Four Ocala restaurants were shut down by health inspectors last week after failing inspections.
According to a report on file with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, New China, Yummy House, Broadway Café and Louie’s Seafood Steak & Oyster Bar were forced to temporarily lock their doors due to a variety of violations.
Here’s a breakdown of what the inspectors found:
New China, 5400 SW College Road 304, Ocala
New China was shut down May 8 after inspectors found 17 violations – five of which were considered high priority.
Inspectors issued a stop-sale order because food was not “in a wholesome, sound condition,” an inspector’s report states, adding that raw pork chops were stored above ready-to-eat sauces in a walk-in cooler, which was a repeat violation.
Another high-priority violation centered on roach activity in the restaurant. According the report, approximately 35 roaches were found under sauce buckets and crates, with others being spotted in a dry storage area, behind molding and inside a sweet rice bag. Roach excrement and/or droppings also were found at a dry storage shelf.
A follow-up inspection on May 9 found more live roaches on a wok station, inside a smoker, inside a multi-plug extension cord, under a prep table near a walk-in cooler, in a flour container, inside a crevice in cove molding and on a dry storage shelf.
On May 10, an inspector found 10 live roaches – three under a wok station, three on an electric pipeline behind a reach-in cooler, three around a reach-in freezer and one on a paper towel handle.
On May 11 during another follow-up inspection, the inspector saw roaches under a rice steam table, inside an electric multi-plug, on a wall behind a steam table, behind a sign on the exterior of a reach-in cooler, in crevices under a wok station, on a dry storage shelf and near a handwash sink at the end of the cook line.
Another high priority violation from May 8 that was corrected on-site centered around food being held with no time marker. The report cited Tso chicken, egg rolls, rice and cut cabbage with no time marked.
The restaurant also was cited with two intermediate violations involving handwash sinks that weren’t accessible by employees because they were either blocked by buckets or items were being stored in them. Both violations were corrected.
A third intermediate violation was issued for no soap being provided at a handwash sink.
The inspector also cited nine basic violations, two of which were repeat offenses. Those included egg rolls inside a “happy face” bag that wasn’t approved for direct contact with food and walk-in cooler shelves with rust that has pitted the surface.
Calls to the restaurant for comment Tuesday afternoon went unanswered.
Yummy House, 3500 SW College Rd. Ste. 400, Ocala
The restaurant was temporarily closed May 9 after an inspector cited 16 violations, five of which were high profile. A stop-sale order was issued on potentially hazardous food due to “temperature abuse.”
Other potentially hazardous food situations centered on cold food that was held at temperatures greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit, cooked duck that wasn’t cooled from 135 degrees to 41 degrees within six hours and 5-spice soy sauce held at a temperature greater than 41 degrees (86 degrees).
In addition, live roaches were found in the kitchen area inside a reach-in cooler gasket, under a reach-in cooler, in a reach-in cooler motor area and on a clean linens box. The report states that the manager killed them during the inspection.
During follow-up visits May 10, an inspector found live roaches on a wall near a handwash sink and on the exterior of a soda reach-in cooler at the front of the kitchen, behind molding on the cook line, on the floor at the prep area and on the floor in front of a walk-in cooler entrance.
On May 11, two intermediate violations also were issued. One was no proof of required state-approved training provided for any employees. And the other was for no paper towels or a mechanical hand-drying device at a handwash sink, which was corrected right away.
The inspector also cited three repeat violations that were corrected on-site. A bowl or other container with no handle was being used to dispense food, an employee beverage container was sitting on a food preparation table near clean equipment or utensils and a pot with sauce was stored on the floor near a three-compartment sink.
Yummy House reopened May 11 after an inspector returned to the restaurant to verify that all violations had been corrected.
Broadway Café, 219 SW Broadway St., Ocala
On May 11, an inspector cited 10 violations, four of which were either high priority or intermediate.
The high-priority infractions included food stored in sanitizer buckets at a steam table, more than 35 roaches found under and inside the handles of a hand sink in the kitchen and roach excrement and/or droppings on wood shelving in the kitchen.
The only intermediate violation involved required training for employees that had expired.
Calls to the restaurant for comment Tuesday afternoon went unanswered.
Louie’s Seafood Steak & Oyster Bar, 1900 S. Pine Ave, Ocala
The restaurant was temporarily closed May 7 when an inspector cited a high-priority repeat violation of rodent activity and rodent droppings. According to the report, dry rodent droppings were spotted at the walk-in cooler entrance and at the bar area on a counter behind the iced tea machine and under a soda machine.
Also, two empty bags of crackers with gnaw/chew marks on them were found behind the iced tea machine.
The restaurant re-opened the following day after an inspector verified the violations had been corrected.
Last week’s closure wasn’t the first for Louie’s Seafood Steak & Oyster Bar this year. The restaurant also was shut down March 5 after an inspector found a dead rat in the kitchen. Other high-priority violations during that inspection included mold growing in a walk-in cooler where lettuce was stored and rodent droppings found throughout the kitchen.
The restaurant re-opened the following day after correcting the problems.
The restaurant had failed an inspection earlier this year.
