NEW PORT RICHEY, FL. A state inspector visited Joey's II New York Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant at 5205 US 19 N on July 29, 2026, and left behind a report documenting seven high-severity violations, including one that public health officials consistently identify as the leading cause of multi-victim foodborne illness outbreaks: employees not reporting symptoms of illness.
The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The illness-reporting violation is the one that most directly puts customers in danger. State code requires food workers to notify management if they are experiencing symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, or jaundice. When that system breaks down, a sick employee can transmit norovirus or other pathogens directly to food, and customers have no warning.
Inspectors also cited a failure to follow parasite destruction procedures. Fish, pork, and wild game served raw or undercooked must be frozen to specific temperatures for specific durations to kill parasites including Anisakis in fish and Trichinella in pork. The record does not indicate which menu items triggered this finding, but a New York-style pizzeria offering Italian dishes routinely features fish and cured pork products.
Two separate chemical violations appeared on the same report. Inspectors documented both toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Those are two distinct citations for chemical hazards in the same kitchen, on the same day.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, meaning cutting boards, prep tables, or other surfaces that touch food directly were left in a condition that can transfer bacteria from one food item to another. Inspectors also found no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, which is required so that elderly customers, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems can make an informed decision before ordering something served rare or raw.
The shellfish traceability violation rounds out the list. Shellfish must arrive with identification tags that allow regulators to trace them back to their harvest location if a customer gets sick. Without those records, investigators have no way to identify the source of an outbreak.
What These Violations Mean
The illness-reporting failure is not a paperwork problem. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, spreads person-to-person with extraordinary efficiency. A single infected food handler who does not report symptoms and continues working can expose dozens of customers in a single shift. The violation at Joey's II means the system designed to catch that scenario was not functioning on July 29.
The parasite destruction failure carries a different but equally serious risk. Anisakis, a roundworm found in raw or undercooked fish, causes intense abdominal pain and can require surgical removal in severe cases. Trichinella in undercooked pork causes trichinosis, with symptoms ranging from muscle pain and fever to, in rare cases, cardiac and neurological complications. Proper freezing protocols exist precisely to eliminate those risks before food reaches the table.
Two chemical violations in the same inspection at Joey's II signal a storage and labeling breakdown that goes beyond a single misplaced bottle. Cleaning chemicals stored near food or in unlabeled containers can contaminate food directly, and mislabeled chemicals can be mistaken for food-safe products. The risk is acute rather than cumulative.
The missing consumer advisory is a failure that specifically harms the most vulnerable diners. An otherwise healthy adult who orders a rare burger takes on a known risk. A cancer patient on immunosuppressants, a woman in her first trimester, or a 75-year-old with a compromised immune system may not know to ask, and the absence of a posted advisory means no one told them.
The Longer Record
Joey's II has 31 inspections on record and 265 total violations documented across that history. This July visit was not an aberration.
The May 2025 inspection produced eight high-severity violations and three intermediate ones, the worst single-visit total in the recent record. November 2024 generated two separate inspection reports within one week, on November 6 and November 13, logging five high-severity violations and then three more. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed across all 31 inspections on record.
High-severity violations have appeared in every inspection listed in the prior history, without exception. The counts range from one to eight per visit, but the category never drops to zero. That pattern, sustained across multiple years and more than two dozen inspections, suggests the underlying conditions producing high-severity findings have not been corrected in any lasting way.
The July 2026 inspection produced the second-highest single-visit high-severity count in the recent record, trailing only May 2025. It added two chemical violations and an illness-reporting failure to a list of recurring categories.
Open for Business
State inspectors documented seven high-severity violations at Joey's II on July 29, 2026. Florida law gives inspectors the authority to order an emergency closure when conditions pose an immediate threat to public health.
They did not use it.
Joey's II was open when the inspector arrived and remained open after the inspection was complete. Customers who ate there that day did so without any public notice that the kitchen had seven active high-severity violations, including a breakdown in the system designed to keep sick employees away from their food.
