Florida Applebee's Shut Down After State Inspection - 24 Violations - 2nd Closure

Photo byMike Mozart from Funny YouTube, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

If you were in Florida decades ago, you might remember casual but festive restaurant chains like Benningan's, Steak N Ale, and Chi Chis. Some of those are no longer around in the Sunshine State, but chains like Applebee's are. Unfortunately, one store of the latter - in Temple Terrace - was recently temporarily shut down after a state inspection.

About Applebee's In Florida: This eatery has been around in the South since 1980 when it was founded in Georgia. However, it would take less than a decade for it to expand to 100 restaurants. And by 1998, it would have 1,000. Today, there are around 1650 worldwide and it serves bar and comfort food favorites like burgers, fajitas, barbecue, and pasta.

There are currently 87 Applebee's locations in Florida.

The restaurant in question, at 5779 E Fowler Avenue, has been reviewed over 3,900 times and earns 3.7 out of 5 stars on Google reviews. While many complimented the service, one person wrote a review and mentioned food safety. A reviewer with the handle An wrote:

"I went to Applebee's yesterday with my husband and ordered 4 dishes, 2 of which were appetizers and 2 mains. We ate the appetizers and took the mains home, and today I cut the Sweet and Spicy Crispy Chicken Sandwich that I ordered and found that it was raw. This glaring oversight in food safety standards is unacceptable."

What Happened At Inspection?: According to data from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, an inspection occurred on September 19, 2024. At that time, 24 violations were noted.

Examples of basic violations were old food debris buildup in the ware washing machine, a cutting board that was no longer cleanable, dozens of dead roaches including "52 dead roaches under expo line," equipment and utensils "wet nesting" and not being dried properly, a black, mold-like substance in the ice machine, floor areas covered with standing water, and old labels stuck to food containers after cleaning.

Intermediate violations came for no soap or paper towels at the handwashing sink.

High-priority violations came from the dish machine sanitizer not being at proper strength, live flying insects, a live spider, and the observation of live roaches.

As a result of some of the above violations, the restaurant was temporarily shut down.

At a follow-up inspection on September 23, 2024, there were 5 violations, but none were considered an immediate threat to the public so the restaurant "met inspection standards" and was free to reopen.

This is not the only closure for this location. It had a previous closure in March of 2013.

Please note that an inspection is one moment in time and not necessarily how a restaurant conducts itself every day.