Inspectors find violations at chain restaurants, popular malls

Roaches are common problem found by inspectors

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – There's new management, new food style and even a new chef, but some big problems were discovered inside China Apple buffet last week.

 One of them might be a lack of management.

 "He is not here today," an employee said when asked for a manager.

 She searched for someone to answer questions.

China Apple is located across from the Miami-Dade County Fair Ground and Exposition on Southwest 107th Avenue.

Among the 23 violations found at the location were live roaches next to the sushi station and on a prep table at the cook line.

Live roaches were also found inside a homemade cardboard knife holder and required employee training had expired. They were using a construction drill as a mixer.

At China Apple, roaches were found by the sushi station, by a food prep table, in a storeroom and near a cook line.

A Pei Wei Asian Diner in Fort Lauderdale was also inspected based on a complaint.

Ten violations were found, including roaches in a stack of paper towels, under a sink and under the dish machine.

Dead roaches were also found in several spots at the restaurant.

"This location has typically received excellent health scores," Pei Wei said in a statement emailed to Local 10 News. "When we learned of the issue, we took extreme steps to correct the problem, including a 12-hour deep clean of the restaurant and additional maintenance to ensure the issue is resolved."

Inside the Dadeland Mall, a Cajun Grill was ordered shut. Its 16 violations included roaches in the kitchen.

Also in the Dadeland Mall, a state inspector found 11 violations at the Haagen Dazs, including roaches crawling around the front counter area.

A Macy's Taste Bar at The Falls was also ordered shut last week when state inspector noted six violations, including roaches under a food prep table, under the front counter and on a wall.

There was roach excrement behind a food prep table and on the walls near the soda syrup dispensing area.

All the places mentioned were allowed to re-open following an ordered cleanup and re-inspection.