Inspections close 3 restaurants in Orlando and Altamonte Springs
One restaurant in Seminole County and two in Orange were shut down because of food and safety violations in the last three weeks.
According to inspection reports from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, from March 24-April 6, the three restaurants were the only ones forced to shut down in the Metro Orlando area, although more than 80 in the District 4 region, which also includes Lake, Osceola, Brevard, Volusia, Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin counties, had at least one infraction.
Mr. Margarita Mexican Kitchen and Tequila Bar in Altamonte Springs closed on March 30 for 14 violations that could cause foodborne illness or injury according to reports from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
The restaurant located at 995 N. S.R. 434 did not pass an initial inspection that had five high-priority violations for cold food like chicken, fish and beef being held at higher than the recommended temperatures for storage.
Another violation was for live roaches found on the cook line drawer and other locations. Inspectors found one roach in the door gasket of the cook line prep cooler and three more in the pan of utensils on dry storage shelves. That inspection also revealed rodent activity. The kitchen remained closed after a second inspection, but reopened on March 31.
Spicy and Juicy Crab located at 7365 W. Colonial Drive in Orlando was shut down on March 24 after two inspections that found roach activity and raw animal foods not properly separated from each other in a holding unit, specifically raw chicken over crab legs, as well as other offenses. The restaurant reopened after a followup inspection on March 25.
The Bull & Eagle BBQ located at 1461 N. Goldenrod Road had six violations, three of which were high priority, on a March 25 inspection. The high-priority violations were for not having running water, storing utensils in unclean water, and inappropriate temperature control for some steamed cabbage that had yet to be served.
The facility closed for the day but met inspection standards and reopened the following day on March 26.
The Orlando Sentinel reached out to the businesses by phone, but have not heard back.