Roach finds close three area eateries
Rodent droppings also shut a Tequesta café; most reopen after exterminator visits, reinspections.
The Four Seasons Resort in Palm Beach, Burger King in Greenacres and Lola’s Seafood Eatery in Palm Beach Gardens were ordered temporarily closed last week after state inspectors found live roaches in the facilities’ kitchens, according to Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation reports.
In addition, Cypress Cafe, at 357 Cypress Drive in Tequesta, was ordered temporarily closed April 12 after inspectors found more than 50 rodent droppings in the kitchen and food storage areas. The restaurant called an exterminator to remedy the problem and reopened less than 24 hours later, an employee said Monday.
The Four Seasons Resort, 2800 S. Ocean Blvd., was cited April 12 for two basic violations and five high-priority violations in its main kitchen. The kitchen passed a reinspection the same day, without any violations.
The Four Seasons’ other food service operations, including the poolside grill, employee café and banquet kitchen had 17 violations from basic to high-priority, but met inspection standards.
The main kitchen’s high-priority violations included eight live roaches under the dish machine, two live roaches under dry dish storage shelves and three inside the spice and dry food area at the cook line.
“At Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, the health and well-being of our guests and employees is always our top priorit y and we do take these matters very seriously,” Four Seasons spokeswoman Laurie Herrick said Monday. “We have established and adhere to long-standing, stringent health and sanitation guidelines and receive quarterly inspections from local health authorities. We have taken appropriate measures to address the situation, the issue was immediately resolved, and we have passed our latest site inspection that occurred on the same day.”
Other high-priority violations at the Four Seasons main kitchen included:
■ Milk, sour cream and ham in a reach-in cooler being held at temperatures above the required 41 degrees.
■ Cooked poultry not reaching a minimum of 165 degrees for 15 seconds.
■ Raw food stored over readyto-eat food including raw beef above hot dogs, sauce and gravy in a reach-in cooler.
■ Insecticide use not in compliance with regulations.
Burger King, 6496 Lake Worth Road, was cited for a basic violation due to 15 dead roaches and a high-priority violation after about five live roaches were observed in a dry storage area of the kitchen.
A Burger King employee said exterminating services were performed after the restaurant was shut down at 11 a.m. on April 11, and it reopened the next day at 10 a.m.
Lola’s Seafood Eatery, 4595 Northlake Blvd., was first ordered closed April 12. The report stated 10 live roaches were found by a three-compartment sink and live roaches “too numerous to count” were present by the prep table and cookline.
During reinspections on April 13 and 14, more live roaches were found, and the restaurant was ordered to remain closed. Monday, a voice message on the restaurant’s phone stated, “At the moment, we are closed for a few days. Call back some time after Tuesday.”
Inspectors also issued Lola’s a high-priorit y violation after, records showed, raw chicken was stored over cheese.