5 Leon County restaurants fail inspection; 2 closed

Staff reports
·5 min read

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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 Leon County restaurant inspections site.

Here's the breakdown for recent health inspections in Leon County, Florida, for the week of Oct. 9-15, 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 Leon County restaurant inspection site.

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

These restaurants met all standards during their Oct. 9-15 inspections and no violations were found.

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

Which Leon County restaurants were temporarily closed by inspectors?

These restaurants failed their Oct. 9-15 inspections and were temporarily closed. Follow-upinspections are required.

La Tiendita Restaurant LLC

1840 N. Monroe St., Tallahassee

Complaint Inspection on Oct. 10

Facility Temporarily Closed: Operations ordered stopped until violations are corrected.

4 total violations, with 2 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Observed approximately 8 live roaches in the following locations: 1 live on wall in kitchen above low 1 door cooler, 1 live next to make table in kitchen, 6 live behind reach in cooler near dish area. **Warning**

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed diced tomatoes 46F and shredded lettuce 50F at make table in kitchen. New temperatures: diced tomatoes 38F and shredded lettuce 38F. **Corrected On-Site**

La Tiendita Restaurant LLC

1840 N Monroe St., Tallahassee

Complaint Inspection on Oct. 11

Facility Temporarily Closed: Operations ordered stopped until violations are corrected.

2 total violations, with 1 high-priority violation

  • High Priority - - From initial inspection : High Priority - Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Observed approximately 8 live roaches in the following locations: 1 live on wall in kitchen above low 1 door cooler, 1 live next to make table in kitchen, 6 live behind reach in cooler near dish area. **Warning** - From follow-up inspection 2023-10-11: Observed five live roaches in the following locations: 2 live roaches on door in kitchen, 3 live on kitchen floor. **Time Extended**

Siam Sushi

1700 N. Monroe St., Ste 9, Tallahassee

Complaint Inspection on Oct. 11

Facility Temporarily Closed: Operations ordered stopped until violations are corrected.

14 total violations, with 3 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - Raw animal foods not properly separated from each other in holding unit based upon minimum required cooking temperature. Observed raw chicken over raw porkchops in walk in cooler.

  • High Priority - Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Observed one live roach under three compartment sink next to dry storage. **Warning**

  • High Priority - Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. Observed approximately 91 rodent droppings in the following locations: 4 droppings under sushi line, 3 droppings under three compartment sink, 50 droppings next to storage shelves and three compartment sink, 1 dropping under hand wash sink next to soda machine in kitchen, 10 droppings in dry storage next to server station, 2 in between make tables in cook line, 8 droppings in storage closet, 3 droppings on wine shelves, and 10 droppings in corner of bar. **Warning**

Which Leon County restaurants had high priority violations?

Backwoods Crossing

6725 Mahan Drive, Tallahassee

Complaint Inspection on Oct. 10

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

10 total violations, with 4 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - Dishmachine chlorine sanitizer not at proper minimum strength. Observed dishmachine at 0ppm. Discontinue use of dishmachine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dishmachine is repaired and sanitizing properly. Dish machine primed, tested too low at 10ppm. **Warning**

  • High Priority - Fish not held frozen before, during and after being packaged onsite using a reduced oxygen packaging method. Observed thawed trout in ROP packaged in walk-in cooler. See stop sale.

  • High Priority - Stop Sale issued due to food not being in a wholesome, sound condition. Fish not held frozen before, during and after being packaged onsite using a reduced oxygen packaging method. Observed thawed trout in ROP packaged in walk-in cooler. See stop sale.

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Observed raw beef held at 44F in reach in cooler under stove at cook line per employee approximately 2.5 hours ago. New temperature at 43F within four hours. **Corrected On-Site**

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 Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee area restaurant and food truck inspections Oct. 9-15: Restaurant inspection: 5 Leon fail