ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Just in time for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, one of the Bay area’s top hockey bars, Engine Number 9 Prime Burgers, is back open after a state-ordered emergency closure due to serious health code violations in the kitchen.
The restaurant is located on the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and 1st Ave. North in St. Petersburg and was shut down by the state March 29 with 31 violations ,including grease accumulating under cooking equipment and buckets of pickles, cases of bacon and onions all stored on the floor.
The inspector also reported discovering evidence of live rodent activity with rub marks along the walls and lots of rodent droppings throughout the kitchen.
“Oh yeah, that’s gross,” said Kristi Valcourt who was walking past the restaurant around lunchtime Tuesday. “It makes me be more aware of where I want to eat.”
A health inspector eventually cleared Engine No 9 to reopen later the same day.
10News stopped in Tuesday to check on conditions a week following the closure.
“There’s nothing more important to a restaurant than being sanitary-- that’s number 1,” said Engine No 9 owner Jason Esposito, who is also considered hockey royalty because of his rich family connection with the NHL.
“My uncle founded the Lightning and dad played for Chicago,” said Esposito.
After last week’s closure, he and the team immediately got to work cleaning up the violations corrected.
“There’s nothing to hide here … I’m very proud,” said Esposito of his cleaned-up kitchen. He agreed to allow our camera into the kitchen and gave us a tour.
“There was some older droppings back there,” he said pointing to the ground behind a refrigeration unit near the kitchen’s back door.
The good news today, after searching high and low we found no more droppings. There was, however, plenty of soap and paper towels for employees to wash their hands and food stored property up six inches off the floor.
About the only issue we could find was a group of chemical cleaners stored above a refrigeration unit where food was being stored.
Esposito says despite last week’s closure he’s appreciative of the job health inspectors do.
“It keeps us educated and keeps the customers safe.”
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