CLEARWATER, FL -- As a single mother, Jeannie Landeros cherishes bringing her children to work with her every day.
She's owned Sophia's Restaurant and Pizza on North Hercules Avenue in Clearwater for seven years. But she says because of the down economy, she's seeing fewer and fewer customers.
"I've had the restaurant too long and I've worked too hard to let it go. Most people would have gave up a long time ago," said Landeros.
And the restaurant's poor health inspection reports haven't helped.
Sophia's Restaurant accumulated 92 critical violations from inspectors this year.
And the state shut down Sophia's for 24 hours in July, after they found almost three dozen live roaches in the kitchen.
"Anytime you have a restaurant atmosphere when you bring in produce, when you bring in dry goods from warehouses, you bring in bugs. So I just need to spend more now and have weekly pest control vs. monthly pest control," said Landeros.
And her problems with the state didn't end there.
Inspectors also pointed out last month the restaurant has been operating without a current license since February, a critical violation.
Landeros explains she simply cannot afford to pay the $373 renewal fee.
Or the $1,000 from accumulated restaurant fines because of violations.
In May, inspectors warned her that the coolers holding pizza toppings were not working properly.
"Have you fixed the coolers that were broken to keep the food at the right temperature?" asked ABC Action News Anchor Wendy Ryan.
"Yes, some of them it was just a matter of more freon, one of them needed a new gasket," answered Landeros.
Landeros says despite some mistakes, she will fight to keep her family restaurant from going under.
"I don't know. I've been coming over those railroad tracks for over 14 years. I'm just not ready to give up yet," Landeros tearfully said.
Landeros also told us she hopes her creditors will be patient, an electrician might volunteer his services in exchange for food, and her customers will come back.
