FLORIDA. State inspectors ordered 57 emergency restaurant closures across Florida in the two weeks between April 14 and April 27, 2026, shutting down establishments from Pensacola to Naples for live roach activity, rodent evidence, and fly infestations at a pace of more than four closures per day.
The Scale of It
Roaches drove two-thirds of the closures. Rodents accounted for 12 more. Flies and combined infestations made up the rest.
Miami and Orlando each recorded seven emergency closures, more than any other city in the state during the period. Tampa added three, as did West Palm Beach and Lake Worth.
The Worst of the Two Weeks
Among the most striking closures of the period was Rincon Guatemalteco on MLK Blvd in Tampa, which inspectors shut down on April 23 for a combination of live roach and rodent activity. The restaurant reopened the following morning at 8:34 a.m.
Winghouse Bar and Grill at 3405 W Vine St in Kissimmee was also closed April 23 for both roaches and rodents. It cleared reinspection and reopened at 9:17 a.m. the next day.
Flavors of India at 6103 14th St W in Bradenton was closed April 22 for a combination of roach and rodent activity. As of the data available for this report, its reopening status remains unknown.
Taco Miendo St Pete at 4747 66 St N in St Petersburg was also shuttered April 20 for roach and rodent activity. Its status is likewise unresolved in state records.
On April 23, Bambu Mexican Restaurant Inc at 5731 S Orange Blossom Trl in Orlando was closed for a combination of roaches and flies. The same day, Taqueria Ameca Margarita LLC at 4400 S Orange Blossom Trl in Orlando, less than a mile away on the same road, was closed for the same combination. Both reopened the following morning.
Cafe Caribe at 10422 N Dale Mabry Hwy in Tampa was closed April 22 for roach and fly activity, reopening that afternoon at 2:16 p.m.
Sushi Cafe at 7917 NW 2 St in Miami was shut down April 15 for both roaches and rodents, reopening at 12:51 p.m. the same day.
Wok N Roll at 4725 66 St N in Kenneth City was closed April 21 for roaches and rodents and did not reopen until 2:06 p.m. that afternoon.
Roaches Across the State
The roach-related closures stretched from the Panhandle to South Florida. Dwarf Chicken at 407 Devilliers St in Pensacola was closed April 22 and cleared by 1:50 p.m. Izzy Pub and Sushi Bar at 1123 Thomasville Rd in Tallahassee was shut down April 14 and reopened by 9:16 a.m. the same morning.
Wicked Barley Brewing Co at 4100 Baymeadows Rd in Jacksonville was closed April 17 for roach activity and reopened before 8:37 a.m. La Nopalera Mexican Restaurant at 8206 Philips Hwy in Jacksonville was closed April 15 and did not reopen until 3:14 p.m.
In the Miami area, Moshi Moshi at 7232 Biscayne Blvd was closed April 14 for roach activity, reopening at 12:25 p.m. Don Camaron Seafood Grill and Market at 501 NW 37 Ave in Miami was shuttered April 16 for roaches and flies, reopening at 11:40 a.m. Mayajigua Restaurant Corp at 3828 W 16 Ave in Hialeah was closed April 16 and cleared by 9:27 a.m.
Cavo Lounge at 9108 Strada Place in Naples, located in an upscale mixed-use retail and dining complex, was closed April 24 for roach activity and reopened at 5:42 p.m. the same day.
Ayiti Breeze Bar and Grill at 701 W Lancaster Rd in Orlando was closed April 15 for a combination of sewage issues and roach activity, one of only two closures in the period to cite sewage as a contributing factor. It reopened by 9:59 a.m.
Strathmore Bagel and Deli at 4095 SR 7 in Lake Worth was closed April 14 for roaches and flies and did not clear reinspection until 2:04 p.m.
Garlic N Ginger at 5847 SW 75 St in Gainesville was closed April 14 and reopened at 9:37 a.m. Angry Moon Cafe at 2401 PGA Blvd in Palm Beach Gardens was closed April 15 and cleared by 9:44 a.m.
Rodents From Pensacola to Stuart
The rodent closures spread across nearly every region of the state. Fisherman's Corner Restaurant at 13486 Perdido Key Dr in Pensacola was closed April 14 for rodent activity and reopened at 12:07 p.m.
