JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –
Two local restaurants were closed after inspectors found violations, which included cockroaches and a bathroom out of service.
Bill's Diner on Ramona Boulevard on the Westside shut its doors for two nights after inspectors found cockroaches inside an oven.
News4Jax spoke with the owner of Bill's Diner, Carol Parrish, who was frustrated about the bugs that caused her restaurant to close.
"I'm sorry, I did the best I could do and I had a pest control company," Parrish said.
Parrish said she has been using the same pest control company for months, but realized it was time to make a change after an inspector found over a dozen live cockroaches in the kitchen.
"You can see that everything is kept very clean," Parrish said.
Parrish said the cleanliness wasn't the problem, but blames her now-former pest control company.
"I guess there's only so much you can do and I figure we're paying somebody, a professional, that I wouldn't have that issue," Parrish said.
It took the inspector three checks before the diner was cleared to reopen.
After the first inspection, Bill's was shut down. The inspector returned the next day and still found cockroaches inside the stove on the cook line.
A Bill's Diner manager took the stove apart to clean it and the inspector noted more cockroaches started to come out during the process.
On the third day, inspectors returned to the diner and found one cockroach, which was enough to keep the restaurant closed for a few hours.
"You have to sanitize everything," Parrish said. "Everything's been pressure washed and taking care of the health department, people were very helpful. They come back and told me everything I needed to do and stuff and then come back for the final inspection."
During the final inspection, Bill's Diner was able to reopen with zero high-priority violations.
A Chinese restaurant on the Northside may not have cockroaches, but they were lacking something that caused them to shut down for a day.
First China Garden on Old Kings Road closed its doors for a day after inspectors discovered the restaurant's bathroom was out of service.
Although it's a basic violation, the bathroom has to be available for public use in order for the restaurant to be open.
The operator said the entire was plaza was unable to use the bathrooms due to a plumbing issue.
Unfortunately for China Garden, the plumbing issue wasn't an excuse because of their requirements.
The inspector returned the next day and reopened the restaurant when the bathroom was back in service.