The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) has closed White Guava Cafe in Hilo, Hawaiʻi Island, after finding a roach infestation and several serious food safety violations. The cafe, operated by AJ & Sons Catering, LLC, was given a red “closed” placard on October 16, 2025. It will remain closed until the DOH conducts another inspection and confirms that all violations have been addressed.
An initial inspection on October 14 led to a yellow “conditional” placard. A follow-up inspection two days later revealed further problems. According to the DOH inspector, violations included “live cockroaches on food-contact surfaces,” as well as “numerous live and dead cockroaches within the kitchen and food storage areas; Food was neither safe, unadulterated, nor honestly presented; Food-contact equipment and surfaces were not clean to sight and touch; Poisonous or toxic materials are not stored so they cannot contaminate food, equipment, utensils, linens and single-service and single-use articles.”
The department is requiring White Guava Cafe to take several corrective actions before reopening. These include discarding all contaminated food products, hiring a professional pest control operator with documentation submitted to the DOH, thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting all surfaces, removing unnecessary equipment to reduce pest hiding places, repairing a broken door frame to prevent pest entry, and removing all poisonous or toxic materials from food preparation areas.
The cafe must stay closed until it corrects all issues identified by inspectors. The operator will need to contact the DOH for a follow-up inspection once corrective measures are completed.
The DOH Food Safety Branch oversees health inspections of establishments across Hawaiʻi where food is prepared or sold. Its role includes educating industry workers about safe practices and ensuring compliance with regulations statewide through routine inspections.
More information about the placarding program is available on the Food Safety Branch website. Details about current establishment inspections can be found here.
