FLORIDA. Forty restaurants across the state were ordered shut by emergency closure between August 9 and August 22, 2026, all for live pest activity, making it one of the most concentrated two-week stretches of pest-driven closures on record for a Florida summer inspection cycle.
Twenty-five of the forty closures involved roach activity. Twelve involved rodents. Three facilities were shut for a combination of all three pest types simultaneously. The closures stretched from Key West to Jacksonville, from St. Augustine to Fort Myers, touching chain restaurants, upscale dining rooms, a brewpub, a hotel inn, and a children's entertainment venue.
The Closures
The closure that drew the sharpest attention came on August 14, when inspectors ordered Chuck E. Cheese 781 at 244 N Congress Ave in Boynton Beach shut for rodent activity. The restaurant, which markets itself to families with young children, reopened the same morning at 10:02 a.m.
On the same day, inspectors closed Ren's Sushi Japanese and Thai Cuisine at 801 S University Dr in Plantation for a combination of roach and fly activity. It reopened at 10:19 a.m.
Also on August 14, BurgerFi at 2466 PGA Blvd in Palm Beach Gardens was closed for roach and fly activity, reopening at 9:17 a.m. The same morning, Fuego Azteca Mexican Bar and Grill at 203 Ohio Ave in N Live Oak was shut for roaches, reopening at 9:37 a.m.
August 13 produced six closures. Osteria Del Mar at 720 Ocean Dr in Miami Beach, a restaurant on one of the most photographed streets in Florida, was closed for rodent activity and reopened at 10:42 a.m.
CVI.CHE 105 Aventura at 19501 Biscayne Blvd was shut for roach activity and back open by 12:41 p.m. Grill at Morris Bridge at 10920 Cross Creek Blvd in Tampa was closed for roaches and reopened at 9:34 a.m.
Thai Lotus Restaurant at 201 N US Hwy 1 in Jupiter was closed for roach activity and reopened at 9:34 a.m. Clase Azul of Estero at 9908 Gulf Coast Main St in Fort Myers was shut for roach and fly activity, reopening at 9:17 a.m.
Jaas Kitchen at 9956 Hutchinson Blvd in Panama City Beach was closed for roach activity on August 13. Its reopening status was not available in state records at the time of publication.
August 12 was the single busiest day of the two-week period, with ten closures ordered statewide.
Big Catch at Salt Creek at 1500 2nd St S in St. Petersburg was shut for the combination of rodent, roach, and fly activity simultaneously, and reopened at 9:15 a.m. Getaway at 13090 Gandy Blvd, also in St. Petersburg, was closed for the same triple combination and reopened at 9:25 a.m.
Maryland Fried Chicken/Rice Bowl at 904 E Hinson Ave in Haines City was shut for both roach and rodent activity, reopening at 10:21 a.m. Standard Cuisine and Cocktails at 187 SE Mizner Blvd in Boca Raton was closed for roaches and back open at 10:26 a.m.
Dada at 52 N Swinton Ave in Delray Beach, a well-known arts-district restaurant, was closed for rodent activity and did not reopen until 4:07 p.m., the latest reopening time recorded during the entire two-week period.
Le Berger Restaurant LLC at 1216 S Dixie Hwy in Lake Worth was shut for rodent activity and reopened at 9:07 a.m. Grande Martier at 23 SW Osceola St in Stuart was closed for rodent activity and back open at 9:42 a.m.
Tejas de Honduras at 19200 SW 106 Ave in Cutler Bay was shut for roaches and did not reopen until 3:48 p.m. Molly Malone's Irish Pub at 304 E Davis Blvd in Tampa was closed for roach activity on August 12. Its reopening status was not confirmed in state records.
August 11 brought eleven closures. Khob Khun Thai Sushi at 13600 US Hwy 1 in Sebastian was shut for the triple combination of rodent, roach, and fly activity, and reopened at 9:00 a.m.
Villa Pizza at Concourse D 44, 4200 NW 21 St inside Miami International Airport was also shut for the triple combination and reopened at 10:14 a.m. An airport food-court closure affects a captive population of travelers with no alternative dining exit.
New York Pasta Garden at 1075 Duval St in Key West was shut for roach and fly activity during peak tourist season and reopened at 12:11 p.m. Kanto Asian Street Food at 720 Lake Ave in Lake Worth Beach was closed for roaches and reopened at 3:08 p.m.
Rotis Indian Grill at 13025 US Hwy 301 S in Riverview was shut for rodent activity and reopened at 11:28 a.m. Royale Cafe at 1166 State St W in Jacksonville was closed for roaches and back open at 9:26 a.m.
