In the week leading up to Christmas, a wave of health inspections closed several Orlando and Central Florida eateries after inspectors documented serious sanitation and safety violations, with cockroaches emerging as a common culprit. As if roaches aren’t bad enough, the closures all occurred right around the holidays, which tends to be a busy time for restaurants.
Wave of restaurant closures due to safety concerns
According to Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation records, at least 11 restaurants across Central Florida were forced to halt operations between December 15 and December 21 after health officials found conditions that could pose risks to public health.
Among the closures were multiple Orlando establishments, including Cornerstone Pizza on East Michigan Street and King Cajun Crawfish Restaurant on North Mills Avenue, where inspectors discovered live and dead roaches inside kitchens and food prep areas.
Orlando restaurant closures
At Cornerstone Pizza, inspectors recorded seven dead roaches and more than a dozen live ones during a routine inspection, prompting immediate closure on December 17 (reopened on December 19). King Cajun Crawfish Restaurant was also found to have live roaches as well as rodent droppings, and was closed on December 17, reopening the same day after inspection standards were met.
Other Orlando-area restaurants that temporarily shut down due to roaches included Singh’s Roti Shop Restaurant and Bar and Winghouse Bar and Grill – both have since reopened after meeting inspection standards.
Swift reopening
Despite the alarming findings, state officials noted that nearly all of the closed restaurants were able to reopen within a day or two after meeting corrective standards in follow-up inspections, suggesting swift action by the owners and staff to address problems…