Our series on Dirty Dining is back by popular demand! Investigative reporter Alan Jennings is back on roach patrol. He poured through yet more official state health inspection reports on restaurants all over Southwest Florida.
What he discovered may make your skin crawl.
Jennings checked out the German Deli Spot in Estero. A November 3rd inspection resulted in an emergency closure: Raw veal over ready-to-eat hotdogs, 22 dead roaches in the kitchen, 28 more live roaches roaming in the kitchen. And, 2 dead roaches in the frame of a food manager's certificate, 3 live roaches in the frame of another food manager's certificate.
The daughter of the owner at the German Deli Spot told Fox 4 all of the roach and raw veal issues have been corrected, the restaurant reopened shortly after it was closed.
Also in Estero, Jennings uncovered sewage leaking in the Grande Oaks Boulevard Subway. Inspectors immediately closed down the Subway on November 1st. The franchisee told Fox 4 that it was really just water backing up from floor drains. That Subway fixed the issue and soon after reopened.
Great Wall Chinese restaurant slapped with an emergency closure on June 27th after inspectors found a dead roach, 26 more live ones in the kitchen, and one dead roach laying on top of the rice in an open bin. Owner claims the roaches came in embedded in produce boxes. Great Wall says all clean now, restaurant reopened hours after shutdown.
Cactus Jack in North Fort Myers was shutdown August 10th due to evidence of sewage and rodents in the kitchen and gnaw marks on a plastic bin. All issues cleaned according to owners.
Jill's Joint in Cape Coral closed down for a day on July 10th after inspectors found 20 dead roaches and 3 live ones in the kitchen. Repeated phone calls to the owner have not be returned.
All the above restaurants are open for business again. Emergency closures like the ones detailed here are relatively rare but are much more serious than other types of violations.
