An inspector has found that an unlicensed outdoor bar was improperly added at a country club in The Villages.
The outdoor bar was added in 2020 at Glenview Country Club. It was the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and restaurants all over the country were scrambling to add drive-through capacity, outdoor seating and curbside pickup. In The Villages, outdoor bars became more popular than ever.
However, a state inspector paid three recent visits to Glenview Country Club – on Oct. 31, Nov. 9 and Nov. 16, and found that the restaurant’s owners had yet to file the proper paperwork with the state, even retroactively, according to a report on file with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
The code says, “The operator of each public food service establishment to be newly constructed, remodeled, converted, or reopened after being out of business more than 12 months shall submit properly prepared facility plans and specifications to the division for review and approval in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 509, F.S. and Rule Chapters 61C-1 and 61C-4, F.A.C. Such plans must be approved by the division as meeting the sanitation and safety requirements provided in law prior to scheduling of an opening inspection and licensing.”
Part of the problem with the Glenview Country Club’s outdoor bar, in addition to the proper paperwork never being submitted, is that it is located on the opposite side of the building from the kitchen, which is not in accordance with the code. The bar has a three-compartment sink and “outdoor warewashing” was noticed by the inspector, which is a violation of the code.
For now, the bar remains open under an extension of time granted by the inspector.
