RUSKIN, Florida-- Ask anyone, and they’ll tell you about the beautiful sunsets at the Sunset Grill along Tampa Bay in Hillsborough County.
“The view is perfect. You couldn’t be in a better place,” said Sophie Beesley who was planning on eating at the restaurant for lunch until she heard about the restaurant’s emergency closure from last week."
A state health inspector ordered the restaurant to temporally close on August 24 after documenting 15 violations. Among the issues were small flies swarming around a drain clogged with food debris near the fryer and live roaches, including on top of a prep table, near a reach-in cooler, and around the stove area. The inspector also documented rodent droppings found in the seasoning, sauce and condiment areas with too many to count near the dishwashing machine. It’s the same area where the inspector also wrote up approximately 100 white/translucent worms squirming around in murky water.
"That doesn’t sound very nice at all does it?" Beesley said. "Absolutely that would stop you from going there."
10News stopped in Thursday to check on conditions now that the restaurant had been cleared to reopen.
“I’m sorry… can you turn [the camera] off,” the restaurant’s operations manager asked. She later discussed the violations off camera saying the restaurant was totally caught off guard by the poor inspection and that the restaurant has always had clean inspections.
But when asked if she’d be willing to allow our camera into the kitchen, the manager responded by saying no. Customers like Sophie say they would have preferred the restaurant allow our camera into the kitchen.
“That’s a shame because it’s their reputation. They should let you do that,” said Beesley who indicated she’ll now wait to see how the restaurant does on future inspections.
“I’m not going to have my lunch here today,” she said. “No, I won’t eat here today.”
The restaurant gave us a statement on Thursday afternoon. It reads, "Thank you for stopping by the restaurant this morning. It was a pleasure speaking with you about the health inspection that occurred last week. This is the first time our restaurant has ever been shut down, and was a shock to everyone. The claim that was sent to the DBPR was from a recently terminated employee. Yes, we had some repair and maintenance issues that needed to be taken care of, which were completed within 24 hours of the inspection. When the health inspector returned she stated, “I normally don’t say this, but I’m impressed” (with the quick turnaround). We are taking this as a learning experience and actively making our kitchen the cleanest and safest kitchen in Tampa Bay!"
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the 10News app now.
Have a news tip? Email desk@wtsp.com, or visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
