Fefa's Cafe, Mofongo Steakhouse Cited By Inspectors This Month

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL – During inspections by Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation this month, 123 out of 329 restaurants failed their first inspection. However, some violations were worse than others.

Fefa's Cafe at 6821 W. Hillsborough Ave., Tampa, was ordered to temporarily close March 12 after inspectors discovered rodent droppings on the floor under the dry storage shelves, on the dry storage shelves, behind the reach-in cooler, next to the mop sink behind the oven and on the stove top.

Fefa's was also reprimanded after an inspector spotted an employee not using soap to wash his hands and then taking a customer's order and for not sanitizing contact surfaces and utensils properly.

In all Fefa received 14 violations but corrected most of the problems, allowing the restaurant to reopen the next day.

Famous Kabab at 2047 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, was also temporarily closed after being cited for 13 violations including operating with an expired Division of Hotels and Restaurants license and having sewage backing up through the floor drains.

Mofongo Steakhouse, 8199 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa, was cited for 34 violations March 10 including storing raw lobster tails over sliced ham and storing raw chicken over cooked pork in the walk-in cooler. Other violations included an employee handling dirty wiping cloths and then preparing food without changing single-use gloves.

Pipo's Restaurant at 7233 W. Hillsborough Ave., Tampa, received notice of 23 violations March 8 including the presence of flies in the kitchen, storage area, prep area and bar area; storing raw chicken over pork in the walk-in cooler; and food stores at the wrong temperatures.

Gios Italian Restaurant, 3621 W. Waters Ave., Tampa, was issued a warning for 15 violations including having an improperly stored container of medicine over the prep table on the cook's line; an employee touching ready-to-eat food with his bare hands; and storing raw meat with cooked meatballs in a walk-in cooler.

All violations have been corrected.

The DBPR also reported 39 restaurants that passed their first inspection with no violations including Cafe Ray at 701 Channelside Drive, Tampa; Jackson's Banquet Room, 601 S. Harbour Island Blvd., Tampa; Central Eats, 333 S. Franklin St., Tampa; and I Wanna Wok, 3904 S. Dale Mabry Highway.