WESLEY CHAPEL, FL -- Abe Srour says he is passionate about his restaurant, his community and the people who come to visit his establishment every day.
Srour has owned Remington Steakhouse Restaurant on State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel for the last 10 years.
But with the down economy, he was spending much of his time at his other restaurant in New Port Richey, which he recently had to close.
"I was pretty much tied up over there and when inspectors came, the report would be here," said Srour.
And those reports got worse over time.
Inspectors visited Remington's eight times since February of 2008, and on every inspection, they found no certified manager on duty, which is a critical violation.
Inspectors also demanded a follow-up inspection because of the concerns they witnessed in the kitchen.
"It was never a food issue. That would have been brought to my attention immediately," Srour said.
In September, inspectors wrote up 28 critical violations, including employees not washing their hands, food stored on the floor and food not date marked.
Inspectors also found employees not properly trained and certified.
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Despite the violations, Srour says conditions are different now.
"All those have been corrected. We have labeling dots, we have markers and tape to put the day it was prepared. And I'm on the property now just about 24-7," Srour said.
Srour also says he's been working 80 hours a week to make sure they're up to speed.
He even says he is training the employees himself to avoid future violations.
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Srour respects the warning from state inspectors and the public.
"Someone needs to keep us in line and that's why there are these guidelines," Srour said.
He also promises his customers a clean and safe restaurant in the future.
"I can look at you straight to the camera and say they've been taken care of folks and we apologize," he said.
