- Strawberry Hut, 743 E. Memorial Blvd., Lakeland: On Sept. 20, the restaurant had 10 violations, including two high priority. Among those, the inspector noted 13 rodent droppings, which appeared to be old from cleaning the air handler room. The other was for wiping cloth sanitizer exceeding the maximum concentration allowed.
- Church’s Chicken #413, 215 W. Memorial Blvd., Lakeland: On Sept. 17, the restaurant had seven violations, including one high priority. That was for operating with an expired Division of Hotels and Restaurants license. There was one intermediate violation – lacking proof of required, state-approved employee food safety training. And there were five basic violations: floor areas under the cook line covered in standing water; two cases of chicken stored on the floor of the walk-in cooler; missing tiles on the wall by the cashier; air curtains in the walk-in cooler soiled; and to-go cups stored on the floor in an outside storage unit.
- Fish City Grill, 1485 Town Center Drive, Lakeland: On Sept. 19, the restaurant had six violations, including two high priority. Among those, the inspector noticed an employee touch her nose while making drinks, and certain temperature-controlled foods were “cold held” at greater than 41 degrees (coleslaw 45, shrimp 46, haddock 46).
- Garden Bistro, 702 E. Orange St., Lakeland: On Sept. 19, the restaurant had four violations. Three of them were intermediate: an ice machine soiled with food debris or a mold-like substance, no proof of required employee training; and no soap provided at a handwash sink. It’s single basic violation was for reusing a syrup container.
- Charley’s Phillysteak, 5750 U.S. 98 N., Lakeland: On Sept. 23, the restaurant had five violations, including two high priority. One was for operating with an expired Division of Hotels and Restaurants license; the other was for raw shell eggs stored over cut green peppers in the walk-in cooler. The three basic violations were for dusty ceiling or vents; an employee beverage on a food prep table; and an open dumpster lid.
Remember that in some cases, violations are noted are technical issues not directly linked to hygiene or cleanliness. Remember, too, that broken refrigerators, chipped tiles or fast work may add up to unintended mistakes.
Regardless, if you notice abuses of state standards, report them and DBPR will send inspectors. Call 850-487-1395.
The terminology
What does all that terminology in state restaurant inspections mean?
Basic violations are those considered against best practices.
A warning is issued after an inspector documents violations that must be corrected by a certain date or within a specified number of days from receipt of the inspection report.
An administrative complaint is a form of legal action taken by the division. Insufficient compliance after a warning, a pattern of repeat violations or existence of serious conditions that warrant immediate action may result in the division initiating an administrative complaint against the establishment. Says the division website: “Correcting the violations is important, but penalties may still result from violations corrected after the warning time was over.”