WEST PALM BEACH, FL. State inspectors emergency-closed Los Catrachos Restaurant on Gun Club Road on April 27 after finding roach and rodent activity at the restaurant, the only emergency closure in West Palm Beach during the week of April 27 through May 3, 2026.
That closure was not the only serious finding of the week. Four other West Palm Beach restaurants drew high-severity violations during the same stretch, including two locations where employees either failed to report illness symptoms or were observed using improper handwashing technique, and three locations where shellfish traceability records were missing or inadequate.
What Inspectors Found
The closure at Los Catrachos came on the first day of the inspection week. In addition to the pest activity that triggered the shutdown, inspectors also cited the Gun Club Road restaurant for four high-severity violations: an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, inadequate shell stock identification records, food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized, and toxic chemicals that were improperly stored or labeled.
Two intermediate violations accompanied those findings: single-use items being improperly reused and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
At Inti Sandwich on North Military Trail, inspectors cited three high-severity violations. Those included no person in charge present or performing duties, improper hand and arm washing technique, and inadequate shell stock identification records.
Kung Fu Tea on Okeechobee Boulevard drew three high-severity violations of its own: an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, inadequate handwashing by food employees, and inadequate shell stock identification records.
The shellfish traceability violation appeared at three of the five facilities cited this week, making it the single most common high-severity finding across the inspection period.
At Cru Lounge on Northwood Road, inspectors cited food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated, along with food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. An intermediate violation for inadequate ventilation and lighting accompanied those findings.
D - Caribbean Spotlight on South Military Trail was cited for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized and for failing to post a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
What These Violations Mean
The employee illness reporting failures at Los Catrachos and Kung Fu Tea sit among the most acutely dangerous violations an inspector can document. A food worker who does not disclose that they are experiencing symptoms of illness, whether nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or jaundice, can transmit norovirus, hepatitis A, and other pathogens directly to food before any contamination is visible or detectable. Norovirus in particular spreads readily at very low infectious doses, meaning a single sick employee handling food can generate dozens of ill customers.
The handwashing violations at Inti Sandwich and Kung Fu Tea compound that risk. Improper technique, meaning washing for too little time, skipping hand drying, or failing to use soap, leaves pathogens on hands even when an employee makes a visible attempt to wash. The combination of an employee not reporting illness and another employee not washing hands correctly, across two separate facilities in the same inspection week, illustrates how quickly a contamination pathway can form.
Three facilities, Los Catrachos, Inti Sandwich, and Kung Fu Tea, were cited for inadequate shell stock identification records. Shellfish, including oysters, clams, and mussels, are frequently consumed raw or lightly cooked. When the harvest tags and traceability records required by state code are missing, health investigators lose the ability to trace an outbreak back to a specific harvest location, harvest date, or dealer. That traceability gap can extend the duration of an outbreak and prevent regulators from pulling contaminated product from other restaurants that received shellfish from the same source.
The food contact surface violations at Los Catrachos, Cru Lounge, and D - Caribbean Spotlight represent a separate contamination pathway. Cutting boards, prep surfaces, and utensils that are not properly cleaned and sanitized between uses transfer bacteria from one food to another. That is how raw chicken contaminates produce, and how a surface that tested clean at the start of a shift becomes a vector by midday.
The Longer Record
Los Catrachos carries the heaviest inspection history of the five facilities cited this week. State records show 37 prior inspections on file for the Gun Club Road location. A facility that has been through 37 inspections and still draws an emergency closure for pest activity, along with four high-severity violations on the same day, is not encountering the inspection process for the first time.
Inti Sandwich has 32 prior inspections on record. The combination of no person in charge and improper handwashing technique at a facility with that many inspections behind it raises a different kind of question than the same violations at a new operation. Both are serious. At a location with 32 prior visits, the argument that management was unaware of the standard is harder to sustain.
D - Caribbean Spotlight has 24 prior inspections on record and was cited this week for the absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. That is not a technically complex requirement. The absence of that advisory at a facility with two dozen inspections in its history is notable.
Cru Lounge on Northwood Road has 14 prior inspections on record. The food quality violation, food found in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated, alongside unsanitized food contact surfaces, represents a pairing that state inspectors treat as interconnected: compromised food stored on compromised surfaces accelerates the risk to anyone who eats there.
Kung Fu Tea on Okeechobee Boulevard is the newest operation in this week's group, with only 4 prior inspections on record. That makes the three high-severity violations there, including an employee illness reporting failure and a handwashing deficiency, an early and significant accumulation for a facility still establishing its inspection history.
The Closure
The emergency closure at Los Catrachos on April 27 was the only forced shutdown in West Palm Beach during the inspection week. Roach and rodent activity together at a food service facility are treated as an immediate public health threat under state code because both pests carry pathogens that contaminate food and surfaces on contact.
The toxic chemical storage violation documented at Los Catrachos during the same inspection adds a separate layer of concern. Chemicals stored improperly near food, or left unlabeled in a food service environment, can cause acute poisoning through accidental contamination or misidentification.
As of the inspection data for the week ending May 3, 2026, the record does not reflect a follow-up inspection result for Los Catrachos confirming the facility met state standards and was cleared to reopen.