FLORIDA. A Jacksonville Hooters was shuttered after inspectors documented both roach and rodent activity in the same visit, one of 32 Florida restaurants emergency-closed for pest infestations in the two-week stretch between September 25 and October 8, 2026. Roaches drove 21 of those closures. Rodents accounted for six more. Flies or mixed pest activity triggered the rest.
The closures stretched from Yulee in the far northeast corner of the state to Naples on the Gulf Coast, touching food courts, strip-mall staples, upscale waterfront dining, and national chains in the same two-week window.
The Worst of It
Hooters at 8938 San Jose Blvd in Jacksonville was closed September 29 after inspectors found both live roaches and rodent activity. As of the close of the reporting period, its reopening status remained unknown.
Winghouse Bar and Grill at 2145 E Silver Springs Blvd in Ocala was also closed September 25 for a combination of roach and fly activity, and its status similarly remained unresolved at the time this article was published.
Lolas Filipino Café and Mini Store at 1241 Blanding Blvd in Orange Park was shut down October 2 for roach activity, and no reopening had been confirmed in state records.
Roaches Across the State
Jacksonville accounted for five of the 32 closures, more than any other city in the period. Beyond Hooters, inspectors closed Ya Habibi Slice and Spice at 6271 St Augustine Rd on October 1 for roach activity. It reopened the same morning at 9:39 a.m.
Hong Kong Station at 7534 Beach Blvd was closed September 28 for roaches and reopened that afternoon at 12:54 p.m. El Primo Restaurant and Grocery at 6715 Powers Ave was also closed September 28 for roach activity and reopened at 11:15 a.m.
Tampa contributed three closures. Pepo's Café at 3879 Northdale Blvd was closed October 1 for roaches and did not reopen until 2:42 p.m., one of the longer same-day turnarounds in the period. Perry's BBQ Asian Grill, operating out of the Citrus Park Town Center Mall food court, was closed September 30 for roach activity and reopened at 2:43 p.m.
Pisco Bar and Restaurant at 7507 N Armenia Ave was closed September 28 for roaches and reopened at 10:43 a.m.
Oviedo saw three food court and mall-adjacent closures in a single day. All three fell on September 28. 2 Hermanos Taco Burrito at 1605 Oviedo Mall Blvd was closed for roach activity and reopened at 10:06 a.m. Mediterranean Gourmet at 1525 Oviedo Marketplace Blvd was closed for roaches and reopened at 9:34 a.m. Asian Express at 1700 Oviedo Mall Blvd was closed for roach activity and reopened at 10:47 a.m.
Three separate mall-area restaurants in the same city shuttered on the same day for the same reason.
Steamers of Naples at 5317 Airport Rd was closed October 1 for roach activity and reopened at 9:16 a.m. Kiku Sushi at 1254 S Tamiami Trl in Osprey was closed September 29 for roaches and did not reopen until 4:13 p.m., the latest reopening time among all roach closures in the period.
Bayview Diner at 2712 E Oakland Park Blvd in Fort Lauderdale was closed September 28 for roach activity and reopened at 7:13 a.m., the earliest reopening of any facility in the two-week window.
Pho Vinh at 657 N Primrose Dr in Orlando was closed September 28 and reopened at 10:44 a.m. Brandon Asian Cuisine at 6417 Stirling Rd in Davie was closed October 1 and reopened at 8:37 a.m.
Mama Kitchen at 2200 W International Speedway Blvd in Daytona Beach was closed September 29 for both roach and fly activity and reopened the following morning at 9:22 a.m.
Mexican Grill and Catina Don Patron at 96098 Lofton Square Ct in Yulee was closed September 29 for roach activity and reopened at 10:40 a.m. Down Under Restaurant at 96106 Wades Pl in Fernandina Beach was closed September 28 and reopened at 9:57 a.m.
Rodents and Flies
Six closures involved rodent activity. Subway 4419 at 2004 66th St N in St. Petersburg was closed September 28 for rodent activity and reopened at 10:38 a.m. It was the only national sandwich chain in the rodent category for the period.
Rocky's Pizzeria Restaurant at 105 N Ocean Shore Blvd in Flagler Beach was closed September 28 for rodent activity and reopened at 9:56 a.m. Whistle Stop Grill and Bar at 915 Main St in Safety Harbor was closed September 30 for rodents and reopened at 10:04 a.m.
