Prineville, Ore. – The Wrangler, a bar in Prineville owned by the same operator behind the embattled Horseshoe Tavern, was cited during a Sept. 15 health inspection by county officials for multiple violations, according to Crook County Health Department records reviewed by the Prineville Review.
Inspectors documented three violations, including two listed as a “priority” that required immediate correction. When officials arrived at 11:30 a.m., no chlorine sanitizer bucket was prepared — a requirement for cleaning food-contact surfaces. The issue was corrected on-site after staff mixed a sanitizer solution.
The report also flagged a “very dirty” fryer with “very dark” oil, directing that oil be changed at least twice a week and equipment filtered and cleaned nightly. In addition, some food items were found stored improperly in open cans and without protective lids in the refrigerator. Inspectors required the food to be transferred into clean containers with lids and labeled with dates once opened. All violations were ordered corrected immediately.
The business was one of only two in September that received inspections with any recorded violations. The other business, which had two violations, was Sons of Beer. The other six businesses inspected during September by the Crook County Health Department had no recorded violations.
The citation comes as the Horseshoe Tavern — also owned by Chris Powell under Triangle C Investments LLC — remains under scrutiny with multiple state agencies for a series of regulatory and financial problems. As the Prineville Review has previously reported, state regulators fined the Horseshoe Tavern earlier this year for failing to maintain workers’ compensation insurance for more than a year, then opened a second investigation after finding the business still had not obtained coverage despite a final order.
The business has also faced a wave of allegations from numerous former employees over failure to pay wages and illegal withholding of tips.
The Horseshoe also lost its Oregon Lottery contract in April after repeated failures to remit payments, with officials confirming the tavern owes nearly $10,000 now turned over to collections. That followed growing controversy over allegations of unpaid wages, employee mistreatment, and the bar’s abrupt closure earlier this summer.
DCBS officials also confirmed that Powell’s claim of obtaining workers’ compensation coverage in Oct. 2024 was misleading, as no payment was ever made on the policy and subsequently cancelled with an effective date the same as when the policy started.
While the inspection report indicates The Wrangler corrected its violations during the Sept. 15th visit, the findings add to mounting questions about financial issues and management practices of establishments tied to Powell and Triangle C Investments.
Shortly after initial publication, Ashley Whitmire-Green, who claimed to be employed by The Wrangler for at least 6 years, claimed the information in the report was “false” in multiple social media posts. Whitmire-Green also alleged our story was inaccurate and that The Wrangler had not closed, but nowhere in this report had we made any mention of The Wrangler closing.
Note: This story was updated to include statements by a reported long-time employee and to show the listed violations cited by county records after claims our reporting was “false”.
Mr. Alderman is an investigative journalist specializing in government transparency, non-profit accountability, consumer protection, and is a subject mater expert on Oregon’s public records and meetings laws. As a former U.S. Army Military Police Officer, he brings a disciplined investigative approach to his reporting that has frequently exposed ethics violations, financial mismanagement, and transparency failures by public officials and agencies.
