On Friday and Saturday nights for the past two years, East McKinney Street has played host to a sort of block party, with lights, music and taco-hungry locals.
The host is Gricelda Samano, who started setting up an outdoor grill to cook and sell tacos to boost sales at La Estrella Mini Market, a restaurant and convenience store she owns at 602 E. McKinney St. near the railroad tracks.
The move outside had a dramatic effect on sales, and her business became a gathering place for people who moved to Denton from Mexico, she said.
"It's a cultural thing," said Samano, a native of Guadalajara who has lived in Denton since 1999. "People see a taco stand and they feel at home."
Even so, the party may be over.
Denton health inspectors have been allowing Samano's outdoor sales under temporary food service permits, but city code limits businesses to three 14-day permits a year. The restaurant has a food permit, but it doesn't cover outdoor cooking.
Samano appealed to the City Council last month after exhausting her temporary permits, saying the weekend taco sales were keeping her business afloat. Two council members asked city staff to take another look at the case, but the results aren't looking good for Samano.
A closer read of the state food code shows the city probably shouldn't issue temporary permits for cases like hers, said Denton building official Kurt Hansen, who oversees the city's consumer health division.
The Texas Food Establishment Rules define a temporary food establishment as one that operates for no more than 14 consecutive days in conjunction with a single event or celebration.
"The state code says we shouldn't be giving out temporary permits unless it's for a special event," Hansen said. "We feel like we've been merciful, but we may have to pull back."
Staff members are still studying who qualifies for temporary food permits and plan to report back to the council in February, he said.
The issue came to a head in April when city health inspectors received a complaint that La Estrella was cooking outside on weekends and leaving food exposed to the elements, city records show.
The business failed a follow-up inspection on a Friday night in August when workers were cooking outside without required equipment or food-handler cards, records show. The business passed its most recent inspection in September with a score of 84 out of 100.
The issue comes down to protecting the public, Hansen said.
About 48 million Americans get sick from viruses, bacteria and parasites in food each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Of those cases, roughly 128,000 people need hospital treatment and 3,000 die.
To reduce the risk, experts recommend washing hands and produce, keeping raw meat away from other foods, and heating and cooling foods to the right temperatures.
Health codes discourage outdoor cooking because of the increased risk of contamination from things like dust and bugs, Hansen said.
"The state code would want you to be screened with a roof and a floor, whether that's canvas or plywood or whatever," he said. "The whole intent is to keep the public safe and to keep the food safe while it's being prepared and being served."
Samano, who has run La Estrella with her chef husband, Rodolfo, and their children since February 2010, said their outdoor grilling is safe. They cook under a tent and are careful to keep raw meat chilled and cooked meat in a portable warmer, she said.
"We've never had anybody get sick from our food," she said.
A visit to La Estrella on Thursday found Samano discouraged.
After using her three temporary permits at 602 E. McKinney St., she started setting up the grill at the car wash she owns next door.
She tried to get another temporary permit there for this weekend, but the city wouldn't grant it, she said.
A mural on La Estrella's eastern wall depicts Samano's late son, Jonathan, who she said came up with the idea of weekend cookouts before his death last year.
When she thinks of the cookouts, she thinks of him.
"I'm just so sad," Samano said. "We're still going to sell inside, but it's not going to be the same."
LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com .