Sailor's Return at 625 SW Anchorage Way in Stuart was closed September 28 for rodent activity. It did not reopen until 4:24 p.m., the latest reopening of any rodent-related closure in the period.
Anytime Eat at 1901 Drew St in Clearwater was closed September 30 for rodent activity and reopened at 3:14 p.m. Oh Greek at 5475 Factory Shops Blvd in Ellenton was closed October 1 for rodent activity and reopened at 10:58 a.m.
Four closures were fly-related. Moe's Southwest Grill at 9620 Applecross Rd in Jacksonville was closed September 30 for fly activity and reopened at 10:06 a.m. Chipotle Mexican Grill at 6290 S Dixie Hwy in Miami was closed September 29 for fly activity and reopened the following morning at 8:10 a.m.
Chicken Guy at 4301 S University Dr in Davie was closed September 30 for fly activity and reopened at 10:08 a.m. Esposito Pizza at 2803 James L Redman Pkwy in Plant City was closed September 29 and reopened at 10:10 a.m.
What These Violations Mean
Live pest activity is among the most serious categories of violation an inspector can document, because pests are not passive contamination. Cockroaches travel between sewage, garbage, and food prep surfaces, depositing bacteria including Salmonella and E. coli on every surface they cross. A single live roach spotted during an inspection is evidence of a population that is almost certainly larger, because roaches are nocturnal and avoid light. When inspectors find them during daytime visits, as happened at restaurants across this two-week period from Jacksonville to Naples, the infestation has typically been developing for weeks.
Rodent activity carries a different and in some ways more acute risk. Rodent droppings contain Hantavirus and Salmonella, and a single rodent moving through a kitchen contaminates every surface it contacts, including food storage areas, utensil drawers, and prep counters. The closures at Whistle Stop Grill and Bar in Safety Harbor, Anytime Eat in Clearwater, and Sailor's Return in Stuart all involved rodent activity, meaning inspectors found evidence of animals moving through active food preparation and storage areas.
Fly activity, as documented at Moe's Southwest Grill in Jacksonville, Chipotle in Miami, Chicken Guy in Davie, and Esposito Pizza in Plant City, represents a direct contamination route from decaying organic matter to food. Flies regurgitate digestive enzymes onto food surfaces as part of feeding. The presence of flies in sufficient numbers to trigger an emergency closure, as opposed to a routine citation, indicates inspectors found a significant and active infestation, not an isolated insect.
The dual-pest closures, roaches and rodents at Hooters in Jacksonville, roaches and flies at Winghouse Bar and Grill in Ocala and at Mama Kitchen in Daytona Beach, indicate conditions that allowed two separate infestation types to establish simultaneously. That level of co-infestation points to systemic sanitation failures rather than a single lapse.
The Longer Record
Several of the facilities closed in this period carry inspection histories that make the closures less surprising in context. Allegro Ma Non Troppo and Socal Taco Company at 1000 S Miami Ave, closed September 30 for roach activity and reopened at 10:16 a.m., operates out of one of Miami's higher-profile addresses on Brickell. The combination of an upscale location and a roach-driven emergency closure is the kind of contrast the inspection record makes plain.
Brandon Asian Cuisine in Davie and Chicken Guy in Davie were both closed within 24 hours of each other in the same city, on September 28 and September 30 respectively, suggesting inspectors were actively working the Davie corridor during that stretch.
The three Oviedo mall closures on September 28 tell a similar story. Two Hermanos Taco Burrito, Mediterranean Gourmet, and Asian Express all operate in or adjacent to the Oviedo Mall complex. Three separate establishments in the same retail environment shuttered for roach activity on the same calendar day.
The cases that remain unresolved as of the close of this reporting period are Hooters on San Jose Boulevard in Jacksonville, Winghouse Bar and Grill in Ocala, and Lolas Filipino Café and Mini Store in Orange Park. All three were closed for pest activity. None had confirmed reopening dates in state records at publication time. Hooters on San Jose Boulevard, closed for both roaches and rodents on September 29, had not confirmed a reopening as of October 8.
