4 Marion County restaurants cited for high-priority violations

Staff reports
·4 min read

You can use the database to search by county or by restaurant name.

Florida's restaurant owners are not required to post restaurant inspection results where guests can see them. So every week, we provide that information for you.

For a complete list of local restaurant inspections, including violations not requiring warnings or administrative action, visit our Marion County restaurant inspections site.

Here's the breakdown for recent health inspections in Marion County for the week of Dec. 25-31, 2023. Please note that some more recent, follow-up inspections may not be included here.

Disclaimer: The Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation describes an inspection report as a 'snapshot' of conditions present at the time of the inspection. On any given day, an establishment may have fewer or more violations than noted in their most recent inspection. An inspection conducted on any given day may not be representative of the overall, long-term conditions at the establishment.

For full restaurant inspection details, visit our Marion County restaurant inspection site.

Which Marion County restaurants got perfect scores on their health inspections?

These restaurants met all standards during their Dec. 25-31 inspections and no violations were found.

** Restaurants that failed an inspection and aced a follow-up inspection in the same week

Which Marion County restaurants had high priority violations?

Holiday Inn & Suites Conference Center

3600 SW 38th Ave., Ocala

Routine Inspection on Dec. 27

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

7 total violations, with 3 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - Dishmachine chlorine sanitizer not at proper minimum strength. Discontinue use of dishmachine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dishmachine is repaired and sanitizing properly. 0 ppm chlorine, high temp machine being utilized as a chemical machine according to sticker attached to machine. Chemical bucket was empty, employee replenished then 0 ppm. **Corrective Action Taken** **Warning**

  • High Priority - Food with mold-like growth. See stop sale. Bag of cheddar cheese in walk in cooler with green and white substance on shredded pieces of cheese. Cook discarded cheese. **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food required to be date marked is not date marked and time of opening/preparation cannot be determined. See stop sale. Milk at bar with no date mark, employee unaware of when milk was opened. Ring of build up on interior of jug consistent with milk being in container extended time. Also, milk expiration date was 12/13/2023.

Pops Southern Buffet

25011 NE County Road 314, Salt Springs

Routine Inspection on Dec. 27

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

3 total violations, with 1 high-priority violation

  • High Priority - - From initial inspection : High Priority - Self-service salad bar/buffet lacking adequate sneezeguards or other proper protection from contamination. Missing hinged lids or sneeze guard at hot buffet station. **Warning** - From follow-up inspection 2023-10-24: At time of follow up inspection operator has ordered hinged lids to install for the buffet station. **Time Extended** **Corrective Action Taken** - From follow-up inspection 2023-12-27: At time of follow up inspection operator has sneeze guard on cold buffet line, needs to be installed on the hot buffet line which currently utilizes covers without a hinge. **Time Extended**

The Club at Ocala Preserve

4021 NW 53rd Avenue Road, Ocala

Routine Inspection on Dec. 27

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

9 total violations, with 1 high-priority violation

  • High Priority - Employee touched soiled apron/clothes and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Observed employee on the cook line adjust their hat and then put on gloves without washing their hands and proceeded to prepare food orders. Discussed with chef. **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**

What agency inspects restaurants in Florida?

Routine regulation and inspection of restaurants is conducted by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The Department of Health is responsible for investigation and control of food-borne illness outbreaks associated with all food establishments.

How do I report a dirty restaurant in Florida?

If you see abuses of state standards, report them and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation will send inspectors. Call the Florida DBPR at 850-487-1395 or report a restaurant for health violations online.

Get the whole story at our restaurant inspection database.

What does all that terminology in Florida 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.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Ocala area restaurant/food truck inspections: Dec. 25-31, 2023