JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A barbecue joint ended the year on a sour note after an inspector found roaches and flies inside, and it wasn't the only restaurant that had to temporarily shut down.
At Sonny's Real Pit BBQ in Palatka, the roaches and flies were the reason the restaurant had to close its kitchen. An inspector headed out last week to State Highway, where the inspector cited four high-priority violations at Sonny's. Five live roaches and two flies were found buzzing around the kitchen area. Eleven dead roaches were spotted in that same area of the kitchen and under the reach-in cooler behind the cook line.
There was also a repeat violation for storing raw food over ready to eat food. According to the inspector, raw chicken was placed on top of prepped food and raw eggs shells were stored over pickles. During a second visit later that day, the restaurant cleaned up, got rid of the bugs and opened back up with zero high-priority violations.
No bugs were found at Fuji 3 in Mandarin. Instead, an inspector found risk factors that could cause illness.. According to the report, eggs were stored with cracks or broken shells, and shrimp, salmon and tofu were at unsafe temperatures. Several utensils on the cook line were placed in unclean water. A warning was issued after the inspector saw an employee touch cream cheese sticks without any gloves.
Just up the road on San Jose Boulevard, Kim's Koren BBQ had issues of its own. The restaurant failed its inspection with five high-priority violations. The inspection report notes raw beef and pork were placed on top of containers of scallions and cabbage. The inspector gave them a warning after a cook used a frying pan and didn't properly sanitize it before putting it back.
Both Kim's Korean and Fuji 3 are due for a follow-up inspection.
There were also a couple restaurants that earned a spotless inspection, including Roy and Tammy's Comfort Food on Ponce De Leon Boulevard in St. Augustine.
Golden Corral on San Jose Boulevard in Mandarin got an A+.
Both were spotless during the inspector's visit last week, passing their reports with flying colors.