Kings Jamaican Jerk and BBQ Center was temporarily closed last week after an inspector found 14 health code violations, including five considered high priority.
According to a health inspection report filed by a health inspector with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Kings Jamaican Jerk and BBQ Center, which is located at 1228 W Silver Springs Boulevard in Ocala, was shut down on Thursday, May 5 after a failed inspection.
Among the issues the restaurant was cited for were five high priority violations, including the presence of rodent and roach activity.
The report states that over 20 live roaches were spotted around the gaskets of the reach-in cooler near the service window. Three additional live roaches were on the underside of a wooden table at the end of the cookline and one live roach was on the wall underneath the cash register.
The health inspector found 10 dead roaches near the reach-in cooler, one dead roach was on a tray of cooked potatoes inside the reach-in cooler, and another dead roach was found in a sink.
Rodent droppings were also observed inside the restaurant. According to the report, there were 10 rodent droppings on the floor beneath the dry storage shelves, three droppings on the dry storage shelf, and three droppings in a pan that contained seasonings which was located on a table at the end of the cookline.
The business was forced to close and was reinspected the following day. It remained closed after the health inspector found multiple dead roaches in the kitchen and rodent droppings on the floor underneath the dry storage shelves in the back room on Friday, May 6.
The report does not indicate whether or not the restaurant has yet reopened.