A popular eatery in the Valley Plaza Mall is back open, after the Health Department forced it to stop doing business for a day.
A Kern County Health Department inspector visited Sarku Japan in the mall food court on Wednesday and found evidence of a cockroach infestation.
The restaurant was closed and a pest control company was brought in to take care of the problem.
Because the eatery is in a food court, thorough inspections of all the surrounding restaurants were done, but those came up clean.
Health officials say the only cockroaches found were at Sarku Japan.
"Cockroach infestations can cause cross-contamination when they're running across food contact surfaces or they're getting inside food. They can spread germs and pathogens that way, which could cause a food-borne illness. So, we always want a restaurant that has cockroaches to take care of it right away, and that's why it poses a public health risk that is severe enough for us to close the facility until they can get it under control," said Donna Fenton, Chief Environmental Health Specialist, Kern County.
An inspector went back to Sarku Japan Friday morning to make sure the problem was eradicated, and it was.
Health officials say there will be more visits in the future to make sure the restaurant is keeping the problem under control.
