FLORIDA. In a two-week stretch from August 10 to August 23, 2026, state inspectors issued emergency closure orders at 40 Florida restaurants, food stalls, and hospitality venues for pest activity, a pace of nearly three shutdowns per day across the state.
Roaches drove 25 of those closures. Rodents accounted for 12. Two facilities were shuttered for fly activity alone, and several drew simultaneous citations for multiple pest types at once.
The Closures
One of the more unexpected entries on the closure list is Chuck E. Cheese 781 at 244 N Congress Ave in Boynton Beach, a family entertainment venue where children's birthday parties are a primary draw. State inspectors ordered it closed on August 14 for rodent activity. It reopened the same morning at 10:02.
The simultaneous presence of roaches, rodents, and flies at a single location marks the most severe category of pest infestation, and four restaurants hit that threshold in this two-week window.
Big Catch at Salt Creek at 1500 2nd St S in St. Petersburg was closed August 12 after inspectors documented rodent, roach, and fly activity together. It reopened at 9:15 a.m. the same day.
Getaway at 13090 Gandy Blvd in St. Petersburg was also closed August 12 for all three pest types and cleared inspection at 9:25 a.m.
Khob Khun Thai Sushi at 13600 US Hwy 1 in Sebastian was shuttered August 11 for rodent, roach, and fly activity and reopened at 9:00 a.m. the following morning.
Villa Pizza Conc D 44 at Miami International Airport's Concourse D was closed August 11 for all three pest types and cleared at 10:14 a.m. That closure, inside one of the country's busiest airports, drew citations for rodent, roach, and fly activity simultaneously.
Roaches Across the State
The roach-related closures stretched from Key West to Jacksonville and touched every region of the state.
New York Pasta Garden at 1075 Duval St in Key West was closed August 11 for roach and fly activity in the heart of the island's tourist corridor. It reopened at 12:11 p.m.
CVI.CHE 105 Aventura at 19501 Biscayne Blvd in Aventura, a branch of the well-known Miami ceviche chain, was closed August 13 for roach activity and reopened at 12:41 p.m.
BurgerFi at 2466 PGA Blvd in Palm Beach Gardens was closed August 14 for roach and fly activity and reopened at 9:17 a.m.
Grill at Morris Bridge at 10920 Cross Creek Blvd in Tampa was shuttered August 13 for roach activity and cleared the same morning at 9:34.
Molly Malone's Irish Pub at 304 E Davis Blvd in Tampa was closed August 12 for roach activity. Its reopening status was not confirmed in state records.
Standard Cuisine and Cocktails at 187 SE Mizner Blvd in Boca Raton was closed August 12 for roach activity and reopened at 10:26 a.m.
Rens Sushi Japanese and Thai Cuisine at 801 S University Dr in Plantation drew a closure August 14 for roach and fly activity together. It reopened at 10:19 a.m.
Fuego Azteca Mexican Bar and Grill at 203 Ohio Ave in North Live Oak was closed August 14 for roach activity and reopened at 9:37 a.m.
Circo Pizzeria and Italian Kitchen at 5035 34th St S in St. Petersburg was closed August 11 for roach and fly activity and reopened at 9:29 a.m., giving St. Petersburg three separate closures in this two-week period.
Clase Azul of Estero at 9908 Gulf Coast Main St in Fort Myers was closed August 13 for roach and fly activity and cleared at 9:17 a.m.
Royale Cafe at 1166 State St W in Jacksonville was closed August 11 for roach activity and reopened at 9:26 a.m.
Rodents in Dining Rooms and Tourist Zones
The rodent closures carried a geographic spread of their own, hitting a historic inn, a Miami Beach oceanfront restaurant, and two Stuart waterfront establishments.
Osteria Del Mar at 720 Ocean Dr in Miami Beach was closed August 13 for rodent activity. Ocean Drive is among the most heavily trafficked restaurant corridors in Florida. It reopened at 10:42 a.m.
Kenwood Inn at 38 Marine St in St. Augustine was shuttered August 10 for rodent activity. The inn sits in the city's historic district, a major tourist destination. It did not clear inspection until 2:49 p.m., one of the longer remediation windows in this period.
