ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — The Greek Salad is one of the items on the menu helped put St. Petersburg's Athenian Garden on the map.
The family run restaurant which first opened in 1977 now has three locations. "We've had customers for 30 years. Customers who came with their parents, now they come with their kids," said longtime employee Nina Kinnear who works in the kitchen.
But one of those customers is telling 10 News about his recent visit to Athenian Garden's Tyrone Boulevard location, filing an official complaint with the state claiming he "heard rats rumbling around in the ceiling" right above his head.
He says he informed restaurant staff but management seemed to brush it off.
The complaint prompted a visit by the state May 28th. A health inspector documented 24 violations including a nest of more than 20 live roaches under the dish machine near clean storage containers. There were also small flying insects by the reach-in cooler along with rodent droppings over the dish machine area and by the soda station. The inspector even reported spotting a live rodent running into a fenced area behind the establishment.
"They don't close us because we are dirty. … They close us because in the roof have problems," said Kinnear looking up towards the ceiling. "The whole building!"
Kinnear says while she was aware of complaints of rodents in the ceiling she never witnessed any problems in the kitchen. She says the restaurant's closure due to health code violations was a blow for the entire staff.
"It was embarrassing! The owner say nobody go home, everybody clean again. We stay here all day, all night," Kinnear recalls.
Management allowed our 10 News camera inside the kitchen where we did find several potential violations including a consumer grade insecticide which is not allowed in the restaurant. We also spotted containers of sugar and rice with the scoops left in with the food, also a minor violation.
But the restaurant seemed to be doing many other things correctly including storing food up six inches off the floor in the walk in cooler. Thermometers read 40 degrees, which was also within the safe range for refrigerating food.
"We are so clean," said Kinnear with a smile. "The food is so delicious … so fresh."
Athenian Garden passed follow-up visits with zero remaining high priority violations on re-inspections at the end of May and again in June.
You can see their entire inspection history by clicking here
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