The Ocala Downtown Diner was forced to temporarily close its doors last week after an inspector found over a dozen health code violations, including the presence of roach activity.
The eatery, which is located at 816 S Magnolia Avenue in Ocala, was closed on Friday, October 21 after a failed inspection, according to a health inspection report filed by a health inspector with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Among the issues the restaurant was cited for were three high priority violations, including live and dead roaches that were observed on the premises.
The inspector noted in the report that approximately 20 live roaches were spotted on the wheels of the reach-in cooler near the cookline, four live roaches were on the wheels of a table on the cookline, and one live roach was on the wall in the server station.
There were multiple dead roaches observed in the restaurant, including six dead roaches on the floor in the dry storage room, one dead roach under the hand sink at the server station, another dead roach on the floor underneath the dish machine, and approximately 20 dead roaches on the floor underneath the reach-in cooler near the cookline.
Roach excrement and/or droppings were also found near the corner of a wall in the dry storage room.
The report also detailed three intermediate violations and seven basic violations, including no proof of required state-approved employee training provided for any of the employees, no mop sink or curbed cleaning facility at the restaurant, and the handwashing sink had been used for purposes other than handwashing.
On Saturday, October 22, the health inspector returned to the restaurant for a follow-up visit. In the report, the inspector noted that the restaurant still did not have a mop sink or curbed cleaning facility provided on premises, and there was still no proof of the required state-approved training for the restaurant’s employees.
In addition, the inspector observed that the restaurant had used brown paper to cover the closure stickers that were placed on two of the doors following the previous day’s failed inspection. This was listed as a high priority violation in the report.
The health inspector’s report from the visit on October 22 indicated that another follow-up inspection will be required before the restaurant is permitted to reopen.