The state temporarily shut three South Florida restaurants last week, with violations ranging from pesticide tracking powder on a kitchen floor “under all equipment” to dozens of roaches crawling inside ovens.
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 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 spot 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.)
PALM BEACH COUNTY
Tony’s Subs & Restaurant
64 W. 21st St., Riviera Beach
Ordered shut: Dec. 30
Why: Six violations (four high-priority), including:
- About 18 live roaches “inside oven/stove combo and on exterior of oven door [stove top being used to prepare stewed fish],” and “crawling on floor in kitchen in front of seasoning rack.”
- About 67 dead roaches in areas such as “in light fixture” and on floor “in front of walk-in cooler,” “behind oven,” “under food prep table in kitchen” and “under reach-in coolers.”
- “Employee wiped face with hand, and without washing hands, employee began to cut cucumbers.”
- Time/temperature issues involved stewed fish and diced tomatoes.
- “Establishment using pesticide tracking powder throughout kitchen on floor under all equipment.”
Status: Closed Dec. 31 after a follow-up visit found one high-priority violation. Reopened later that day after a third inspection found no violations.
Le Bon Goût Restaurant
556 E. Gateway Blvd., Boynton Beach
Ordered shut: Dec. 31
Why: 13 violations (four high-priority), including:
- “30+ live roaches inside oven on cook line,” with three more seen “on prep table around microwave” and “next to hand sink at front counter.”
- “Nonfood-grade [to-go] bags used in direct contact with fish in chest freezer.”
- “Stored cooked chicken and beef stew not covered in chest freezer.”
- “Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust outside of microwave and table under microwave.”
Status: Reopened later that same day after a reinspection found four violations (two high-priority). A follow-up inspection was required.
BROWARD COUNTY
Sub Center
5913 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood
Ordered shut: Dec. 29
Why: Four violations (one high-priority), including:
- About seven live roaches “on shelves under front counter in kitchen.”
- One dead roach “on shelf under front counter in kitchen.”
- “Observed onions, peppers [and] mushrooms stored next to hand wash sink, under paper towel dispenser exposed to splash.”
Status: Reopened Dec. 30 after a follow-up inspection found no violations.