FLORIDA. The Subway at 830 E. Hathaway in Bronson had no person in charge present or performing duties when state inspectors arrived, according to records from the most recent inspection period. That visit also turned up an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, food in poor condition, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods. Six high-severity violations. Three intermediate. One location.
That inspection was the worst single result in a statewide review of Subway's Florida franchise network covering April 25 through July 23, 2026. Across 876 Florida locations with 14,150 inspections on record, the chain passed at a rate of 93.26 percent, with an average of 3.43 violations per inspection. But the locations at the bottom of that distribution tell a different story.
The Worst of the 90 Days
Tied with Bronson at six high-severity violations was Subway #60865 at 1325 San Marco Blvd in Jacksonville. Inspectors there cited improper hand and arm washing technique, inadequate shellfish stock identification records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, toxic substances improperly identified or stored, and no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff.
Subway #29413 at 7965 SR 50 in Groveland also drew six high-severity violations. Among them: parasite destruction procedures not followed, food in poor condition, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and an employee not reporting symptoms of illness. Inspectors also noted improper waste disposal, a citation that carries a separate concern, as overflowing or mismanaged waste attracts rodents and insects.
Subway 21218 at 13769 SW 152 St in Miami drew five high-severity and five intermediate violations, the highest combined total in the review period. The high-severity list included no written employee health policy, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, toxic substances improperly stored, and no allergen awareness. Intermediate violations included improper sewage or wastewater disposal and single-use items being reused.
Subway 3956 at 1895 N. Highland Ave. in Clearwater was cited for five high-severity violations, one of which stands apart from anything else in this review: no approved potable water supply. Inspectors also found food not cooked to required minimum temperature, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Two Hialeah locations drew separate inspections with overlapping problems. The Subway at 1905 W. 35 St. was cited for inadequate handwashing facilities, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, food in poor condition, and time as a public health control not properly used. Subway #26296 at 4410 W. 16 Ave. drew the same handwashing facilities violation and the same illness-reporting failure, along with inadequate shellfish stock identification records.
Subway #5998 at 10530 SW 88 St. in Miami and Subway #31891 at 8110 Lem Turner Rd. in Jacksonville each drew four high-severity violations. The Jacksonville location was cited for improper handwashing technique, shellfish traceability failures, no consumer advisory, and toxic substances improperly stored. The Miami location flagged an employee not reporting illness, shellfish traceability failures, time as a public health control not properly used, and no consumer advisory.
What These Violations Mean
The most frequently cited high-severity violation across these ten locations was the absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, appearing at seven of the ten. On its own, that violation is paperwork. Combined with the parasite destruction failure at the Groveland location, it becomes something more serious. When fish or pork is not properly frozen or cooked to kill parasites including Anisakis and Trichinella, and no advisory informs customers that the food carries that risk, vulnerable diners, including pregnant women, the elderly, and the immunocompromised, have no way to make an informed choice.
The illness-reporting failures at Bronson, Groveland, both Hialeah locations, and the SW 88 St. Miami location are a different category of risk entirely. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, spreads through an infected food worker's hands to every surface and food item they touch. An employee who does not report symptoms and continues working a sandwich line can expose dozens of customers before anyone knows there is a problem. The Bronson location compounded this with a separate finding: no person in charge present or performing duties. CDC data shows establishments without active managerial control have three times as many critical violations.
Toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled appeared at Bronson, Groveland, Clearwater, and the SW 152 St. Miami location. Cleaning chemicals stored near food preparation surfaces or mislabeled containers can cause acute chemical poisoning if a substance contaminates food or is mistaken for a food-safe product. The Clearwater location's no-potable-water finding is the most acute concern in the entire dataset. Water used in food preparation that does not come from an approved supply can carry E. coli, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, and Legionella.
Shellfish traceability violations appeared at the Jacksonville San Marco location, both Hialeah locations, and the SW 88 St. Miami location. The concern is specific: shellfish, including oysters, clams, and mussels, are consumed raw or lightly cooked, and without proper identification tags linking each batch to a certified harvester, there is no way to trace the source if customers become ill. That traceability gap matters most during a Vibrio or norovirus outbreak, when hours can determine how many people are exposed.
The Longer Record
The statewide inspection record for Subway in Florida runs to 14,150 inspections across 876 locations. That volume makes the chain one of the most-inspected restaurant brands in the state, and it means the violations documented in this 90-day window do not exist in isolation. They sit inside a longer pattern for each location.
The Bronson location's combination of no manager present, an employee not reporting illness, and improperly stored chemicals points to a management infrastructure problem, not a one-day lapse. The same is true at the Groveland location, where parasite destruction procedures were not followed alongside food in poor condition and improper waste disposal. Parasite destruction failures require specific procedural knowledge about freezing temperatures and holding times. That violation does not happen accidentally.
The two Hialeah locations, operating less than four miles apart at W. 35 St. and W. 16 Ave., each produced the same two high-severity violations: inadequate handwashing facilities and an employee not reporting illness symptoms. The same infrastructure failure at two locations in the same city raises a question the inspection record alone cannot answer.
The chain recorded one emergency closure in Florida so far in 2026. The locations in this review were not among those closed. The Clearwater location at 1895 N. Highland Ave. passed its inspection at a facility with no approved potable water supply, meaning it remained open despite that finding.
