Kash’s Red Top Pit Stop at 12160 U.S. 98 N. in Lakeland was ordered to close on May 10 after an inspector noted 11 violations, four of them high priority. Among the high-priority violations, the inspector noted a live rodent ran from dry storage shelves to a space underneath a sink. The inspector also noted several live rodent droppings. The inspection report also noted raw shell eggs stored over tomatoes and cooked meats stored above 41 degrees.
On a follow-up inspection the next day, the inspector still noted rodent droppings under the cook line and under a hand sink, and cooked ham, whipped butter and potato salad stored at greater than 41 degrees.
On May 12, the restaurant was allowed to reopen after all previous violations were fixed, except for an intermediate violation related to state-approved employee training.
Prior to the May 10 visit, the restaurant met standards in its previous two inspections, on Nov. 4 and Dec. 14. It received warnings in July for two temperature-control issues in its food storage, but met standards with zero violations in a follow-up the next day. Dating to 2016, the May inspection was the first time the restaurant received an emergency order to close.