Restaurant cited using garden hose for water in kitchen
You may remember when we first visited Nell's Country Kitchen back in April.
WINTER HAVEN, Florida — You may remember when we first visited Nell's Country Kitchen back in April. A week before our visit, the state shut the popular breakfast spot down with roach activity, moldy food and even rodent droppings, with evidence of gnaw marks on the bread.
"I'm working in the restaurant business all my life -- you come over here to get me in trouble," owner George Liristis screamed at us in April.
After the state cleared Nell's to reopen a day later, the owner's daughter told us the health inspection report was no big deal.
"It was not a problem really," said Nancy Liristis referring to the roach violation. "We are in Florida. It's something that happens in most of the restaurants. It didn't appear to be a problem because the business doubled up actually. It didn't hurt."
Now, eight months later, the restaurant is closed again. This time, after city officials first discovered the restaurant operating without their own running water!
RED ALERT DATABASE: See how other restaurants did on inspections
"He came and asked if he could run water, and I said yeah," recalls neighbor Danny Bermea who lives in a house across the parking lot from Nell's Restaurant. He showed us where he says management ran a garden hose from his front yard across the parking lot and straight into the kitchen!
"You see it right there," said Bermea pointing to the hose. "That ain't clean."
A health inspector with the Florida Division of Hotels and Restaurants confirmed the city's findings citing the restaurant for operating without their own running water for more than two weeks. The inspector also found no soap or paper towels for employees to wash their hands, two dead rodents in the dry storeroom and rodent droppings everywhere with too many to count right under the prep table in the kitchen!
"I think that's ridiculous," said longtime customer Scott Rodriguez. "I have no words for that. I'm kind of glad they got shut down after all of that."
And while it appears Nell's Restaurant may now be gone for good, there may be some good news for longtime fans of the breakfast spot. A sign on the front door indicates this restaurant will remain closed for the time being to undergo an extensive remodeling before opening with a new name under all new management.
For Rodriguez, who says he's been eating at Nell's for as long as he can remember, he says the news is encouraging. "I hope they bring it back to its full glory."
It appears water was shut off to the building because the business owners failed to pay their taxes. The new owners who will be taking over operate another restaurant in Winter Haven.
We'll let you know when their new restaurant opens in Nell's old location and hopefully they'll allow us inside so we can show all of you a totally cleaned up kitchen.
