a result of the closures coming to light, the county is “conducting a thorough review of both the action and the codes/policies that apply to farmers market food safety,” says Kurt Larrick of the Arlington County Department of Human Services.
An Arlington County health inspector busted a baker and a well-known local restaurant at the Arlington Farmers Market in Courthouse Saturday morning.
The Washington City Paper reports that the stand run by Maryland-based Atwater’s was shut down because its bread loaves were not individually-packaged.
Other stands were shut down as well, including a stand featuring free samples from Ballston’s Willow Restaurant.
Willow’s stand was shuttered by county officials because the restaurant did not pay the $150 in special event permit fees required to operate the stand, according to a person connected to the restaurant. Willow runs the stand as a public service and as a promotional vehicle — they don’t actually sell anything — and can’t afford to pay the fees week after week, our source says.