BOCA RATON, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2026) — Dirty Dining is back with a look at Palm Beach and Broward restaurants and food service spots that drew the most serious attention from state inspectors during the latest reporting week. State inspection records show three emergency closures locally, with the biggest themes involving water issues, sewage, and pest activity — problems that can trigger immediate action when conditions rise to a higher public-health risk level.
Emergency Closures: Palm Beach & Broward
Lakay Mama Restaurant LLC (Lauderhill, Broward)
State records show this location was ordered closed Jan. 6 with the closure listed as a sewage back up. The weekly closure record also shows a reopen time was later recorded, indicating the business was able to address the issue enough to resume operations.
Meraki Juice Kitchen (Riviera Beach, Palm Beach)
State records show an emergency closure tied to no potable water, with the closure recorded Jan. 7. A reopen time is also shown in the weekly record, indicating it later reopened after the issue was corrected.
Dunkin Donuts #53 (Fort Lauderdale, Broward)
State records show this location was ordered closed Jan. 7 for roach activity. The weekly record indicates the business later reopened.
It is worth underscoring what these closures represent. An emergency closure is not a disciplinary action. It is a temporary step used when inspectors find conditions that pose an elevated risk to the public or employees. The business stays closed until the problems are corrected.
Other Florida Emergency Closures
Across Florida, the weekly emergency-closure file for this cycle shows 23 emergency closures statewide, with 20 of them outside Palm Beach and Broward.
A few examples elsewhere in the state involved the same types of high-risk issues inspectors flag again and again — rodent activity, sewage leaks, and utility problems that can make safe food handling impossible. The point for readers here: the triggers are usually the basics. Safe water. Working plumbing. No active pests.
Inspections This Week: High-Priority Violations
State inspection data shows hundreds of inspections across Palm Beach and Broward during the week’s reporting cycle (Jan. 5 through Jan. 10 in the current dataset). Most inspections do not rise to the level of an emergency closure. But a subset did include high-priority violations that inspectors use to document the biggest food-safety risks — temperature control, sanitation breakdowns, pest indicators, and situations where handwashing and food protection practices are not being followed.
Below are selected inspections from the week that met one or more of the roundup thresholds (multiple high-priority violations, gross-factor indicators such as pests/sewage/water loss, or repeat appearances supported by the dataset).
Ichiban Sushi and Thai (Boca Raton)
License: 6013697 | Inspection date: Jan. 8
State inspection records show 5 high-priority, 1 intermediate, and 0 basic violations. High-priority issues cited included time/temperature-controlled foods not held at safe temperatures, along with food protection concerns tied to cross-contamination risk and handwash sink supply/access issues. The same license also shows up elsewhere in the year’s dataset with additional high-priority activity, indicating this wasn’t its first appearance.
Outback Steakhouse (Delray Beach)
License: 6010702 | Inspection date: Jan. 6
Records show 4 high-priority violations were cited. The inspection flagged temperature control for food as a key issue, with time/temperature-controlled foods listed as not being maintained safely. The license appears more than once in the year’s dataset with high-priority findings.
Sal’s Italian Ristorante (Delray Beach)
License: 6011297 | Inspection date: Jan. 6
Records show 4 high-priority violations, with issues including unsafe food temperatures, handwash sink supply/access problems, and chemical storage/handling concerns. The license appears in more than one inspection record this year showing high-priority findings.
BurgerFi (Boynton Beach)
License: 6022188 | Inspection date: Jan. 5
Records show 4 high-priority, 1 intermediate, and 4 basic violations. Among the key items: pest-related indicators/conditions, handwash sink issues, and food-contact surface sanitation problems, along with plumbing concerns. This license also appears elsewhere in the year’s dataset with other high-priority activity.
Deerfield Dandee (Deerfield Beach)
License: 1625970 | Inspection date: Jan. 9
Records show 3 high-priority violations and a long list of additional items (intermediate and basic). The high-priority side included unsafe food temperatures, handwashing-related violations, and food-contact surface cleaning/sanitizing issues, along with sink supply/access problems. The license has appeared more than once this year with high-priority findings.
Lakay Mama Restaurant LLC (Lauderhill)
License: 1621291 | Inspection date: Jan. 6
This is the same Lauderhill business listed in the emergency-closure report. Inspection records tied to the closure week show gross-factor indicators including sewage/wastewater disposal problems and pest-related indicators/conditions, along with sanitation-related violations. A follow-up inspection later appears in the dataset, reflecting the typical path after a closure: correct the core issue, document it, and reopen.
Meraki Juice Kitchen (Riviera Beach)
License: 6052060 | Inspection date: Jan. 7
This is the same Riviera Beach business listed in the emergency-closure report for no potable water. The inspection record from that day shows high-priority findings that included water supply/hot water-related utility issues, along with sanitation and hygiene-related violations. A follow-up inspection appears the next day in the dataset, consistent with a reopen after the utility problem was addressed.
Dunkin Donuts #53 (Fort Lauderdale)
License: 1624165 | Inspection date: Jan. 7
This is the same Fort Lauderdale location tied to the emergency closure for roach activity. The inspection record from that day includes pest-related indicators/conditions, along with other sanitation/safety items. A follow-up record appears the next day in the dataset.
Disciplinary Orders: Palm Beach & Broward
The most recent monthly Restaurant Disciplinary Activity Report available for this roundup is December 2025, published Jan. 4, 2026. Disciplinary cases often lag the original inspection dates by weeks or months, but they show how DBPR cases are ultimately resolved — typically with fines and final orders.
Among the Palm Beach and Broward entries in the December report, state records show fines and final orders issued for a range of establishments, including several in the Boca Raton area. Examples from the report include:
- Tom Sawyer Restaurant & Pastry Shop (Boca Raton) — $800 fine, final order signed Dec. 4, 2025, tied to a violation date listed in September 2025 (state records show the original inspection involved 1 violation).
- Narbona at Boca Raton (Boca Raton) — $600 fine, final order signed Dec. 3, 2025, violation date listed in July 2025 (1 violation recorded for the original inspection).
- Kingdom Sushi (Boca Raton) — $600 fine, final order signed Dec. 1, 2025, violation date listed in September 2025 (3 violations recorded for the original inspection).
- O’Connor Pub (Boca Raton) — $560 fine, final order signed Dec. 1, 2025, violation date listed in September 2025 (3 violations recorded for the original inspection).
Those disciplinary items reflect older inspections, not necessarily the same week as the closures and inspections highlighted above. But together, the weekly inspections and the monthly discipline report provide a fuller picture: what inspectors are finding now, and how earlier cases were ultimately closed out.
A note from the editor: As always, inspections are a snapshot in time, and conditions can change quickly — for better or worse — between one visit and the next.
0 Comments