2 Polk restaurants fall short of standards. Five are perfect

Andy Kuppers, Lakeland Ledger
·4 min read

It was a good week for Polk County food vendors from Feb. 19 to 25, with only two vendors falling short of standards, according to state inspection reports.

In 73 total inspections throughout Polk during the week, 71 met standards. Of the two that didn’t, the violations were mostly clerical in nature – expired licenses or failing to provide proof of employee food-safety training. No restaurants had violations related to rodents or insects.

Five had perfect initial inspections, with zero violations. (An initial inspection is a regular inspection that isn’t mandated by violations from a previous visit.)

The Ledger focuses each week on the restaurants that didn’t meet standards and details the violations so readers can decide the seriousness for themselves. While the two restaurants in that category this week didn’t have violations directly related to restaurant cleanliness or food safety, it’s common for restaurants to have violations that make you go "yuck" and still meet standards. Readers who are curious can go to The Ledger’s searchable database online at https://data.theledger.com/restaurant-inspections/polk.

But remember, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation says an inspection is “a ‘snapshot’ of conditions present at the time of the inspection. … An inspection conducted on any given day may not be representative of the overall, long-term conditions at the establishment.”

Feb. 12-18: 15 Polk County food vendors fall short of standards, 2 for pests. Eight were perfect

Restaurants that fell just short

This week, it's hard to say the restaurants fell short of standards. But technically, they did. Licensing and training are big parts of the standards. They had just four violations between them. And the only violation that wasn't related to licensing or training was for something outside the building.

  • Lake Myrtle Concessions Baseball, 2731 Lake Myrtle Park Road, Auburndale: On Feb. 19, the concession stand had just one high-priority violation: Operating on an expired Division of Hotels and Restaurants license. The licensee is the city of Auburndale. The license had expired on Feb. 1, 2023.

  • Crave Hot Dogs and BBQ, 2250 Griffin Road, Lakeland: On Feb. 21, the restaurant had three violations. It’s lone high-priority violation was for operating on an expired license. Its license had expired 20 days earlier, on Feb. 1. It had one intermediate violation for having no proof of required state-approved food safety training for employees. It’s single basic violation was for an open dumpster lid out back.

Feb. 5-11: One Polk County food vendor shut down by inspector. Among violations: No potable water

Perfection

It’s tough to get a perfect inspection. Here’s a look at the five vendors in Polk County who did just that.

  • Tortilleria La Joya, 2079 W. Highland St., Lakeland

  • Chocolate Covered, caterer, 502 E. Main St., Lakeland (Catapult)

  • 8 Hundred Artisan Pizza, caterer, 1100 U.S. 17-92 N., Haines City

  • Sabor Isleno By Chef Alex, mobile food vendor, 1100 U.S. 17-92 N., Haines City

  • Tantrums Lakeside Grill, mobile food vendor, 2832 Lake Myrtle Park Road, Auburndale

Jan. 29 to Feb. 4: 7 Polk County restaurants fall short of inspection standards. 16 pass with zero violations

Keep in mind as you read

Remember that in some cases, violations are noted are technical issues not directly linked to hygiene or cleanliness. Remember, too, that broken refrigerators, chipped tiles or fast work may add up to unintended mistakes.

Regardless, if you notice abuses of state standards, report them and DBPR will send inspectors. Call 1-850-487-1395.

See for yourself: Search inspections for any food vendor in Polk County and beyond

The terminology

What does all that terminology in state restaurant inspections mean?

Basic violations are those considered against best practices.

A warning is issued after an inspector documents violations that must be corrected by a certain date or within a specified number of days from receipt of the inspection report.

An administrative complaint is a form of legal action taken by the division. Insufficient compliance after a warning, a pattern of repeat violations or existence of serious conditions that warrant immediate action may result in the division initiating an administrative complaint against the establishment. Says the division website: “Correcting the violations is important, but penalties may still result from violations corrected after the warning time was over.”

An emergency order — when a restaurant is closed by the inspector — is based on an immediate threat to the public. Here, the Division of Hotels and Restaurants director has determined that the establishment must stop doing business and any division license is suspended to protect health, safety or welfare of the public.

A 24-hour call-back inspection will be performed after an emergency closure or suspension of license  and the establishment may reopen only after inspection shows that all high-priority violations that caused the suspension are corrected.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: 2 Polk restaurants fall short of standards. Five are perfect