Sloppy Joe's at 10650 Gulf Blvd in Treasure Island was shut for rodent and fly activity and reopened at 1:44 p.m. Circo Pizzeria and Italian Kitchen at 5035 34th St S in St. Petersburg was closed for roach and fly activity and reopened at 9:29 a.m.
Coppertail Brewing Co. at 2601 E 2nd Ave in Tampa was shut for rodent activity and reopened at 1:17 p.m. Kumo Japanese Steak House at 2517 Santa Barbara Blvd in Cape Coral was closed for roaches and back open at 9:25 a.m.
Kazu Sushi Burrito at 117 W Adams St in Jacksonville was shut for rodent activity and reopened at 9:50 a.m.
August 10 opened the period with eight closures. Yen's Kitchen at 7364 Lake Worth Rd was shut for roaches and reopened at 11:21 a.m. Burger Shack at 617 N A1A in Jupiter was closed for roach activity and back open at 9:25 a.m.
Sammy J's at 6027 SE Federal Hwy in Stuart was shut for rodent activity and reopened at 9:27 a.m. Kenwood Inn at 38 Marine St in St. Augustine, a historic bed-and-breakfast inn, was closed for rodent activity and did not reopen until 2:49 p.m.
What These Violations Mean
Live roach activity inside a commercial kitchen is not a single-point contamination event. Roaches move continuously between drains, garbage receptacles, and food-contact surfaces, depositing feces, shed exoskeletons, and saliva on everything they cross. The closures at Chuck E. Cheese in Boynton Beach, CVI.CHE 105 in Aventura, and New York Pasta Garden in Key West all involved roach activity in facilities that serve food directly to customers, in some cases food that is not cooked after final assembly.
Rodent activity carries a different risk profile. Rodents urinate constantly as they travel, and their urine can carry pathogens including leptospirosis and salmonella. Droppings near food-prep areas or inside dry-storage containers represent direct contamination of ingredients. The closures at Osteria Del Mar on Ocean Drive, Dada in Delray Beach, and Kenwood Inn in St. Augustine all involved rodent activity in establishments where the kitchen and dining areas share close quarters.
The four facilities shut for all three pest types simultaneously represent the most acute risk category in this data set. Big Catch at Salt Creek and Getaway, both in St. Petersburg, as well as Khob Khun Thai Sushi in Sebastian and Villa Pizza at Miami International Airport, each had roaches, rodents, and flies present at the same time. That combination suggests conditions severe enough that multiple pest populations had established themselves independently, which inspectors generally treat as evidence of a sustained sanitation breakdown rather than an isolated incident.
Fly activity, documented at eleven of the forty closed facilities, is often the most visible indicator to customers but not always the most dangerous. Flies transmit pathogens by landing on food after contact with waste. The closures at La Granja Chicken and Seafood in South Miami and at Special DM in Orlando were driven primarily by fly activity, and both reopened within hours.
The Longer Record
The two-week period produced closures at facilities with widely varying inspection histories, and that history matters when evaluating whether a closure was a predictable outcome or an outlier.
Molly Malone's Irish Pub on E Davis Blvd in Tampa and Jaas Kitchen in Panama City Beach both closed for roach activity with no confirmed reopening in state records as of publication. An unresolved closure, without a documented follow-up inspection showing compliance, means the state has not yet confirmed that the conditions triggering the emergency order were corrected.
The geographic concentration in this period is notable. Tampa and St. Petersburg each produced three closures. Lake Worth, counting both Lake Worth and Lake Worth Beach addresses, produced three. Jupiter and Stuart each produced two. That clustering in Palm Beach and Martin counties during a single two-week stretch points to conditions common to the region in mid-August, when heat and humidity peak and pest pressure on commercial kitchens is at its annual high.
The airport closure at Villa Pizza at Miami International Airport's Concourse D stands apart from all others in the data set. Airport concourse food operations are inspected under the same state framework as street-level restaurants, but a closure there affects travelers who cannot simply leave and choose another option. The facility reopened at 10:14 a.m. on August 11, less than two hours after the closure order.
Kenwood Inn at 38 Marine St in St. Augustine was the only lodging property in the data set, closed for rodent activity on August 10 and not cleared to reopen until nearly five hours later. State records do not indicate whether the inn's guest rooms were affected or whether the closure was limited to its food-service operation.
As of publication, the reopening status of Jaas Kitchen at 9956 Hutchinson Blvd in Panama City Beach remained unconfirmed in state records.
