FLORIDA. Twenty-nine restaurants and food businesses were emergency-closed by state inspectors between July 31 and August 13, 2026, all for live pest activity, spanning roach infestations, rodent evidence, fly swarms, and in three cases, all three at once.
The Worst of the Week
The most alarming single closure of the period belongs to Shells of St Pete Beach at 7081 Gulf Blvd, shuttered August 7 for simultaneous rodent, roach, and fly activity. A beachfront seafood restaurant drawing Gulf tourists, it carried all three pest categories at once, the only closure in this two-week period to do so.
Shells reopened the same day at 12:24 p.m., roughly a half-day after inspectors ordered it closed.
Roaches in the Chains
The twelve roach-related closures in this period cut across fast food, casual dining, and independent operators alike, and two of the most recognizable names in American quick-service ended up on the list.
Jersey Mike's Subs at 6700 Conroy Rd in Orlando was emergency-closed August 7 for roach activity and had cleared state standards by 8:43 a.m., one of the fastest turnarounds in the entire two-week stretch. The Conroy Road location sits inside a retail strip in a densely developed commercial corridor west of downtown Orlando.
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen No. 1369 at 6310 103rd St in Jacksonville was closed August 4 for roach activity and reopened by 8:58 a.m. the same morning.
Juicy Crab at 7308 International Dr in Orlando drew a closure August 7 for both roach and fly activity, reopening at 11:17 a.m. International Drive is Orlando's tourist spine, lined with hotels and theme park visitors, making a midday pest closure at a seafood restaurant on that corridor more than a routine enforcement matter.
Castillo's Pizza at 8947 Conroy Windermere Rd in Orlando was closed August 4 for roach activity and cleared by 2:18 p.m. DeVito's Italian Specialties at 200 N Tampa St in Tampa was also closed August 4 for roaches, reopening at 1:50 p.m.
Sugar Bae at 8253 Sunset Strip in Fort Lauderdale was shut August 7 for roach activity and reopened at 12:37 p.m.
Buffet City at 1030 58th St N in St. Petersburg was closed August 3 for roaches, with doors back open by 12:42 p.m. Italiano's at 4191 Tamiami Trl S in Venice was also closed August 3 for roach activity, reopening at 2:08 p.m.
Cruz Mexican Grille at 13423 Beach Blvd in Jacksonville was closed July 31 for roach activity. Its reopening status remains unknown. Apna Addaa at 8350 Baymeadows Rd in Jacksonville was closed August 4 for roaches and cleared by 8:05 a.m.
Rodents From Key West to Hialeah
The eleven rodent-related closures spread from the Florida Keys to the Tampa Bay suburbs, with several concentrated on August 3, a single day that produced six rodent or mixed-pest closures statewide.
Pickles Pub Sandbar at 511 Greene St in Key West was closed August 3 for rodent and fly activity combined, one of the later reopenings of the day at 4:20 p.m. Greene Street sits in the heart of Key West's historic tourist district, two blocks from Duval Street.
Tacombi at 3930 NE 2nd Ave in Miami was closed August 6 for rodent and fly activity, reopening the following morning at 9:21 a.m. The Wynwood-area taco restaurant is part of a New York-based chain with locations in several major cities.
Pack Supermarket at 8235 NE 2nd Ave in Miami was closed August 3 for rodent activity and cleared by 8:17 a.m. Café Enclave at 524 W 27th St in Hialeah was also closed August 3 for rodent activity, reopening at 9:55 a.m.
Panaderia Restaurante La Bamba Inc at 3900 Palm Beach Blvd in Fort Myers was closed August 3 for rodent activity and cleared by 8:50 a.m. Kenia Plaza at 14511 SW 266th St in Naranja was closed July 31 for rodent activity and reopened at 9:20 a.m.
White Wolf Café and Bar at 1829 N Orange Ave in Orlando was closed August 3 for rodent activity alone, reopening at 10:15 a.m. The North Orange Avenue location has been a fixture of Orlando's Ivanhoe Village neighborhood for decades.
Rotis Indian Restaurant at 13025 US Hwy 301 S in Riverview was closed August 4 for rodent and fly activity, one of the day's later clearances at 4:08 p.m.
Pit Boss Bar B Que and Pub at 4221 Little Rd in New Port Richey was closed August 7 for rodent and fly activity, clearing by 9:13 a.m., the earliest reopening of that busy Thursday.
