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Brandon Sonny's BBQ shut down due to bugs, rodent droppings

The Sonny's BBQ on Adamo in Brandon is getting frequent visits from inspectors due to roach activity.
This is the statement from Sonny's.

BRANDON, Florida — Founded right here in Florida, Sonny's has long been considered one of the most popular BBQ chains in America. Customers love the slow smoked taste, friendly service and great value.

"The meat just falls right off the bone, I've never tasted ribs like this anywhere," said one customer visiting Florida from up north.

Many customers might not know most Sonny's BBQ locations are independently owned and operated. And while franchise owners are required by the parent company to meet or exceed state and federal health code regulations, at least one location may not be living up to their end of the bargain.

The Sonny's location on Adamo Drive in Brandon had repeatedly run into problems with the local health inspector. 10 News was first to tell you about the Brandon location's emergency closure back in April, with live roaches and around 275 rodent droppings found including some even on the cutting board!

"First of all you're going to get sick, second it's just not right," an outraged customer said upon learning of the violations.

Back in April Sonny's PR firm sent us a written statement saying the violations were corrected promptly and they were "committed to ensuring [the Brandon location] continue to receive positive reports."

The restaurant had zero violations on back to back follow up inspections in April and May. But then in September, an inspector returned to document 25 new violations before we had to return again this month following the location's second emergency closure in less than a year.

CHECK FIRST:See if your favorite restaurant is on inspection list

We asked if the restaurant would be willing to show us if conditions had improved inside the kitchen. "That's not possible right now… we're taking care of guests," said Director of Operations,

On the January 15th inspection, the state reported some of the same repeat violations from earlier in the year including employee hand washing issues, temperature violations on the food and more roach and rodent activity with 29 live roaches found by the smoker and more rodent droppings under the dry storage shelves. The restaurant was cleared by the state to reopen the same day. Even so, customers seem uneasy about what inspectors found.

"I abhor cockroaches and rats … that should not be anywhere in the kitchen," one customer said.

State records show the Adamo Drive Sonny's is owned by South Florida Barbeque, Inc. and prominent IndyCar series Race Team owner Dale Coyne who also owns other Sonny's across the Bay area including the Busch Blvd. location in Tampa and the South Florida Avenue location in Lakeland. Both of those Sonny's have also had emergency closures in the past year.

Sonny's corporate office sent us the following statement on the most recent emergency closure of the Brandon location:

State health inspectors returned January 29th and found additional insect activity requiring yet another follow up inspection.

Take a look at the Brandon location's complete inspection history here

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