Firefly owner John Simmons issued a statement regarding the 38 demerits his Firefly Tapas Kitchen & Bar received from the Southern Nevada Health District at his Henderson location on March 31.

"As the owners of Firefly, we have taken swift and appropriate action resulting in the termination of three individuals who did not properly follow our food and safety protocols," he said in the statement. "The fact remains that food safety procedures were not followed and we will not allow our employees to pay attention only part of the time."

SNHD re-inspected the location on April 4, giving the restaurant an A grade with 8 demerits.

Last year, the original Firefly on Paradise Road was shuttered by SNHD after a salmonella outbreak made 294 people ill. SNHD found chorizo to be the cause of the outbreak. That location closed and moved north.

Back in May, owner Simmons released a statement that in part said, "We've hired a food safety consultant with over 30 years of experience to double and triple check our methods and we'll operate in the mode of continuous improvement, constantly upgrading our practices with new technology, new methods, and additional training."

No word on whether the health inspector with 30 years of experience was among the fired employees.

SNHD inspectors found spoiled food, employees not washing their hands, food unprotected from potential contamination, an inadequate number of hand washing sinks and more during the routine inspection on March 31.

As for Firefly, the owners are converting the original location at 3900 Paradise Road into Imperial Tacos & Beer.

· Firefly in Henderson Gets 38 SNHD Demerits; Petition Started to Close Business [~ELV~]

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