MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — Nearly a year after an employee at China Buffet attacked a Local 10 News crew during a Dirty Dining investigation, the northwest Miami-Dade restaurant appears to have ceased operations.
A Local 10 viewer recently provided photographs showing workers removing equipment from the restaurant at 18690 NW 67th Ave. in the Country Club Plaza near the Miami Lakes and Hialeah border.
The restaurant’s name has been removed from the building, and graphics that once covered portions of the front windows have also been taken down.
Local 10 visited the location and observed no signs that the buffet was operating. A sign posted on the front door states, “We are closed.”
The apparent closure follows years of health code violations, state ordered shutdowns, fines and repeated enforcement actions documented in state inspection records.
Many Local 10 viewers may remember China Buffet from a July 2025 Dirty Dining investigation.
Reporter Jeff Weinsier and photographer Frank Debesa visited the restaurant after state inspectors ordered the buffet temporarily closed following an inspection that documented 21 violations.
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Inspection records show the violations included live roaches, food held at unsafe temperatures and a dishwasher that was not dispensing sanitizer.
While attempting to ask employees about the closure, an employee exited the restaurant and physically confronted Weinsier.
Video recorded by Debesa showed the employee shoving the camera and grabbing Weinsier’s microphone. The microphone was damaged during the encounter.
State records show China Buffet accumulated hundreds of violations over nearly a decade of inspections.
According to state records, the restaurant’s emergency closures involved recurring issues with roaches. Inspection reports also documented flying insect activity, food held at unsafe temperatures and sanitation deficiencies.
The restaurant operated under a permanent food service license issued to Goodbuffet LLC and had seating for 192 customers.
State records show China Buffet was ordered closed in April and August 2017, August and September 2018, January 2021 and July 2025.
State records also show regulators assessed at least $4,840 in fines against the restaurant between 2017 and 2026.
The July 2025 closure was not the final enforcement action.
State records show inspectors returned to the restaurant in April 2026 and documented 22 violations, issuing a warning and requiring a follow up inspection.
A subsequent inspection in May 2026 documented 10 additional violations and resulted in an administrative complaint recommendation.
The restaurant’s state food service license remains listed as active in state records.
However, equipment appears to have been removed from the location, the restaurant’s name has been taken down from the building and no signs of business activity were observed during a recent visit.
Local 10 has reached out for information regarding the restaurant’s status.
For years, China Buffet was a familiar name to Dirty Dining viewers because of its repeated health code violations and enforcement actions.
Now, nearly a year after a confrontation that drew widespread attention, the restaurant that repeatedly found itself under state scrutiny appears to have gone dark.
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