LAKE WORTH, FL. State inspectors ordered Yens Kitchen at 7364 Lake Worth Rd closed on June 9, 2026, after finding roach and fly activity throughout the Palm Beach County restaurant, triggering the facility's fourth emergency closure since December 2023.
The closure order required the restaurant to vacate by June 10. Inspectors returned that same day and conducted two separate follow-up inspections, finding five high-severity violations in each. The restaurant was cleared to reopen at 3:27 p.m. on June 10.
What Inspectors Found
Yens Kitchen: Emergency Closure History
The June 9 inspection that triggered the closure documented 10 high-severity violations and 6 intermediate violations, the heaviest single-day violation count in the restaurant's recent record. Among the high-severity findings: no employee health policy, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Inspectors also cited toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used, a separate high-severity violation from the labeling citation. That means the facility drew two distinct chemical-safety findings in a single visit.
The intermediate violations documented the same day included improper sewage or wastewater disposal, single-use items being reused, inadequate ventilation and lighting, improper use of wiping cloths, inadequate toilet facilities, and premises not properly maintained.
What These Violations Mean
Roach and fly activity alone is enough to trigger an emergency closure under Florida law, and for clear reasons. Both insects move freely between sewage, garbage, and open food surfaces, depositing bacteria and pathogens along the way. When inspectors find live roaches or flies in a food preparation environment, every surface in that environment is a potential contamination point.
The chemical violations found at Yens Kitchen on June 9 add a second, distinct risk. Toxic substances improperly stored or labeled near food can cause acute chemical poisoning, not through spoilage or bacteria, but through direct contamination of food or drink. Two separate high-severity chemical citations in one inspection suggests the problem was not a single misplaced bottle.
The absence of an employee health policy is a disease-transmission risk that compounds everything else. Without a written policy requiring sick workers to stay home, a single employee with Norovirus can expose every customer served that shift. Norovirus causes an estimated 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, and food service workers are among its most efficient vectors.
Improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, the fourth high-severity violation, are a primary route for bacterial transfer between raw and ready-to-eat foods. Cutting boards, prep surfaces, and utensils that are not properly sanitized between uses carry contamination forward through an entire service period.
The Pattern
The June 9 closure was not a surprise finding at a facility with a clean record. Yens Kitchen has accumulated 209 violations across 23 inspections on record, and this was its fourth emergency closure.
The first documented emergency closure came in December 2023, for roach and rodent activity. The facility reopened the following day. Less than 14 months later, in February 2025, inspectors found fly activity severe enough to order a second closure. That one also resolved within 24 hours.
The inspections between closures tell a consistent story. The September 2025 visit produced six high-severity and five intermediate violations. The December 2025 visit produced seven high-severity and three intermediate violations. By April 2026, the facility was again drawing five high-severity violations in a single inspection, two months before the June closure.
The February 2025 closure came one day after an inspection that found one high-severity and three intermediate violations, suggesting the fly activity that forced the shutdown developed or was observed the following morning. The same sequence played out in June 2026: a June 9 closure followed by two June 10 follow-up inspections that still found five high-severity violations each before the restaurant was cleared.
The Longer Record
Twenty-three inspections over the life of this license have produced 209 total violations. That average works out to more than nine violations per inspection visit, and the most recent inspections have run well above that figure.
The three prior emergency closures span roughly 30 months: December 2023 for roaches and rodents, February 2025 for flies, and now June 2026 for roaches and flies combined. Each time, the facility has cleared reinspection within a day. Each time, high-severity violations have continued to accumulate in the months that followed.
The June 10 follow-up inspections are notable on their own. After a closure and an overnight corrective period, inspectors still found five high-severity violations in each of two separate checks before finally clearing the restaurant. What those remaining high-severity violations were after the pest-driven closure has not been specified in the public record.
Yens Kitchen was licensed for permanent food service and was cleared to reopen at 3:27 p.m. on June 10. Whether the violations that persisted through both follow-up inspections have since been resolved is not confirmed in the available inspection data.