KISSIMMEE, FL. Back in December 2025, state inspectors walked into Little Italy at 2901 Parkway Blvd. and ordered it shut down on the spot. The reason documented in the state record: roach activity. Inspectors gave the restaurant until December 19 to vacate.
It was not the first time. It was not even close to the first time.
What Inspectors Found
Little Italy Emergency Closures, 2022–2025
The December 18 inspection produced six high-severity violations and six intermediate violations. Among the high-severity findings: food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods. Inspectors also cited inadequate cooling and cold-holding equipment, single-use items being reused, inadequate ventilation and lighting, and improper waste disposal.
The roach activity that triggered the shutdown was the closure reason listed in the state record. No specific count was included in the data available.
The restaurant reopened at 8:11 a.m. on December 19, after a follow-up inspection found it had met state standards.
What These Violations Mean
Roach activity alone is enough to close a restaurant under Florida law, and for clear reason. Cockroaches carry pathogens including Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria on their bodies and legs, depositing them on any surface they cross, including cutting boards, prep tables, and food itself. An active infestation is not a maintenance problem. It is a direct contamination route to every plate leaving the kitchen.
The finding that food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized compounds that risk. Improperly sanitized surfaces are a primary transfer vehicle for bacteria, meaning a customer's exposure does not end with what pests may have touched. It continues through every utensil, cutting board, and prep surface that was not adequately cleaned between uses.
The inadequate cooling equipment citation adds another layer. When refrigeration cannot maintain required temperatures, food sits in the range where bacteria multiply most rapidly, between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Combined with an active pest presence and unsanitized surfaces, the conditions documented on December 18 were not isolated problems. They reinforced each other.
The improper waste disposal violation also matters in this context. Overflowing or improperly managed waste is a documented attractor for cockroaches and rodents. At a facility with a years-long pest problem, this violation points to conditions that sustain infestations rather than eliminate them.
The Longer Record
The December 2025 closure was the ninth time state regulators have ordered Little Italy vacated, according to the inspection record. The prior eight closures all occurred in 2022, all for rodent activity, and they came in rapid succession: July, September, October, and twice in December of that year alone. Five emergency closures in five months is a concentration that stands out even in Florida's crowded inspection database.
The facility has 61 inspections on record and 781 total violations documented across its history. That is an average of roughly 12.8 violations per inspection.
Inspections in 2025 before the December closure show no improvement. A May 20 visit produced five high-severity violations. An April 8 visit produced four. A January 8 visit produced four. The numbers did not trend downward heading into the December shutdown.
The March 2026 inspections, conducted after the December closure and reopening, show the pattern continuing. A March 16 visit produced six high-severity violations and five intermediate violations. A second inspection that same day produced four high-severity and four intermediate violations. A March 27 visit still found two high-severity and four intermediate violations.
Little Italy has been inspected, cited, closed, and allowed to reopen nine times. The March 2026 record shows violations persisting months after the most recent emergency shutdown.
