CAPE CORAL, FL. State inspectors ordered the Perkins Restaurant and Bakery at 1551 Del Prado Blvd S closed on July 13 after documenting rodent, roach and fly activity inside the restaurant, the third time the location has been emergency-shut since 2019.
The closure order required the restaurant to vacate by July 14. Records show it reopened the same day, at 8:41 a.m.
What Inspectors Found
Perkins Del Prado: Recent Inspection Record
The July 13 inspection produced 11 high-severity violations and 5 intermediate violations, the most serious single-day tally in the facility's recent record. The triggering finding was the combination of rodent, roach and fly activity, a triple-pest citation that state inspectors treat as an immediate threat to public health.
Four days earlier, on July 9, inspectors had already visited the restaurant and cited 2 high-severity and 3 intermediate violations. The pest activity that closed the building was not present in that report, or was not yet documented, but the restaurant was already under active scrutiny before Sunday's shutdown.
The Follow-Up
A reinspection on July 14 found 3 high-severity and 3 intermediate violations still on record. The pest-related citations that triggered the closure had been addressed to the state's minimum standard for reopening, but six violations of varying severity remained.
Among the violations documented across the closure-day and follow-up inspections: food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and required procedures for specialized processes not being followed. Those are all high-severity citations.
The intermediate violations included inadequate cooling and cold-holding equipment, single-use items being reused improperly, and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
What These Violations Mean
The pest activity that forced the closure carries the most immediate public health risk. Rodents and cockroaches move between waste and food surfaces, depositing bacteria including Salmonella and E. coli along the way. Flies land on food directly. When inspectors find all three in the same facility at the same time, the contamination pathways multiply.
The high-severity food temperature violation compounds that risk. Poultry not cooked to 165 degrees Fahrenheit allows Salmonella to survive and reach a customer's plate. That violation was present on the follow-up inspection, after the restaurant had already been closed and cleaned.
Improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, the third high-severity citation, are a direct bacterial transfer route. A cutting board or prep surface that carries residue from a prior use moves contamination from one food to the next without the cook or the customer knowing it happened.
The inadequate cooling equipment citation is a slower but equally serious problem. Equipment that cannot hold food below 41 degrees Fahrenheit allows bacteria to multiply in the temperature range between 41 and 135 degrees, what food safety regulators call the danger zone. That violation was still present on July 14.
The Longer Record
The July 13 closure was not the first time this address has been emergency-shut, and it was not close to the first time inspectors have found serious problems here.
State records show 38 inspections on file for this location, with 321 total violations documented over the facility's history. That averages to more than 8 violations per inspection across the full record.
The first emergency closure on file came on April 22, 2019, also for fly activity. The restaurant reopened the following day. Seven years later, on July 13, 2026, inspectors returned and found fly activity again, this time alongside roaches and rodent evidence.
The pattern in the months leading up to this closure is consistent. Every inspection in 2026 produced high-severity violations. February brought 5. April brought 2. May brought 3. The July 9 visit, four days before the shutdown, brought 2 more. The restaurant was never cited-free between closures.
This is the location's second emergency closure in the period covered by recent inspection records, and its third overall. A facility that has been inspected 38 times, accumulated 321 violations, and been emergency-closed three times is not encountering these problems for the first time.
The follow-up inspection on July 14 cleared the restaurant to reopen. Three high-severity violations remained on the books when the doors unlocked at 8:41 that morning.
