It is embarrassing: Fave restaurant closed in Florida

Anna Maria Island, how I’ve missed you.

And you’re breaking my heart.

amy.doug.dec.12The Bradenton Herald reports the Sandbar restaurant reopened Wednesday afternoon after inspectors from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, who found live roaches on the premises during a routine restaurant inspection this week, cleared it for reopening.

“The restaurant is thoroughly investigating the incident and has corrected the issues,” according to a press release sent out by the Sandbar.

In a report Tuesday, an inspector wrote:

“Observed approximately one live roach next to hand wash sink and two near two door stand up reach in cooler, 15 live roaches under steam table in wait station area and 20 live roaches on box under steam table on cook line in the kitchen adjacent to the indoor dining area.”

The inspection also found seven other violations, including unsafe food holding temperatures and an ice scoop with no handle.

Joe Rogers, general manager of the Sandbar, said roaches love to make a home in cardboard boxes, and a few boxes were left in the secondary kitchen in the same spot for five to six days. The boxes contained to-go coffee cup lids and no food was in the boxes, he said. But even boxes of non-food items are not allowed to be stored on the floor, as noted in the April 14 inspection report. By the time the staff decided to move the boxes, several roaches had found their way into them.

“For 39 years we’ve been doing business, we’ve never had an issue like this,” Rogers said. “We’re doing everything we can. We take pride in keeping our place clean and this is embarrassing.”

Rogers said the restaurant, located at 100 Spring Ave., has the same pest control company service return at least once per month.

A third inspection around 1 p.m. Wednesday cleared the restaurant, and the Sandbar reopened in the afternoon.