Two restaurants at Ocala’s Paddock Mall have been permitted to reopen following a temporary closure caused by the discovery of dead rats.
Pei Wei Express and Pizza Per-Bellini, both located inside the food court at 3100 SW College Road in Ocala, officially resumed operations after passing follow-up health inspections on Wednesday, July 8.
The two establishments had been ordered to temporarily stop operations by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation on Tuesday, July 7, following separate inspections that uncovered multiple dead rodents.
During the initial Tuesday inspection at Pei Wei Express, an inspector documented two dead rodents on a sticky pad on a shelf beneath the front counter. Although the manager discarded the pad with the dead rodents during the visit, the facility was required to remain closed until violations were corrected.
At Pizza Per-Bellini, a separate inspection on Tuesday revealed two dead rodents on a sticky pad under the ice machine in the back kitchen area, alongside a third dead rodent on a sticky pad underneath the front counter. Those rodents were also removed as a corrective action before the location was temporarily closed.
Following the forced closures, both establishments underwent a second round of health inspections on Wednesday, July 8. Both restaurants passed those follow-up inspections, with the reports noting that there were no additional violations noted.