HOMESTEAD, FL. A state inspector walked into Sam's Country Kitchen at 1320 N Krome Ave on September 15 and documented 12 high-severity violations and 3 intermediate violations. The restaurant was not closed.
Among the most direct threats to customers that afternoon: toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled near food, a separate citation noted toxic substances were improperly identified, stored, or used, and no employee health policy existed to prevent a sick food worker from handling food. All three were logged as high-severity violations in the same inspection.
What Inspectors Found
The inspector also cited the facility for no person in charge present or performing duties, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, time as a public health control not properly used, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and required procedures for specialized processes not followed.
That is every major category of food safety control, failing at once.
The sewage and wastewater disposal citation adds a specific dimension. Inspectors documented improper disposal of sewage or waste water, which creates a direct route for fecal contamination to reach food preparation surfaces. That violation sat alongside a citation for multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, meaning surfaces already at risk from improper sanitation were also at risk from drainage failures.
What These Violations Mean
The two chemical storage violations are among the most immediately dangerous findings in the inspection record. Improperly stored or mislabeled chemicals near food can cause acute poisoning without any visible sign of contamination. A customer would have no way of knowing. The citation for toxic substances improperly identified compounds that risk: if workers cannot correctly identify what a substance is, they cannot store or use it safely.
The absence of an employee health policy means the restaurant had no written system to keep sick workers out of the kitchen. Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, spreads readily through food handled by infected workers. A policy does not guarantee compliance, but without one, there is no standard at all.
No allergen awareness demonstrated is a violation that affects 32 million Americans with food allergies. Allergic reactions send 30,000 people to emergency rooms each year and cause deaths. A kitchen where staff cannot demonstrate allergen awareness is a kitchen where a customer with a peanut or shellfish allergy cannot rely on any assurance given by the staff.
The shellfish traceability and parasite destruction violations matter for a specific reason. Shellfish consumed raw or lightly cooked carry elevated pathogen risk, and without proper identification records, there is no way to trace an illness back to its source if someone gets sick. Parasite destruction requires precise freezing or cooking protocols. When those procedures are not followed, parasites including Anisakis in fish and Trichinella in pork can survive to the plate.
The Longer Record
Sam's Country Kitchen: Inspection History
State records show Sam's Country Kitchen has been inspected 28 times and has accumulated 361 total violations across its inspection history. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed.
September 2026 was not an outlier. In September 2025, exactly one year earlier, inspectors documented 11 high-severity violations and 3 intermediate violations at the same address. In April 2025, the count was 9 high-severity. In October 2023, it was 9 high-severity and 5 intermediate. The pattern holds across four years of records: every inspection in the available history shows at least 4 high-severity violations, and the majority show 7 or more.
The 12 high-severity violations logged in September 2026 are the highest single-inspection count in the available record, surpassing the previous high of 11 from September 2025. No inspection in the eight most recent visits shows improvement sustained from one visit to the next.
Still Open
Florida's emergency closure authority is triggered when an inspector determines that continued operation poses an immediate threat to public health. Twelve high-severity violations, including two separate chemical safety failures, no employee health policy, no allergen awareness, and improper sewage disposal, did not meet that threshold on September 15.
Sam's Country Kitchen on N Krome Avenue remained open that day, and the record shows it has remained open through every inspection in its history.