Hardee's at 6292 Commercial Way in Weeki Wachee was closed April 14 for rodent activity. The chain location did not reopen until 4:37 p.m. that afternoon.
Las Perlas at 5003 Trouble Creek Rd in New Port Richey was closed April 15 for rodents and reopened at 4:19 p.m. Tasty K-Pot at 325 E Merritt Island Cswy in Merritt Island was closed the same day and cleared by 9:36 a.m.
Daytona Taproom at 310 Seabreeze Blvd in Daytona Beach was closed April 21 for rodent activity and reopened at 4:27 p.m. 3Five Bistro and Wine Bar at 740 Main St in Daytona Beach, just over a mile away, had been closed April 15 for the same reason and reopened at 2:38 p.m.
Verona Grill at 8090 Sorrento Ln in Naples was closed April 24 for rodent activity and reopened at 4:01 p.m. the same day.
Belle and Maxwells at 3700 S Dixie Hwy in West Palm Beach was closed April 23 for rodent activity and reopened at 7:35 a.m. the following morning.
Corky Bell's Seafood and Steaks at 1049 Floyd St in Fleming Island was closed April 14 for rodents and cleared by 9:15 a.m.
What These Violations Mean
Live pest activity is not a paperwork violation. When inspectors document live roaches in a kitchen, they are recording direct contamination risk: roaches travel between drains, garbage, and food surfaces, depositing bacteria including Salmonella and E. coli as they move. A single live roach in a food prep area is enough to trigger an emergency closure under Florida law because the contamination pathway is immediate, not theoretical.
Rodent evidence carries a different but equally serious profile. Rodent droppings found near food storage or prep areas indicate the animals have been moving through the facility, likely overnight, across surfaces where food is prepared and stored the following day. Rodents are also primary carriers of Hantavirus and Leptospira. The closures at Flavors of India in Bradenton, Taco Miendo St Pete in St. Petersburg, and Rincon Guatemalteco in Tampa all cited active rodent evidence alongside other pest activity, meaning inspectors found multiple simultaneous infestation types in a single facility.
Fly infestations occupy a different tier. A handful of flies near a trash area is a basic violation. But the closures at Bambu Mexican Restaurant, Taqueria Ameca Margarita, and Don Camaron Seafood Grill and Market involved fly activity severe enough to trigger emergency orders, meaning inspectors observed flies in direct contact with food or food-contact surfaces, not merely in the dining room.
The sewage component at Ayiti Breeze Bar and Grill in Orlando adds a layer beyond pest risk. Sewage backup in a food service facility contaminates surfaces with fecal matter directly. Its combination with roach activity in a single inspection indicates a facility where multiple sanitation systems had failed simultaneously.
The Longer Record
Several of the facilities closed during this period carry substantial inspection histories. Moshi Moshi on Biscayne Blvd in Miami and Sushi Cafe on NW 2 St in Miami both closed for pest activity in a period when Miami recorded seven total emergency closures, tying Orlando for the highest city total in the state. That volume in a single city over two weeks points to a systemic enforcement pattern, not isolated incidents.
Strathmore Bagel and Deli in Lake Worth was one of three Lake Worth closures in the period, alongside Brick Alley Tavern at 7366 Lake Worth Rd and Brass Monkey Sports Bar and Grill at 7781 Lake Worth Rd. Three closures in a single mid-size city over two weeks is a concentration that warrants attention beyond any individual facility.
The Hardee's closure in Weeki Wachee on April 14 stands out in a different way. Chain locations operate under corporate sanitation protocols and regional management oversight that independent restaurants typically lack. A rodent-related emergency closure at a national fast food franchise, with a reopening that stretched to 4:37 p.m., suggests the problem required more than a quick cleaning pass to resolve.
The two facilities whose reopening status remains unresolved in state records, Flavors of India in Bradenton and Taco Miendo St Pete in St. Petersburg, both cited combined roach and rodent infestations. Both were closed April 20 and April 22 respectively. As of the close of the reporting period, neither had a confirmed clearance date in the available data.