Flies Across the State
Six closures in this period were attributed primarily to fly activity, including one at a national chain and one at a golf course clubhouse.
Hooters at 8510 Palm Pkwy in Orlando was closed August 5 for fly activity and didn't reopen until 1:18 p.m., one of the longer turnarounds among the fly-only closures. The Palm Parkway location is near the Walt Disney World resort corridor.
Subway Sandwiches and Salads No. 213 at 8839 Conroy Rd in Orlando was closed August 4 for fly activity and cleared by 1:36 p.m. That's two Subway-adjacent or chain closures within blocks of each other on the same day in the same quadrant of Orlando.
Cypress Creek Golf Club at 1011 Cypress Village Blvd in Sun City Center was closed August 5 for rodent and fly activity and reopened at 9:29 a.m.
Maggie McFly's at 662 SE Becker Rd in Port St Lucie was closed August 5 for fly activity, reopening at 10:41 a.m. Taqueria La Calentana Dos LLC at 604 E Moody Blvd in Bunnell was closed August 3 for fly activity and cleared by 9:04 a.m. Eleventh Street Pizza at 9025 SW 72nd Pl in Miami was also closed August 3 for flies, reopening at 9:14 a.m.
Yellow Tail Subs Grill Inc at 27275 S Dixie Hwy in Homestead was closed August 6 for roach and fly activity. Like Cruz Mexican Grille in Jacksonville, its reopening status is not reflected in available state records.
What These Violations Mean
Live pest activity is treated as an emergency closure trigger precisely because it is not a paperwork problem. Roaches, rodents, and flies each represent a distinct contamination pathway, and inspectors are trained to treat any confirmed live infestation as an immediate threat to food safety rather than a correctable citation.
Live roaches found in food preparation areas or on equipment can deposit bacteria including Salmonella and E. coli directly onto food-contact surfaces. The twelve roach-related closures in this period, from Apna Addaa in Jacksonville to DeVito's Italian Specialties in Tampa, each represented an active contamination risk at the moment inspectors arrived. A roach seen on a prep surface during a busy service means every plate leaving that kitchen is potentially compromised.
Rodent evidence carries a different but equally serious risk. Rodent droppings can transmit Hantavirus, Salmonella, and Leptospirosis. Unlike a live roach sighting, rodent evidence also tells inspectors the infestation has been present long enough to establish a pattern of movement. The rodent closures at locations including Pack Supermarket in Miami, Café Enclave in Hialeah, and Pickles Pub Sandbar in Key West suggest established rodent activity, not a single animal that wandered in.
Fly activity is sometimes dismissed as a nuisance, but flies are mechanical vectors, meaning they physically transfer bacteria from any surface they land on directly to food. Inspectors at Hooters on Palm Parkway and Subway on Conroy Road in Orlando closed those facilities under the same emergency authority used for roaches and rodents. The distinction matters: a facility with active fly infestation in food prep areas fails the same standard as one with roaches on the cutting board.
The Longer Record
Selected Closures in Context: Pest Type and Speed of Clearance
Orlando's dominance in this period deserves attention on its own. Six of the twenty-nine closures were in Orlando, spread across multiple ZIP codes and pest types. Jersey Mike's on Conroy Road, Juicy Crab on International Drive, Castillo's Pizza on Conroy Windermere Road, Subway on Conroy Road, Hooters on Palm Parkway, and White Wolf Café on North Orange Avenue were all emergency-closed within a ten-day window. That is not a cluster limited to one neighborhood or one pest type.
Jacksonville produced four closures across the same period, including two on the same day, August 4. Apna Addaa and Popeyes on 103rd Street were both closed for roach activity that Monday, both cleared before 9 a.m. Cruz Mexican Grille, closed July 31, remains an open question.
The speed of most reopenings, the majority of facilities cleared within hours of closure, reflects how emergency closures work in Florida. A facility can reopen once it demonstrates to a follow-up inspector that the immediate condition has been corrected. It does not mean the underlying pest pressure has been eliminated. Shells of St Pete Beach, closed for all three pest types on a Thursday morning, was back open before lunch.
Cruz Mexican Grille at 13423 Beach Blvd in Jacksonville was closed July 31 for roach activity. State records do not show a confirmed reopening date.
