SEATTLE — King County officials say a dramatic surge in unpermitted hot dog vendors near Seattle sports venues is the work of centrally organized, multistate networks deliberately evading licensing requirements and potentially exploiting workers — findings that emerged from an eight-month KING 5 investigation.
Health inspectors with Public Health- Seattle and King County observed a pattern of large-scale operators without local ties bypassing health, cleanliness, and safety standards, putting the public at risk. Dr. Eyob Mazengia, an official with the agency, described the scope of the problem.
“These are centrally organized operations that have owners orchestrating this body of work from somewhere else,” Mazengia said…