POMPANO BEACH, Fla. — A Pompano Beach restaurant was ordered shut after a September 15 inspection found a dead rodent behind an oven and more than 250 rodent droppings throughout the kitchen and food-storage areas.
Inspectors at Au Bon Gout Take Out Restaurant, located at 5273 North Dixie Highway, documented 15 violations during the inspection, including four high-priority violations. The restaurant was ordered closed that day and was inspected again the following day. Pasted markdown
The most extensive findings involved rodent activity inside the restaurant. Inspectors documented approximately 100 droppings inside the oven at the cook line, along with another 75 scattered across the floors at the cook line and preparation area.
About 75 additional droppings were found inside clean pots, on paper bags and cardboard boxes at the front counter and on the floor around reach-in coolers in the storage area. Inspectors also found nine droppings inside the walk-in cooler and another on top of a microwave on a storage rack.
A dead rodent was found behind the oven at the cook line, according to the inspection report. Pasted markdown
The inspection also found several food-handling and sanitation problems unrelated to the rodent activity. An employee was observed cleaning inside the oven and then handling cleaned utensils used to stir food without first washing their hands. Another employee was observed washing their hands in a three-compartment sink instead of an approved handwashing sink.
The kitchen handwashing sink also did not have soap available. Inspectors additionally documented soiled ceiling tiles and vents, food debris and grease inside the oven and microwave, and a loose faucet at a handwashing sink. Pasted markdown
Another violation involved cooked rice. Inspectors recorded the rice at 62 degrees Fahrenheit while it was being held on the kitchen counter without temperature control. The operator told the inspector that the rice had been cooked less than one hour earlier.
The September 15 inspection ultimately recorded four high-priority violations, three intermediate violations and eight basic violations.
Restaurant was ordered shut
The findings resulted in an emergency closure on September 15. The inspection record lists the restaurant as having been ordered shut that day following the inspection.
The closure was temporary, however. A state inspector returned on September 16 for an emergency-order callback.
The follow-up inspection recorded zero high-priority violations and zero intermediate violations. Two basic violations remained: a loose faucet at the kitchen handwashing sink and soiled ceiling tiles and vents.
The emergency-order callback was recorded as complied with, and the restaurant was allowed to reopen.
Previous closures involved roaches
The latest closure was not the first time Au Bon Gout had been ordered shut.
The inspection history identifies a previous closure on April 1, 2024, for a roach issue, as well as another closure on March 21, 2018, also involving a roach issue. Pasted markdown
The September 15 inspection involved rodent activity rather than the roach findings cited in those earlier closures. This time, inspectors documented a dead rodent and hundreds of droppings across several kitchen and storage locations, along with food-handling, temperature-control and sanitation violations.
The restaurant subsequently passed the emergency-order callback the following day and was permitted to reopen.
Official inspection record:
Florida DBPR inspection record
