Cockroaches cause Florida regulators to close Jose's Real Cuban Food

MANATEE -- In the eight years of operating his business, the owner of Jose's Real Cuban Food Jose Baserva says he has had mostly minor violations resulting from health and food safety inspections.

A recent closure caused by more serious violations isn't stopping him.

"You know why I don't go to AA?" owner Jose Baserva said. "Because it's for quitters, and I'm not quitting. I'm not going anywhere."

In the past month, Jose's Real Cuban Food, 8799 Cortez Road W., has been closed temporarily three times by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. Inspectors found at least one high-priority violation during each visit. The state defines high-priority violations as "those which could contribute directly to a foodborne illness or injury."

Baserva hopes to open the restaurant again Thursday after inspectors conduct another evaluation Wednesday, mostly for the benefit of his 11 employees.

"All but one have families to provide for," Baserva said.

High-priority violations from the April 2 inspection included four live roaches found in the dry storage area. Inspectors also observed one dead roach lying in raw animal juices in a white Tappan reach-in cooler.

Other intermediate violations included encrusted food found in the Whirlpool refrigerator on the cook's line.

Inspectors also observed live and dead roaches during Feb. 25, March 26 and March 27 visits. Some live roaches were found close to the cook's line and on top of the nearby microwave. As a result of the March visits, the Cuban eatery was temporarily closed.

During the first March visit, inspectors cited 12 violations, five of which were high-priority. On March 27, four high priority violations remained with eight violations total. By April 2, one out of three violations was high priority.

When inspectors returned for follow-up visits March 27 and again April 2, the roach problem was still unresolved.

"You're gonna have roaches," Baserva said. "I've never been in a restaurant where I haven't seen one. We don't have roaches having dinner with my customers or anything like that."

Baserva said he hires a professional exterminator for services once per month and sprays pest control himself twice per month.

The most recent closures were spurred by a complaint to state regulators. Complaints led to 11 out of the 13 inspections since April 2013, according to the state database.

Representatives from the state regulators did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

According to the Florida Department of Health, facilities with numerous risk factors, including in-house food preparation, are inspected more often than facilities that do not store food overnight or conduct any dishwashing.

Other risk factors include the type of food served, the population served and the quantity of food prepared. High-risk facilities are inspected four times per year.

Repeat customer Mike Burchette will drive up from his residence in Sarasota for Jose's and was "shocked" by the health department's closed sign.

"I've never seen any cockroach infestation and I thought the food was good," Burchette said. "I was surprised to see the sign."

Janelle O'Dea, business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095. Follow her on Twitter @jayodea.

This story was originally published April 8, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Cockroaches cause Florida regulators to close Jose's Real Cuban Food."