SEBASTIAN, FL. Rodent activity, roach activity and fly activity, all documented in a single inspection visit, were enough to get Khob Khun Thai Sushi on US Highway 1 emergency-closed on August 11, 2026, state records show.
The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation ordered the restaurant at 13600 US Hwy 1 Suite 3 vacated by August 12. The facility was back open by 9 a.m. that same day, according to state records, after a follow-up inspection found the most critical conditions resolved.
What Inspectors Found
Khob Khun Thai Sushi: Recent Inspection Severity
The closure-triggering inspection on August 11 produced six high-severity violations and five intermediate violations. The three-part pest finding, rodents, roaches and flies all cited together, was the basis for the emergency shutdown order.
The follow-up inspection the next morning found one remaining high-severity violation and two intermediate violations. That high-severity finding was the absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, a requirement for any restaurant serving sushi or other raw items.
Without that advisory posted or printed on the menu, customers who are pregnant, elderly, immunocompromised, or very young have no way to know they are ordering food that carries a higher risk of foodborne illness. The advisory requirement exists specifically so those customers can make an informed choice before they order.
The two intermediate violations that remained after reopening were reuse of single-use items and inadequate ventilation and lighting. Single-use items, including gloves, cups, utensils and foil, are designed for one use because reusing them creates cross-contamination pathways between surfaces, hands and food. Inadequate ventilation allows grease-laden vapors, carbon monoxide, smoke and steam to accumulate in the kitchen.
What the Pest Finding Means
An emergency closure for combined rodent, roach and fly activity is not a routine citation. Florida inspectors can issue warnings and require corrective action for many violations without shutting a restaurant down. A simultaneous finding of all three pest types in an active food service environment is treated as an immediate public health threat.
Rodents contaminate surfaces and food with droppings, urine and fur, and can carry pathogens including salmonella. Cockroaches move between sewage, garbage and food preparation surfaces and are a documented vector for E. coli, salmonella and other bacteria. Flies transfer bacteria from any surface they land on, including waste, directly to exposed food.
A restaurant serving raw fish, as Khob Khun Thai Sushi does, faces compounded risk. Raw proteins that are not cooked before serving offer no heat-kill step to eliminate contamination introduced by pests.
The Longer Record
The August 11 closure was not the first time state inspectors have shut this restaurant down. Records show one prior emergency closure in the facility's history, in addition to the August 2026 action.
Across 29 inspections on record, the restaurant has accumulated 342 total violations. That is an average of nearly 12 violations per inspection across the full inspection history.
The recent record is consistent and severe. Every inspection dating back to March 2024 has produced at least eight high-severity violations. The October 2024 inspection reached ten high-severity violations and three intermediate violations, the highest single-visit count in the recent run. The November 2025 inspection produced nine high-severity violations.
That pattern, six consecutive inspections with eight or more high-severity findings before the August 2026 closure, is not a facility that had a bad week. It is a facility that state records show has been operating with serious, recurring food safety problems for at least two and a half years.
The Pattern
The gap between the closure inspection and the reopening inspection is worth noting. On August 11, inspectors found six high-severity violations severe enough to warrant an emergency shutdown, including the three-category pest finding. By 9 a.m. on August 12, the facility had cleared the threshold to reopen.
One high-severity violation, the missing consumer advisory for raw and undercooked foods, was still present when the restaurant reopened. That violation does not require a physical remediation effort the way pest activity does. It requires a sign or a menu notation. It was not corrected before the facility resumed serving customers.
The restaurant's 342 violations across 29 inspections place it at an average that has not improved in the documented recent history. The prior emergency closure, combined with the August 2026 closure, means this facility has now been ordered vacated by state inspectors on at least two separate occasions.
Whether the consumer advisory violation documented at reopening has since been corrected is not reflected in the available records.
