Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Sun Sentinel.

Cockroaches rooted around bags of flour and sugar, and rodents left droppings under canned goods at four South Florida restaurants ordered shut by state inspectors last week.

Those temporarily closed restaurants included John G’s Restaurant in Manalapan, Lantana Pizza in Lantana, Las Fajitas in Boca Raton and Los Gallitos Tortilleria and Panaderia in Lake Worth.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel highlights restaurant inspections in Broward and Palm Beach counties from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. We cull through hundreds of restaurant and bar inspections that happen weekly and spotlight places ordered shut for “high-priority violations,” like improper food temperatures or dead cockroaches.

Sun Sentinel readers can browse full Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade county reports on our state inspection map, updated weekly (usually Monday) with fresh data pulled from the Florida DBPR website.

Any restaurant that fails inspections must stay closed until it passes a follow-up state inspection. If you spotted a possible violation and wish to file a complaint, contact Florida DBPR here. (But don’t contact us: The Sun Sentinel doesn’t inspect restaurants.)

Ordered shut: Dec. 16, reopened Dec. 17

Why: 12 violations (three high priority), such as 34 rodent droppings found “under grill in kitchen,” behind the spare grill, on the ledge behind the kitchen sink, underneath shelving in the kitchen hallway and “under canned goods storage rack in hallway.” One state inspector witnessed an “employee eating in dishwashing area” and told them to eat in the dining room instead – and they complied. An inspector also discovered a “hole in [the] wall at bread dry storage” in the kitchen. The restaurant was allowed to reopen Dec. 17 with zero follow-up violations.

Ordered shut: Dec. 17, reopened Dec. 18

Why: Four violations (two high priority), including an infestation of 39 live cockroaches “on the floor behind the oven,” underneath the kitchen sink, behind the oven’s electrical conduit, under a storage area across from a reach-in freezer and on a wall behind cooking equipment. An inspector also discovered walls soiled with grease, food debris or dust behind the kitchen’ bread prep area. Despite another major issue discovered at the restaurant during the state’s second inspection, the pizzeria was cleared to reopen Dec. 18.

Ordered shut: Dec. 13, reopened Dec. 14

Why: Inspections found five violations (two high priority), led by 25 live cockroaches inside a “cardboard box next to soda dispenser boxes,” at the drain under the storage rack and “in dish area of kitchen.” The state also ordered the restaurant to stop selling and toss its avocados after witnessing an “employee cut avocados from box without washing” them beforehand. The restaurant reopened Dec. 14 despite a pair of basic issues found during their second visit.

Ordered shut: Dec. 13, reopened Dec. 14

Why: 13 violations (four high priority), including 15 live cockroaches “around the bags of flour and sugar,” both sealed in the kitchen prep area and near the kitchen sink. Inspectors also discovered one dead roach beneath the kitchen sink, and ordered the restaurant to stop selling and toss its chicken mole, mozzarella cheese, cream sauce, raw breaded beef, a five-pound ham and two gallons of tomatillo sauce made with garlic and oil “due to temperature abuse.” Despite four more issues found on the second visit, the restaurant was allowed to reopen Dec. 14.