MIAMI, FL. A Dunkin Donuts at 1190 NW 62nd Street was emergency-closed on July 9 after inspectors documented rodent activity, kicking off a week in which state inspectors cited 15 Miami-area restaurants for high-severity violations and two facilities each racked up 11 of them.
The Worst of the Week
Shois Restaurant on NW 112th Avenue and Sushi Sake on SW 42nd Street tied for the week's highest count, each drawing 11 high-severity violations. Both were cited for food from unapproved or unknown sources, inadequate handwashing, improper handwashing technique, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. At Shois, inspectors also documented food in poor condition or adulterated, and no person in charge present or performing duties.
Fiore Caffe on SE 1st Street in downtown Miami drew 10 high-severity violations, the most varied set of the week. Inspectors cited inadequate handwashing facilities, food in poor condition, inadequate shell stock identification, parasite destruction procedures not followed, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, improper use of time as a public health control, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Maman on Biscayne Boulevard drew 9 high-severity violations on only its second inspection on record. Inspectors cited food from unapproved sources, inadequate shell stock records, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items.
Across the City
Bahama Fish Market on SW 8th Street drew 8 high-severity violations, including food contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards, food from unapproved sources, required procedures for specialized processes not followed, and time as a public health control not properly used. For a fish market operating specialized processes, the failure to follow required procedures for those processes is among the most acute findings of the week.
Smash Bros Burgers and Shakes on Biscayne Boulevard was cited for 8 high-severity violations, including parasite destruction procedures not followed, inadequate shell stock identification, no allergen awareness demonstrated, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. A burger-and-shakes concept flagged for shellfish traceability and parasite destruction failures is an unusual finding.
Sushi Runner on NW 25th Street drew 8 high-severity violations, including food not cooked to required minimum temperature, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and two separate chemical storage violations: toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used.
Pummarola on SW 136th Street was cited for 7 high-severity violations, including improper sewage or wastewater disposal flagged as an intermediate violation alongside toxic chemicals improperly stored, toxic substances improperly identified or used, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned. Mofongo's Restaurant on SW 8th Street also drew 7 high-severity violations, including food from unapproved sources, food in poor condition, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no person in charge present.
Los Q'su2 de Medallo on NE 2nd Avenue drew 7 high-severity violations on only its second inspection on record. China Wok on SW 56th Street drew 7 high-severity violations including inadequate handwashing facilities, employee not reporting symptoms of illness, and single-use items improperly reused.
Marie Blachere Bakery on NE 1st Avenue drew 7 high-severity violations, including food not cooked to required minimum temperature, improper sewage or wastewater disposal, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Sandbar Grill on Main Highway drew 3 high-severity violations, including food from unapproved sources and improper handwashing technique. Pho Tastic on SW 88th Street drew 3 high-severity violations, including toxic chemicals improperly stored and no employee health policy.
CMX Brickell Stone Sports Bar on South Miami Avenue drew the week's lowest count, a single high-severity violation for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized.
What These Violations Mean
The most pervasive high-severity violation this week was the absence of a written employee health policy, cited at Shois, Sushi Sake, Bahama Fish Market, Sushi Runner, Pummarola, Mofongo's, Los Q'su2 de Medallo, and Pho Tastic. Without a written policy, there is no formal mechanism requiring sick workers to stay home. Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million infections in the United States each year, spreads with particular efficiency through food handling, and a single infected employee working a full shift can expose every customer served that day.
The related violation, employees not reporting illness symptoms, was cited at Shois, Sushi Sake, Maman, Smash Bros Burgers and Shakes, Pummarola, China Wok, and Marie Blachere Bakery. These two violations compound each other: no policy means workers have no written obligation to report, and no reporting means managers have no information to act on.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources was cited at Shois, Sushi Sake, Maman, Bahama Fish Market, Mofongo's, and Sandbar Grill. The practical consequence is traceability. When food enters a kitchen through an uninspected channel, there is no paper trail to follow if customers become ill. A Salmonella outbreak tied to a licensed distributor can be traced and stopped within hours. The same outbreak tied to an unverified source can take days or weeks to identify, during which the kitchen keeps serving.
Parasite destruction procedures not followed, cited at Fiore Caffe and Smash Bros Burgers and Shakes, is a violation that carries immediate physical consequences. Fish served raw or undercooked without proper prior freezing can harbor Anisakis larvae, which embed in the stomach lining and cause severe abdominal pain. The required freezing protocols exist precisely because cooking is not the only preparation method used, and at both facilities, inspectors found those protocols were not being observed.
The Longer Record
Bahama Fish Market has 45 prior inspections on record, the longest history of any facility cited this week, and it drew 8 high-severity violations including food from unapproved sources and failures in specialized process procedures. Forty-five inspections is a substantial body of contact between this facility and state regulators. The food sourcing violation appearing at this stage of that history is notable.
Sandbar Grill and CMX Brickell Stone Sports Bar each have 30 or more prior inspections on record. Fiore Caffe has 29, and Shois has 25. These are not new restaurants still learning compliance requirements. Shois drew 11 high-severity violations across 25 prior inspections, including food from unapproved sources and no person in charge present.
Maman and Los Q'su2 de Medallo each have only 2 prior inspections on record, making this week's findings their earliest documented compliance picture. Maman drew 9 high-severity violations in that second inspection, including toxic chemicals improperly stored and food from unapproved sources. Los Q'su2 de Medallo drew 7 high-severity violations in its second inspection, including inadequate shell stock identification and toxic substances improperly stored or used. Both facilities are accumulating serious citations before establishing any pattern of clean inspections.
Smash Bros Burgers and Shakes and Mofongo's Restaurant each have 5 prior inspections on record and drew 8 and 7 high-severity violations respectively this week. Marie Blachere Bakery, with 10 prior inspections, drew 7 high-severity violations including an improper sewage or wastewater disposal finding, a violation that has no routine explanation.
The Dunkin Donuts at 1190 NW 62nd Street was emergency-closed for rodent activity on July 9 and does not appear in the inspection data as a reopened facility as of the end of this reporting period.
