FLORIDA. A Baymeadows Road restaurant in Jacksonville was emergency-closed July 27 after state inspectors documented rodent activity, live roach activity, and fly activity all at once, making Tunis Fresh N Fast on Baymeadows Road one of the most heavily infested single locations in a two-week stretch that saw 26 Florida restaurants shut down statewide for pest-related violations between July 24 and August 6, 2026. Tunis Fresh N Fast reopened the same morning at 8:22 a.m., less than 24 hours after the closure order.
The 26 emergency closures broke down into 16 roach-related shutdowns, seven tied to rodent activity, and three involving flies or other pests. Jacksonville led all Florida cities with six closures in the period, more than double the next closest city.
The Violations
Jacksonville's six closures were spread across a range of restaurant types and neighborhoods. Hooters on San Jose Boulevard was shut down July 28 for both rodent and fly activity, then cleared to reopen at 10:32 a.m. Captain D's at 2062 N Main Street was closed the same day for rodent activity and reopened at 10:08 a.m.
Beirut Restaurant and Spirit on Baymeadows Road was closed July 27 for fly activity and back open by 9:18 a.m. Mod Pizza at Bartram Park Boulevard was shuttered July 31 for fly activity and reopened at 9:14 a.m., among the fastest turnarounds in the two-week period.
Cruz Mexican Grille at 13423 Beach Boulevard was closed July 31 for roach activity. Its reopening status remained unknown as of the reporting period.
South Florida contributed a cluster of closures in the final days of July. Brass Monkey Sports Bar and Grill on Lake Worth Road was shut down July 28 for both roach and rodent activity, reopening at 9:44 a.m. Lucky Cat Street Eatery on North Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale was closed the same day for roach activity and reopened at 9:38 a.m.
Gourmet Creole on Northeast 36th Street in Pompano Beach was closed July 27 for both roach and rodent activity and reopened at 8:48 a.m. Rendez-vous on East Oakland Park Boulevard was also closed July 27, also for roach and rodent activity, and was cleared at 8:18 a.m., the earliest reopening time recorded that day.
Le Genie Restaurant on Northeast 167th Street in North Miami Beach was closed July 29 for both rodent and fly activity and reopened at 8:10 a.m.
Las Delicias Restaurant on West 49th Street in Hialeah was closed July 24 for roach activity and reopened at 8:42 a.m. Foodeyez Caribbean Cuisine Corp on West Sample Road in Coral Springs was closed July 30 and did not reopen until 3:29 p.m., one of the longer same-day remediation timelines in the dataset.
Central Florida saw several closures as well. Mel's Family Diner on South Orlando Drive in Sanford was closed July 29 for rodent activity and reopened at 8:28 a.m. Chef Nina and Co at 1146 West State Road 436 in Altamonte Springs was shut down July 30 for rodent activity and cleared at 11:38 a.m.
Mama Kitchen at West International Speedway Boulevard in Daytona Beach was closed July 30 for roach activity and reopened at 9:41 a.m. Heytea at Brandon Town Center Drive was closed the same day for roach activity and reopened at 10:55 a.m. Healthy Hub on Northwest 21st Avenue in Ocala was also closed July 30 for roach activity and back open by 10:12 a.m.
Taqueria Don Gonzalo LLC on US Highway 17-92 in Haines City was closed July 29 for roach activity and did not reopen until 3:43 p.m., the latest same-day clearance in the dataset.
Ifra's Indian Kitchen on South Dixie Highway in Pinecrest was closed July 27 for both roach and fly activity and reopened at 4:20 p.m. Sebra Bakery and Cafe on Northeast Spanish River Boulevard in Boca Raton was closed July 27 for fly activity and reopened at 8:04 a.m., the earliest clearance across the entire two-week period.
Hungry Howies at 5570 North 4th Street in St. Petersburg was closed July 27 for rodent and fly activity and reopened at 10:43 a.m. Kenia Plaza on Southwest 266th Street in Naranja was closed July 31 for rodent activity and reopened at 9:20 a.m.
Catrinas Mexican Fusion on North Semoran Boulevard in Orlando was closed July 24 for roach and fly activity. Its reopening status remained unknown. Mi Sazon Latino Centro America at 15980 US 441 South in Alachua was also closed July 24 for roach activity with no confirmed reopening on record.
Haagen-Dazs at the Sunrise Blvd Market Food Court in Sunrise was closed July 29 for roach activity and reopened at 9:31 a.m.
What These Violations Mean
Live pest activity in a commercial kitchen is not a housekeeping citation. It is a direct contamination pathway. Roaches travel between drains, garbage, raw meat surfaces, and food prep areas without distinction, and they deposit bacteria including Salmonella and E. coli on every surface they cross. When an inspector documents live roaches, as they did at locations including Mama Kitchen, Foodeyez Caribbean Cuisine, and Las Delicias, the finding reflects an active infestation, not an isolated stray insect.
Rodent activity carries a distinct and in some ways more serious risk profile. Rodent droppings contain hantavirus and can carry Salmonella. Unlike roaches, which tend to concentrate near moisture and warmth, rodents range across a facility and contaminate areas far from where droppings are first found. The closures at Mel's Family Diner in Sanford and Captain D's in Jacksonville both involved rodent activity alone, meaning inspectors found evidence of an infestation that had established itself without the co-occurring roach or fly activity that marked the more complex closures.
Fly infestations, which triggered the closures at Mod Pizza and Sebra Bakery and Cafe, are often treated as a lower-tier pest concern, but flies are mechanical vectors, meaning they carry pathogens on their bodies from any surface they land on directly to food. In food preparation environments, even a small fly presence around open product is a contamination event, not a nuisance.
The combination closures, where inspectors found two or three pest types simultaneously, are the most telling. At Tunis Fresh N Fast, rodents, roaches, and flies were all documented in a single inspection. That kind of overlap does not happen overnight. It reflects conditions that developed over time across multiple points of entry and harborage.
The Longer Record
The inspection histories behind these closures vary significantly, and the variation matters. Kenia Plaza in Naranja carries 40 prior inspections on record before this closure, a long enough history that a July 31 rodent-related shutdown represents a recurring pattern rather than an isolated event. Le Genie Restaurant in North Miami Beach shows 37 prior inspections before its July 29 closure for rodent and fly activity combined.
Foodeyez Caribbean Cuisine in Coral Springs had 14 prior inspections before its July 30 roach closure. Gourmet Creole in Pompano Beach carried 22 prior inspections before its July 27 shutdown for both roach and rodent activity. Rendez-vous in Oakland Park had 31 prior inspections on record before the same-day closure.
Taqueria Don Gonzalo in Haines City had 18 prior inspections before its July 29 roach closure, which resulted in one of the longest same-day remediation timelines, not clearing until 3:43 p.m.
Several of the Jacksonville closures involved locations with substantial inspection histories. Hooters on San Jose Boulevard had 28 prior inspections before the July 28 rodent and fly closure. Captain D's on North Main Street carried 33 prior inspections before its rodent closure the same day.
Cruz Mexican Grille at 13423 Beach Boulevard in Jacksonville was closed July 31 for roach activity. No reopening time has been confirmed, and its prior inspection record was not available in the data. The closure remains unresolved.
