A downtown Ocala drive-in was forced to temporarily close for one day last week after a health inspector found nearly four dozen rat droppings around the establishment’s one-room kitchen.
Hungry Bear Drive-In had to temporarily close its location at 420 SE Osceola Avenue on Tuesday, September 3, after it was cited by an inspector from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation for nine health code violations.
According to the inspector’s report, at least four of the health code violations were considered “high priority.”
Among those violations was the presence of rodent activity, as evidenced by approximately 40 rodent droppings that were found behind two ice chests in the “one-room kitchen.”
An additional five rodent droppings were found behind a reach-in cooler.
The facility was also cited for an employee touching food with bare hands, with the inspector saying the employee was observed putting frozen hamburger on the grill before handling buns, mayonnaise, and cheese, and then wrapping the burger.
On Wednesday, September 4, the drive-in facility was permitted to reopen after it was reinspected and there were no health code violations found.