ORLANDO, FL. Inspectors ordered Grazie on Corrine Drive and A&T Buffalo Wings LLC on North Pinehills Road closed on the same morning, July 9, one for rodent, roach, and fly activity and the other for a sewage backup, while 13 more Orlando restaurants piled up high-severity violations across the same seven-day stretch.
Grazie, a neighborhood restaurant with 23 prior inspections on record, drew the emergency closure alongside citations for inadequate handwashing by employees and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces. A&T Buffalo Wings, which has 31 prior inspections behind it, was shut down for the sewage backup and also cited for improper handwashing technique and unclean food contact surfaces, plus two intermediate violations including inadequate cooling equipment.
The Week's Worst
Rico Chino Asian Cuisine on South Semoran Boulevard led all facilities inspected this week with 12 high-severity violations, the most of any restaurant in Orlando during the seven-day period. Inspectors cited the restaurant for having no person in charge present, no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, food contaminated by chemical or biological hazards, food from unapproved sources, food in poor condition or adulterated, inadequate shellfish identification records, and failure to follow parasite destruction procedures for fish. That is eight distinct categories of high-severity failure at one address.
Pizzany's on Collegiate Way followed with 10 high-severity violations, including the same trio of management failures found at Rico Chino: no person in charge, no employee health policy, and an employee not reporting illness symptoms. Inspectors also documented inadequate handwashing by food employees, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, missing shellfish identification records, and food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized.
Eskina Brazilian Restaurant on International Drive drew nine high-severity violations, among them inadequate handwashing facilities, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, food from unapproved sources, and food not cooked to the required minimum temperature. Undercooking is a direct vector for Salmonella survival in poultry.
Desi Bistro on Collegiate Way, just a few doors from Pizzany's, also accumulated nine high-severity violations. Inspectors found toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled alongside food, food from unapproved sources, food in poor condition, and no employee health policy.
Avanti Palms Resort and Conference Center on International Drive collected nine high-severity violations, including inadequate handwashing facilities, food from unapproved sources, improperly stored toxic chemicals, and no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods. Inspectors also cited the resort for misusing time as a public health control, a violation that means food was allowed to sit in the temperature danger zone without the proper documentation or tracking that makes that practice legal.
Tsuki Sushi and Grill on Narcoossee Road matched that count with nine high-severity violations, including no person in charge, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, improperly stored toxic substances, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items. A sushi restaurant with no posted advisory for raw fish is a direct concern for immunocompromised diners.
Habanero's Cocina Mexicana on Collegiate Way was cited for eight high-severity violations, including failure to follow parasite destruction procedures, food in poor condition, improperly stored toxic chemicals, no employee health policy, and no person in charge. Collegiate Way now has three restaurants on this week's list: Pizzany's, Desi Bistro, and Habanero's.
Santiago's Bodega on Virginia Drive drew eight high-severity violations, including no person in charge, no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, food from unapproved sources, missing shellfish records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and improperly stored toxic chemicals.
Gogi Hotpot and BBQ and Sushi on West Colonial Drive was cited for seven high-severity violations plus an intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal. Inspectors also found that parasite destruction procedures were not followed and that food was not cooked to the required minimum temperature, a dangerous combination at a restaurant serving both raw fish and hotpot proteins.
Neo Asian Kitchen and Boba Tea on Eagle Watch Drive drew seven high-severity violations including food from unapproved sources, food in poor condition, improperly identified toxic substances, and failure to follow required procedures for specialized food processes. An intermediate citation for improper sewage disposal accompanied those findings.
Mito Sushi and Grill on Eagle Watch Drive, two addresses away from Neo Asian Kitchen, also collected seven high-severity violations, including no person in charge, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Embassy Suites Hotel on T.G. Lee Boulevard was cited for seven high-severity violations, including food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, no consumer advisory, improperly stored toxic chemicals, an improper sewage or wastewater intermediate violation, and failure to follow required procedures for specialized food processes.
World of Beer on East Central Boulevard drew five high-severity violations, including food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, no employee health policy, improperly stored toxic chemicals, and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces.
What These Violations Mean
The most frequent high-severity violation this week, appearing at Rico Chino, Pizzany's, Desi Bistro, Habanero's, Santiago's Bodega, and several others, was the absence of a written employee health policy combined with employees not reporting illness symptoms. These are not paperwork problems. Food workers who do not know they are required to report vomiting, diarrhea, or jaundice to a manager, or who work through symptoms because no policy compels them to stay home, are the primary driver of multi-victim Norovirus outbreaks. Norovirus can survive on surfaces for days and requires as few as 18 particles to cause illness in a healthy adult.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources, documented this week at Rico Chino, Pizzany's, Eskina, Desi Bistro, Avanti Palms, Tsuki Sushi, Santiago's Bodega, Gogi Hotpot, Neo Asian Kitchen, and Mito Sushi, strips away the traceability that makes outbreak investigation possible. When someone gets sick and inspectors need to trace the contaminated ingredient back to a farm, a processor, or a distributor, an unapproved source means that trail simply does not exist.
Parasite destruction failures at Rico Chino, Habanero's, and Gogi Hotpot carry a specific physical danger. Fish served raw or undercooked without prior freezing to the required temperature can harbor Anisakis roundworm, which burrows into the stomach lining and causes severe pain, vomiting, and in some cases requires surgical removal. The procedures exist precisely because the parasite is invisible to the naked eye and undetectable by taste or smell.
Improperly stored toxic chemicals near food, cited at Desi Bistro, Avanti Palms, Habanero's, Santiago's Bodega, Gogi Hotpot, World of Beer, and Embassy Suites, is a category inspectors treat as high-severity because the consequences of cross-contamination are immediate. A cleaning solution stored above a prep surface, or an unlabeled spray bottle mistaken for a food-safe sanitizer, can cause acute chemical poisoning with a single serving.
The Longer Record
Habanero's Cocina Mexicana has the longest inspection history of any facility on this week's list, with 45 prior inspections on record, and this week's eight high-severity violations suggest those inspections have not produced lasting correction in the same categories. Rico Chino and Pizzany's each carry 33 prior inspections, as do Mito Sushi and Grill and Embassy Suites Hotel, and all four appeared this week with violation counts of seven or higher.
A&T Buffalo Wings, emergency-closed for a sewage backup, has 31 prior inspections behind it. World of Beer has 32. The volume of inspections at these addresses means inspectors are not encountering these kitchens for the first time.
The sharpest contrast this week belongs to the newest facilities on the list. Desi Bistro has only four prior inspections on record and already drew nine high-severity violations, including improperly stored toxic chemicals and food from unapproved sources. Eskina Brazilian Restaurant has six prior inspections and collected nine high-severity violations including undercooked food. Both are early in their inspection histories and already accumulating serious citations in foundational categories.
Grazie, emergency-closed July 9 for rodent, roach, and fly activity, has 23 prior inspections on record. Whether those prior visits documented pest activity at the Corrine Drive address is not reflected in the data available this week.
