TAMPA, FL. State inspectors ordered Bella's Italian Café at 1413 S Howard Street closed on September 23 after finding roach and fly activity inside the restaurant, triggering an emergency shutdown and a deadline to vacate the premises by the following morning.
The closure was not the first. Records show it was the second emergency shutdown in the restaurant's documented history, and it came against a backdrop of high-severity violations logged at every single inspection since at least February 2024.
What Inspectors Found
Bella's Italian Café: Recent Inspection Pattern
The September 23 inspection produced seven high-severity violations and three intermediate violations, the same high-severity count inspectors had recorded during a visit less than eight months earlier in February 2026.
Among the violations documented at the most recent inspection: food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. Both are classified as high-severity findings.
The intermediate violations included improper sewage or wastewater disposal, single-use items being reused, and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
Inspectors returned on September 24, the ordered vacate deadline. Two follow-up inspections were conducted that day. The first recorded two high-severity and three intermediate violations. The second recorded one high-severity and two intermediate violations. The restaurant reopened at 4:01 p.m. on September 24.
What These Violations Mean
Pest activity, the stated reason for the closure, is treated as an emergency condition by state regulators because roaches and flies are direct vectors for bacterial contamination. Roaches carry pathogens including Salmonella and E. coli on their bodies and deposit them on food surfaces, prep equipment, and stored ingredients. Flies land on food and regurgitate digestive fluids as part of how they feed, transferring whatever they have previously contacted, including waste and decaying matter, directly onto what customers will eat.
The food contact surface violation compounds that risk significantly. When cutting boards, prep surfaces, and utensils are not properly cleaned and sanitized, bacteria transferred by pests, or from raw proteins, survives and moves to the next food prepared on that surface. A customer eating a pasta dish prepared on a contaminated surface has no way of knowing what came before it.
The chemical storage violation carries a different but equally acute risk. Improperly stored or unlabeled toxic chemicals near food or food prep areas can cause acute poisoning if a chemical contaminates an ingredient or is mistaken for a food-safe product. Mislabeling alone, without any spill or direct contact, is enough to create that hazard.
The sewage disposal violation is the most severe of the intermediate findings. Improper wastewater handling introduces fecal contamination risk throughout a facility. Raw sewage carries pathogens that can survive on surfaces and reach food through indirect contact.
The Longer Record
Bella's Italian Café has 24 inspections on record and 194 total violations documented across its history. That is not a facility with an isolated bad week.
Looking at the eight most recent inspections, every single one produced at least four high-severity violations. The February 2026 inspection and the September 23 closure inspection both reached seven high-severity violations, the highest counts in the recent record. There is no inspection in this dataset where the high-severity count dropped below four.
This was the second emergency closure on record for the restaurant. The first closure predates the inspection window shown in detail here, but its existence means inspectors have now twice determined conditions at this location posed an immediate enough risk to public health to order customers and staff out. The fact that the second closure came while the facility was still accumulating high-severity violations at every visit suggests the underlying conditions that prompted the first closure were not fully resolved.
The two follow-up inspections on September 24 cleared enough violations to allow reopening, but both still recorded high-severity findings. The restaurant reopened that afternoon with at least one high-severity violation still on the books.
The Pattern
What the inspection record shows, across 24 visits and 194 violations, is not a restaurant that slips occasionally. It is a restaurant that has sustained high-severity violation counts through multiple inspection cycles, two emergency shutdowns, and repeated follow-up visits.
The S Howard Street corridor in South Tampa draws steady foot traffic, particularly on weekends. Bella's Italian Café operates as a permanent food service establishment in that corridor, licensed and inspected under standard state protocols.
The September 24 reopening means the restaurant is currently serving customers. The inspection that cleared it for reopening still documented a high-severity violation.
