Disgusting Facebook Post Leads to Alaska Restaurant's Shutter

Further proof that city health departments are paying attention to social media: A single Facebook post led to the abrupt shutter of May Flower Buffet in Fairbanks, Alaska this week. According to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation closed the restaurant earlier this week after it was "tipped off to alleged food safety violations" via a photo shared with agency's Facebook page.

The photo in question shows what looks to be a cockroach near a stack of plates. When the agency performed an in-person inspection of the the restaurant — which is apparently "the only Chinese buffet in town" — they did indeed discover "sanitation deficiencies." Enough violations were found that the restaurant was forced to close. There is "no timeline for the restaurant to reopen," but it may do so once it meets "recommendations outlined in the inspection."

Earlier this year, chef Brandon Baltzley also got into hot water with the health department after posting a link about his restaurant opening on his Facebook page. Baltzley, who owned the now shuttered TMIP in Indiana, had apparently been working to gain permits but did not have everything up to code when an inspector decided to visit. The health department shuttered it a week into service and TMIP never quite recovered.