Rodent droppings, roach excrement: 5 Broward restaurants shut; none cited in Palm Beach County

Flies on bags of flour, rodent droppings near flatware and sugar packets, and an “accumulation of roach excrement” were among the violations that forced state inspectors to temporarily shut five Broward County restaurants last week.

For the second consecutive week in August, zero Palm Beach County restaurants were ordered shut.

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.)

4230 N. State Road 7

Ordered shut: Twice on Aug. 11; reopened Aug. 12

Why: Eight violations (two high-priority), including at least 21 cockroaches crawling “behind two-drawer reach-in cooler on back cookline,” “in between triple sink and wall in ware washing area” and “in (pest) control device located in cabinet holding gloves at front cookline.” At least 20 dead roaches were found.

The inspection also found an “accumulation of roach excrement inside of vent area of two-door reach-in cooler and on ground under unit.”

The sub chain was ordered shut a second time on Aug. 11 for more roach woes (alive and dead), but it was allowed to reopen Aug. 12 when a follow-up inspection found four intermediate violations.

7841 Pines Blvd.

Ordered shut: Aug. 9-10; reopened Aug. 10

Why: 11 violations (one high-priority), including 17 cockroaches crawling around the kitchen’s cookline “on floor next to glass front cooler” and “on floor in front of chest freezer,” as well as “under shelf in dry storage area” and “on wall in prep station.”

Others were spotted in areas such as “inside prep sink in prep station,” “on top of dish machine” and “inside handwashing sink” in a ware washing area. (The operator managed to kill “some roaches” during the inspection.)

Meanwhile, the report noted 25 dead cockroaches “on floor under handwashing sink in cookline,” “under soda rack in dry storage area,” underneath the wok station and stove on the cookline, “inside handwashing sink in ware washing area,” and “on floor under shelf in expo line.”

Hook & Reel was also cited for issues including a missing kitchen ceiling tile, “food filters above fryers soiled with accumulation of dust in cookline,” “walk-in cooler shelves with rust” and “floor soiled … behind alcohol mix drinks cooler in bar.”

The restaurant was ordered shut a second time on Aug. 10 for unresolved live and dead roach problems, but was cleared to reopen later that day after a third inspection revealed a handful of basic and intermediate violations.

2031-D Wilton Drive

Ordered shut: Aug. 9; reopened Aug. 10

Why: Nine violations (one high-priority), including 24 rodent droppings found “in front counter cabinets next to cookline with … plastic flatware, sugar and sweetener packets,” as well as a “hole in the wall in cabinet under front counter hand sink” and “in wall next to water heater.” The operator cleaned and sanitized the areas.

The state also red-flagged sanitary issues such as “floor soiled/has accumulation of debris” around and under fryers, “standing water in bottom of reach-in cooler” and “containers of potatoes and … onions stored next to front counter hand sink … exposed to splash.”

A second inspection the next day found three basic and intermediate violations, but the burger joint was allowed to reopen.

2877 Stirling Road

Ordered shut: Aug. 9; reopened Aug. 10

Why: 10 violations (two high-priority), including 89 live flies seen “on wall above coffee station in dining room” and “flying around coffee maker,” as well as “on wall above single-service forks in the dining room,” “on exterior sealed plastic bucket in bagel prep area next to mixer,” “on legs of prep table” nearby, “on sealed flour bags in bagel prep area,” “on garbage bags in food prep area” and “on drying rack above triple sink.” In various spots, the report noted that “no foods (were) being prepared at time of inspection in bagel station.”

The inspection also found a “bottle of antiseptic spray” improperly stored “on a shelf above salt in bagel prep station,” as well as a “wall soiled with accumulated food debris … opposite the bagel oven,” and a “water hose stored above single-service lids in the storage area.”

A next-day reinspection found a pair of basic and intermediate violations and the bagel chain was allowed to reopen. The restaurant was last ordered shut four times in December 2020.

6588 N. State Road 7

Ordered shut: Aug. 9, reopened Aug. 10

Why: 13 violations (two high-priority), including six live cockroaches found crawling “in crumb catcher of front booth in dining room” (the report notes “operator removed, cleaned and sanitized”) as well as “under shelving directly above cookline flip-top cooler,” inside of a “bowl at ware washing area” and in a “crease where wall meets triple sink in ware washing area.”

The state also discovered nine dead cockroaches in spots such as “behind low top single burner stove to the left of cookline in kitchen,” “on ground in between hot holding cabinets on cookline,” “inside of filter door on drawers under flat top unit on cookline” and inside of a pest “control device at triple sink in ware washing area.”

The restaurant was also dinged for “objectionable odors in ware washing area” of the kitchen.

The restaurant got the green light to reopen the next day after the state found a single intermediate violation.

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