A food court staple at Westland Mall in Hialeah was temporarily shut down this week after state inspectors discovered more than 50 rodent droppings scattered across its kitchen, along with mold-like buildup inside the ice machine and a hole in the wall near the dish sink. Kelly's Cajun Grill failed its inspection on Sept. 21, its second failed inspection since July, before reopening the next day following a passed reinspection.
The Sept. 21 inspection tallied 18 total violations, including three considered high-priority, according to the Miami Herald. Inspectors documented droppings in nearly every corner of the kitchen: more than 20 found under and next to the ice machine, more than 17 scattered across the kitchen-area floor, six by the hand-wash sink, four atop the soda syrup case, and three sitting on top of seasoning containers in dry storage. The restaurant had already failed an inspection back on July 20, making this the second citation in roughly two months.
Beyond the droppings, inspectors reported a black or green mold-like substance built up inside the ice-machine bin, and found black substance, grease and food debris caked inside an oven or microwave. Raw frozen chicken was found sitting out on a kitchen prep table instead of thawing properly in a refrigerator or cooler, and food was discovered stored in soiled containers on shelves inside the walk-in cooler. Inspectors also flagged a hole in the wall next to the three-compartment sink, a structural issue that can give pests an entry point.
Restaurant Reopens Fast After Follow-Up Notice
The violations triggered a follow-up inspection requirement, but Kelly's Cajun Grill moved quickly to address the problems. The restaurant passed its reinspection and reopened on Sept. 22, just one day after the shutdown, per the same Herald report. The quick turnaround suggests the fixes needed weren't cheap to ignore, even if the mess that triggered them was extensive.
Kelly's wasn't an isolated case in South Florida that week. The Sun Sentinel's roundup of state inspections found four other South Florida eateries temporarily closed during the same stretch, one in Broward County and three in Palm Beach County. One of those restaurants racked up 26 violations, including seven high-priority citations, after inspectors found roughly 50 rodent droppings inside its kitchen oven, according to the Sun Sentinel. Inspectors there noted the oven's interior had an accumulation of black substance, grease and food debris at the cookline, and that location reopened Sept. 9 after a second visit turned up just four basic violations.
A Pattern of Pest and Sanitation Issues Statewide
Another restaurant in that same Sun Sentinel review had 15 violations, including four high-priority findings, and managed to reopen the same day after a reinspection uncovered eight basic violations. Taken together, the two reports paint a picture of state inspectors catching a string of similar sanitation and pest problems across South Florida kitchens within the span of about a week, from mall food courts to standalone eateries in neighboring counties.
For now, Kelly's Cajun Grill is back open for business inside Westland Mall's food court, having cleared its follow-up inspection. Whether the restaurant issued any public response to the findings has not been reported.
