The Universal Orlando Resort has fallen under fire this week as one of its most popular restaurants failed a health inspection earlier this month. The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium at Universal CityWalk often has a rather lengthy wait due to its popularity and incredibly sweet treats, but this could hurt things quite a bit. Not only were there a number of violations, but roaches were actually found in the chocolate prep room.
Orlando Sentinel reports that the failed health inspection at the CityWalk location took place back on Aug. 14, 2018. The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen was temporarily closed after the inspector from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation found the live roaches roaming around.
Now, the roaches may seem bad enough, but there were actually 16 different violations found during the health inspection. Along with the roaches, small flies were located in the storage, bar, and dessert area of Toothsome.
The inspector found a “black mold-like substance” inside of the ice bins and a number of unwashed fruits and vegetables stored above food which was ready to eat. Food was also found to be stored at improper temperatures which could cause for spoilage.
One of the washing areas at Toothsome also had no hand-drying device or paper towels for anyone to use after cleaning up.
Toothsome Chocolate Emporium at @UniversalORL CityWalk one of 3 restaurants shut down by health inspectors @orlandosentinel https://t.co/l7UBNWx5ni pic.twitter.com/RP3B1NmwPo
— Kyle Arnold (@kylelarnold) August 22, 2018
A number of the health code violations ended up being corrected during the time the inspection was still going on. Tom Schroder is a spokesman for Universal Orlando and he addressed the situation and failed health inspection at Toothsome.
“We care deeply about the health and safety of our guests and we have aggressive programs in place at all our food establishments. The issues cited in the report were quickly resolved with no disruption to service.”
The Orlando Sentinel went on to report that a professional pest control company had to be “dispatched to the establishment” and came from “park services on site.” They did arrive during the inspection and worked for a while before Toothsome was reopened later in the day on Aug. 14, 2018.
Two other restaurants in Central Florida were temporarily closed for failed health inspections last week. One was a Hot Dog Station 4 at the Orlando International Premium Outlets mall and a CiCi’s Pizza at 7437 International Drive.
The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen has since been classified as a “Risk Level 2” dining location after the failed health inspection. That simply means it will be visited more often and have more inspections than locations with clean health records. Universal Orlando stands by its claims that health and safety are important at all its park and CityWalk dining locations, especially after this most recent incident.