An inspector documented 21 violations according to state records, including possible cross contamination issues with raw beef stored directly over the carrots and raw pork touching the fries.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — For right around three years, The Lure Restaurant has been attracting diners to downtown St. Pete.

But despite the restaurant’s growing popularity, two weeks ago a tipster e-mailed state health inspectors alleging the restaurant’s kitchen has “Rat feces everywhere in the mornings. All over the kitchen and the bar. They even have a BB gun to shoot them! Rats are trying to build nests under booths in the dining room.”

That complaint triggered an automatic inspection by Florida’s Division of Hotels and Restaurants. An inspector documented 21 violations according to state records, including possible cross contamination issues with raw beef stored directly over the carrots and raw pork touching the fries.

The inspector also reported a black or green mold-like substance inside the ice bin.

And what about the alleged rodent activity? The inspector reported finding nearly 100 droppings under the dish machine, behind the bar and around a booth in the dining room.

The inspector even reported finding a dead rodent in a trap near the back door.

“In a kitchen where you’re cooking food? Yeah that’s gross,” said St. Pete visitor Larissa Burns as she walked past the restaurant.

The Lure was cleared to reopen later the same day, so 10News stopped in Thursday to check on conditions a week after the closure.

“We have what I like to call 'the Florida squirrel,'” said owner Tom Golden of the rodent activity. “You get little things that all health inspections get, every restaurant has them to a degree. And we’re dealing with a very old building over 100 years old and it has its share of problems.”

Golden invited our cameras into the kitchen where Chef Gerrdo Sanchez showed us around…

The kitchen hand sink had plenty of soap for employees to wash their hands. We also found a clean ice bin with a new compressor and no more mold.

But inside the walk-in cooler, we found some remaining issues like raw meat stored directly over an uncovered bowl of an egg and cheese mix. We also spotted a container of raw meat left uncovered in a container on the ground. Both are violations.

And perhaps evidence of remaining rodent issues, we also saw what appeared to be tiny droppings near the back of the kitchen. Management said a broken threshold on the bottom of the kitchen’s back door may be to blame for allowing critters to get inside.

“Little things like that happens everywhere. The good thing about us, as soon as we see a problem we start taking action on it,” Golden said.

But customers say the restaurant needs to do better.

“My main thing, I wouldn’t want to get sick,” said Burns. “I wouldn’t want to take my family there and risk my family getting sick.”

The kitchen manager tells 10News the restaurant has had regular pest control coming in to address the issue since it was first discovered. Construction to the buildings underground sewer system may have brought additional rodents to the surface.

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