Photographer Attacked While Investigating Florida Restaurant with 546 Health Code Violations
A photographer captured the moment he and a news reporter were attacked while covering a Florida restaurant that was shut down for the seventh time due to a troubling history of health code violations.
Photographer Frank Debesa filmed the confrontation at China Buffet in South Florida, where a restaurant employee physically lashed out — shoving Debesa’s camera gear and forcibly grabbing Local 10 investigative reporter Jeff Weinsier’s microphone during the altercation.
Over the last decade, China Buffet has racked up 546 health code violations, according to a report by Local 10. The restaurant was shut down by state inspectors for the seventh time since 2014, for violations that reportedly included live roaches crawling on a wall above a sink and at the hibachi station.
Last week, the photographer and investigative reporter visited China Buffet, located at 18690 NW 67th Ave near the Hialeah and Miami Lakes border, to report on the restaurant’s latest shutdown following a failed health inspection.
As the pair approached the restaurant, Weinsier began asking questions about the inspection as Debesa films.
“Ma’am, can we talk to someone about the inspection?” Weinsier is heard asking on camera.
Within seconds, a restaurant worker bursts out from the kitchen and grabs Debesa’s camera. As the man shoves Debesa’s gear, the photographer is heard saying: “You can’t touch the camera.”
The restaurant employee then forcibly grabs Weinsier’s microphone and aggressively confronts both men before another individual pulls him back inside.
Though they did not file charges, Debesa and Weinsier say they were assaulted while attempting to get answers and hold China Buffet responsible as journalists.
“We were attacked for simply trying to hold them accountable,” Weinsier says. “Instead of answers, we were met with aggression from a restaurant that should be answering to the public.”
Local 10 reports that while the average Florida restaurant undergoes around 22 inspections over a 10-year span, China Buffet has been inspected 46 times in the same period. Persistent issues include rodent and roach infestations, flying insects, repeated food safety and sanitation violations, and thousands of dollars in fines.
Despite this track record, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation has reportedly continued to allow the restaurant to operate. After its most recent closure, China Buffet was once again permitted to reopen following an ordered clean-up and re-inspections, according to Local 10.
