Rodent droppings all around — in a dining room, behind a bar, above a dishwasher — were among the issues that temporarily closed three South Florida restaurants last week.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel typically highlights restaurant inspections conducted by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation in Broward and Palm Beach counties. We cull through inspections that happen weekly and spotlight places ordered shut for “high-priority violations,” such as improper food temperatures or dead cockroaches.
Any restaurant that fails a state inspection must stay closed until it passes a follow-up. If you spotted a possible violation and wish to file a complaint, contact Florida DBPR. (But please don’t contact us: The Sun Sentinel doesn’t inspect restaurants.)
Subway, Royal Palm Beach
1105 Royal Palm Beach Blvd.
Ordered shut: April 16; reopened April 17
Why: Four violations (one high-priority), including 10 rodent droppings “at closet near prep area and triple sink” and “underneath handwash sink.”
The inspection also found a “small cup with no handle stored inside container of shredded cheese.”
A follow-up visit the next day found no violations, and the sandwich shop was allowed to reopen.
JoJo’s Raw Bar & Grill, Wellington
13889 Wellington Trace A20
Ordered shut: April 16; reopened April 17
Why: Nine violations (two high-priority), including about 10 rodent droppings “directly above/on top of the in-use dish machine.”
One dead roach was spotted “inside cooler between the shelving and wall.” The report also noted that raw pork was stored above a box of chips in a walk-in cooler, and that an employee’s food was “stored over sauces/dips in reach-in cooler.”
The restaurant was able to reopen the next day after a follow-up inspection found one intermediate and one basic violation.
Amigos Mexican Spanish Restaurant, West Palm Beach
4720 Okeechobee Blvd.
Ordered shut: April 15; reopened April 16
Why: Two high-priority violations, including 15 rodent droppings “in dining room on floor next to door entering expo line,” as well as on the floor “behind bar under liquor rails,” “at dry storage area” and “under sliding-glass door reach-in cooler at expo line.”
The inspection also observed that food-contact surfaces were “not sanitized after cleaning.”
The restaurant reopened the next day after a follow-up visit found no violations.
Amigos previously was ordered shut on April 8 and again on April 10 before another inspection that same day enabled it to reopen.