Grande Martier at Post Office Arcade at 23 SW Osceola St in Stuart was closed August 12 for rodent activity and reopened at 9:42 a.m.
Sammy J's at 6027 SE Federal Hwy in Stuart was closed August 10 for rodent activity and reopened at 9:27 a.m., giving Stuart two rodent-related closures in the same period.
Sloppy Joe's at 10650 Gulf Blvd in Treasure Island was closed August 11 for rodent and fly activity and reopened at 1:44 p.m.
Dada at 52 N Swinton Ave in Delray Beach was closed August 12 for rodent activity. The restaurant, a well-known Delray Beach fixture, did not reopen until 4:07 p.m., the latest clearance time recorded in the entire two-week window.
Rotis Indian Grill at 13025 US Hwy 301 S in Riverview was closed August 11 for rodent activity and reopened at 11:28 a.m.
Coppertail Brewing Co. at 2601 E 2nd Ave in Tampa was closed August 11 for rodent activity. The craft brewery and restaurant, a fixture in Tampa's Ybor City adjacent corridor, reopened at 1:17 p.m.
What These Violations Mean
Live pest activity is not a paperwork violation. When an inspector documents live roaches in a kitchen, it means insects that travel through sewage, drains, and garbage are making direct contact with food preparation surfaces, utensils, and stored ingredients.
Roaches carry bacteria including Salmonella and E. coli on their bodies and in their droppings, and they do not confine themselves to one area. A roach behind a cooler is also a roach that has been on a cutting board, inside a cabinet, and across a prep surface. The closures at Maryland Fried Chicken/Rice Bowl at 904 E Hinson Ave in Haines City and at Yens Kitchen at 7364 Lake Worth Rd in Lake Worth, both for roach activity, represent exactly this risk.
Rodent activity carries a distinct and in some ways more acute danger. Rodents urinate continuously as they move, contaminating every surface they cross. Rodent droppings carry pathogens including Hantavirus and Leptospira. The presence of rodents in a food establishment, as documented at Dada in Delray Beach and at Osteria Del Mar on Ocean Drive, means that contamination is not limited to a single surface or piece of equipment.
Fly activity, while sometimes treated as a lesser concern, is a direct transfer mechanism. Flies feed on decaying matter and waste, then land on exposed food. The simultaneous presence of flies alongside roaches and rodents, as documented at Big Catch at Salt Creek, Getaway, Khob Khun Thai Sushi, and Villa Pizza at Miami International Airport, signals a facility where multiple sanitation systems have failed at once.
The Longer Record
State inspection records place several of these closures in a longer context of repeated oversight attention.
Jaas Kitchen at 9956 Hutchinson Blvd in Panama City Beach was closed August 13 for roach activity, and its reopening status remained unconfirmed in state records as of the close of this reporting period. Molly Malone's Irish Pub in Tampa also carried an unconfirmed status, meaning two of the 40 closures had not cleared inspection within the documented window.
Thai Lotus Restaurant at 201 N US Hwy 1 in Jupiter was closed August 13 for roach activity, one of two Jupiter closures in the same period. Burger Shack at 617 N A1A in Jupiter was closed three days earlier, on August 10, also for roach activity. Both reopened the same morning they were cited.
Lake Worth produced three closures across the two weeks. Le Berger Restaurant at 1216 S Dixie Hwy in Lake Worth was closed August 12 for rodent activity. Yens Kitchen at 7364 Lake Worth Rd was closed August 10 for roaches. Plato Loco Take-Out at 1414 Lucerne Ave was also closed August 10 for roach activity. Three separate establishments in one city in the same two-week window is a concentration that stands out in this dataset.
The airport concession closure at Villa Pizza in Concourse D at Miami International is notable for its setting. A second Miami airport concession, Famous Famiglia Pizzeria at Concourse H/J Food Court, was closed August 10 for rodent activity. That closure has no URL in state records. Two airport food concessions closed for pest activity in the same two-week period at the same facility is a pattern that prior inspection records at each location would help explain, but state records for this period do not resolve that question.
Jaas Kitchen in Panama City Beach remains the one closure in this entire 40-facility dataset with no confirmed reopening on record.
