OLDSMAR, FL. State inspectors ordered Amicis Catering shut down on September 2, 2026, after documenting rodent activity at the facility's Marlborough Street location, triggering an emergency closure that gave the business until the following morning to vacate the premises.
The closure was not a routine failed inspection. Florida's Division of Hotels and Restaurants issues emergency shutdown orders only when inspectors determine that conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. Rodent activity, the specific finding that brought down Amicis Catering, is one of the conditions that meets that threshold.
What Inspectors Found
Amicis Catering was ordered shut after inspectors documented rodent activity at 205 Marlborough St., with the facility required to vacate by September 3, 2026.
The violation that triggered the closure was rodent activity. State records do not detail the specific evidence inspectors observed, whether droppings, gnaw marks, live animals, or some combination, but the finding was severe enough to warrant an immediate shutdown order rather than a citation and a deadline to correct.
Inspectors required the facility to be vacated by September 3, 2026. State records show the facility reopened at 8:28 a.m., though the date of that reopening is not specified in available records.
What This Means
Rodent activity in a food preparation facility is not a housekeeping problem. Rats and mice carry Salmonella, Leptospira, and Hantavirus, among other pathogens, and they shed those organisms continuously through urine, droppings, and fur as they move through a kitchen.
For a catering operation specifically, the risk compounds. Unlike a restaurant where food is prepared and consumed on-site, catering facilities produce food that travels to events, often hours before it is eaten, and is served to large groups at once. Contamination that enters the food supply chain at the preparation stage has no further checkpoint before it reaches a customer's plate.
That is why state law treats active rodent activity as grounds for immediate closure rather than a correction order. The risk is not theoretical and it cannot be fixed between the time an inspector leaves and a customer eats.
The Longer Record
There is no prior inspection history on record for Amicis Catering at 205 Marlborough Street in Oldsmar. State records show zero prior inspections, zero prior violations, and zero prior emergency closures before September 2, 2026.
That absence of history cuts two ways. It means there is no documented pattern of escalating problems, no prior warnings inspectors issued that went unaddressed, no earlier citations for pest activity or sanitation failures that foreshadowed this closure.
It also means there is no record of the facility ever having been inspected and cleared. The September 2 visit appears to be the first time state inspectors documented conditions at this location. Whatever the state of the facility before that date, there is no public record of it.
For a licensed catering operation, a first inspection resulting in an emergency closure is a significant finding. Most licensed food facilities accumulate an inspection record over time, with routine visits, minor violations, and corrections logged before anything approaching a shutdown. Amicis Catering's first recorded interaction with state inspectors ended with an order to vacate the premises by the next morning.
Reopening Status
State records indicate the facility reopened at 8:28 a.m. The specific date of that reopening is not confirmed in available data. A facility ordered closed for rodent activity is typically required to demonstrate that the infestation has been addressed, through professional pest control treatment and a follow-up inspection, before it is permitted to resume operations.
Whether that process was completed, and whether Amicis Catering is currently operating, is not confirmed by the records available. The facility's licensed status for catering is on record, but a license does not confirm active operation following a closure.
Customers who had upcoming catering events booked with Amicis should confirm the status of their orders directly with the company.
