- Peach House Lakeland, 733 E. Palmetto St., Lakeland: On March 27, the restaurant had 11 violations, only one of which was high priority: an improperly stored container of medicine.
Five were intermediate: shellfish tags not marked with the last date served; the person in charge lacking certification; no proof of required employee training; no tag on the original container of raw, in-shell oysters; and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked oysters.
Five others were basic: the bathroom wasn’t enclosed with tight-fitting, self-closing doors; clean items stored next to a prep sink exposed to splash; food stored outside; an outdoor ice machine with no lock; and single-use items improperly stored outside.
A warning was issued and a follow-up required.
- HGI Lakeland Great American Grill, 3839 Don Emerson Drive, Lakeland: On March 20, the restaurant had seven violations, including one high priority. That was for a self-service buffet lacking sneezeguards or other protection from contaminants.
The other violations included: a potato diver and a can opener blade were soiled with food debris (intermediate); the manager lacked proof of certification (intermediate); no device available for measuring utensil surface temperature when using hot water as a sanitizer in the dish machine (intermediate); a bag of onions stored on the floor (basic); items prepared on site and displayed in a case in the lobby – including chicken, mashed potatoes and egg salad sandwiches – lacked proper labels (basic); and water was leaking from the two-compartment sink faucet (basic).
A warning was issued and a follow-up required.
- Lakeland Panda World Inc., 6214 U.S. 98 N, Lakeland: On March 26, the restaurant had seven violations, including two related to roaches. The inspector noted one live roach (high priority) and five dead roaches (basic).
The other violations: no soap provided at the handwash sink (intermediate); a soiled ceiling; damaged doors on the walk-in freezer and cooler; inadequate light provided on the cook line; and a bucket of soy sauce stored on the floor.
A warning was issued. In a callback on March 27, the restaurant met standards with two remaining violations: the damaged doors and the poor light.
- Abuelo’s Mexican Food Embassy, 3700 Lakeside Village Blvd., Lakeland: On March 20, the restaurant had six violations, including four high priority. Three of those were related to time and temperature violations: cooked onions hot held at less than 135 degrees, and three items – chimichangas, flan and sour cream – cold held at greater than 41 degrees. Another violation was a stop sale issued on the cold-held items. The last high-priority violation was for an in-use rice scoop stored in unclean water at 101 degrees.
The other violations were basic: in-use utensils not stored correctly – including the aforementioned rice scoop, as well as knives stored between a flip-top cooler and the prep table; and a light under the hood system no functioning.
A warning was issued. In a follow-up inspection on March 21, a different time/temperature violation was found – chicken, sauteed peppers, steak and onions hot held below the required 135 degrees. The products were reheated, but an administrative complaint was recommended and another follow-up ordered.
- Church’s Chicken #413, 215 W. Memorial Blvd., Lakeland: On March 10, the restaurant had five violations. One high-priority violation was for operating with an expired Division of Hotels and Restaurants license. Its other violations: No papers towels or hand-drying device at handwash sink (intermediate); no proof of required employee training (intermediate); soiled floor under front line (basic); ice buildup on the floor and fan in the walk-in freezer (basic). A warning was issued and a follow-up required.
- Americas Best Cuban Sandwich, 4907 U.S. 98 N,, Lakeland: On March 18, the restaurant had five violations, including one intermediate for the food-manager’s certification being expired. The others were basic: soiled handles on equipment doors; soiled floor under and behind equipment; cabinets soiled with food or other debris; and soiled shelves in a reach-in cooler. A warning was issued and a follow-up required.
- Athenian Breakfast & Burgers, 1215 W Ariana St #H6, Lakeland: In a callback on March 19, the restaurant had a single violation remaining from a January inspection in which only two violations were found. The remaining violation: the food manager’s certification was expired. An administrative complaint was recommended and a follow-up required.
- Family Grill and Food Mart, 6411 Kathleen Road, Lakeland: On March 27, the restaurant had a single intermediate violation: no proof of required employee training. A warning was issued. In a callback on April 7, the restaurant met standards with zero violations.
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.”
An emergency order — when a restaurant is closed by the inspector — is based on an immediate threat to the public. Here, the Division of Hotels and Restaurants director has determined that the establishment must stop doing business and any division license is suspended to protect health, safety or welfare of the public.
A 24-hour call-back inspection will be performed after an emergency closure or suspension of license and the establishment may reopen only after inspection shows that all high-priority violations that caused the suspension are corrected.