POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – A Pompano Beach restaurant was accused of lying to its customers about why it was closed.
Local 10 News was alerted to this by a Dirty Dining viewer, and Investigative Reporter Jeff Weinsier went to check it out.
After arriving at The Hen and the Hog in Pompano Beach and introducing himself, a woman escorted him outside before going back in and locking him out.
Weinsier asked about a gas leak, to which the woman said, “Yes, gas leak.”
According to state records, the Local 10 viewer who alerted us to the restaurant was correct.
Those records show a state food safety inspector was there on Monday based on a complaint and ordered the restaurant shut.
Among the 13 violations found Monday, approximately 70 rodent droppings were found inside, at the front counter, on shelves next to clean cups and bowls, under a reach in cooler and sink and in the kitchen.
Droppings were observed on and under toilet paper in a storage area and around the water heater.
There was also mold in the ice machine.
While there, Weinsier observed an employee rub their nose with gloves on and then handle bread without hand washing. That’s a repeat violation.
There was a stop sale on cooked pork, turkey and corned beef, all being held at an unsafe temperature.
The deception got worse.
When a customer walked in and asked why a camera was there, the woman who escorted Weinsier told him, “You have the wrong address.”
“No, we don’t,” Weinsier replied. “And you lied to customers.”
Records show The Hen and the Hog has had 12 inspections since 2021, four of which didn’t meet standards and required follow up inspections.
They mostly involved food out of temperature and sanitizing issues.
The Hen and the Hog was allowed to re-open following an ordered clean up and re-inspection.