WALDORF, Md. — Charles County officials have shut down Szechuan Garden, a longtime Chinese restaurant located outside St. Charles Towne Center at 11149 Mall Circle in Waldorf, after inspectors cited an active cockroach infestation that contaminated food and food-prep surfaces.
Two separate notices — one from the county’s Planning and Growth Management Code Enforcement Division and another from the Charles County Department of Health — were posted on the restaurant’s front door on Oct. 6, 2025, ordering the business to cease operations until further notice.
A bright yellow “Danger / No Entry” notice from county code enforcement said the building was unsafe to occupy because of a pest infestation and ordered the restaurant to stay closed until inspections were finished. A second red-bordered notice, signed by Health Officer Dr. Dianna E. Abney, suspended the restaurant’s license over “unsanitary conditions — food and prep areas contaminated by cockroaches.”
The suspension was issued under Maryland Code 10.15.03, which allows immediate closures when an imminent public health threat is found…