BROOKSVILLE, Florida— A pair of Chinese restaurants in Hernando County are back up and running after state health inspectors ordered both establishments to temporarily close due to live roaches in the kitchen.
China Wok located at 14361 Spring Hill Drive closed March 29 after an inspector documented 20 violations.
The problems included live roaches throughout the kitchen including 13 on the bottom side of the food prep table, 7 behind the three-compartment sink, and one crawling across the floor right at the front counter.
The inspector also reported finding rodent droppings in the kitchen under a hand sink and behind a small chest freezer.
Other violations included raw meat stored above the vegetables and sauces along with temperature violations on the rice, cut cabbage and shelled eggs.
The second restaurant shut down was China House located at 13074 Cortez Blvd. in Brooksville.
This establishment was shut down March 30 with 31 violations also including live roaches.
The inspector reported finding one roach climbing on a wall by the hand sink, one on the floor under a hand sink, one on top of the refrigerator, one on a pipe underneath the three-compartment sink and one more hiding under a bucket in the corner of the kitchen.
This establishment also had temperature violations on the noodles 44°, chicken 45°, pork 47°, shrimp 49°, shelled eggs 73°, and garlic and oil 87°.
Other violations included a dirty bathroom, food stored on the floor, and no soap at a hand sink for employees.
State health inspectors have since cleared both restaurants to reopen, however, China House still requires a reinspection, given additional time to get some of their violations corrected.
To search health inspection results for these and any other restaurant in Florida, visit the Division of Hotels and Restaurants restaurant search page here.
If you have a tip on a dirty restaurant that needs to be checked out, e-mail 10Investigates at RedAlert@wtsp.com
