JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In this week's Restaurant Report, a Jacksonville sushi house wants to clear it's name.
Sushi House and Grill on Old St. Augustine Road was cited with seven high-priority violations two weeks ago. An inspector wrote that he saw an employee prepping lettuce with his bare hands, he found sushi rice out of proper temperature and he discovered mold in the ice machine.
Four days later, the inspector came back and cleared the restaurant with zero serious violations.
But this week, News4Jax was invited inside to see why the owner said they continue to stay vigilant and have nothing to hide.
Yuen Kwok, the owner of Sushi House and Grill, was adamant about opening up their kitchen and showing News4Jax what they fixed.
She said the ice machine was broken when the inspector came. She said they had brought it in from another source and that's what they were using at the time.
"We know that after the inspection that they had some mold in there," Kwok said. "We immediately fixed it and we cleaned the whole machine."
Kwok also said the employee who wasn't wearing gloves while cutting lettuce was fired.
"We take it really seriously," she said. "We don't want it to happen again."
He no longer works at the restaurant because Kwon said all workers are trained and know the rules. When those rules aren't followed, there are consequences, the owner said.
Like all restaurants, they have challenges, Kwon said, but it's their No. 1 priority to improve and do the things necessary to provide good, quality, safe food.
"We have improved. It's really important and we want our customers to know that we always try our best to be our best," Kwon said.
The inspector agreed that the restaurant employees are at their best -- Sushi House and Grill was cleared after that inspection with no serious violations.