HIALEAH, FL. State inspectors ordered Soriano Brothers Cuban Cuisine on West 78th Street closed on June 17 after documenting fly activity inside the restaurant, the specific violation that triggered an emergency shutdown and gave the Hialeah eatery until June 19 to vacate.

The restaurant reopened at 9:32 a.m. on June 19, after a follow-up inspection that day found zero high-severity violations and zero intermediate violations, clearing the facility to resume service.

What Inspectors Found

Soriano Brothers: Recent Inspection Severity

June 17, 2026 — Emergency Closure8 high-severity violations, 6 intermediate violations. Fly activity triggered emergency shutdown.
March 4, 20266 high-severity violations, 3 intermediate violations.
October 28, 20257 high-severity violations, 1 intermediate violation.
November 13, 20254 high-severity violations, 0 intermediate violations.
March 10, 20254 high-severity violations, 1 intermediate violation.
December 2, 20240 high-severity violations, 0 intermediate violations. Facility passed.

The June 17 inspection produced 8 high-severity violations and 6 intermediate violations, the most serious single-visit tally the restaurant has recorded in its recent history. Fly activity was the named trigger for the emergency order, but it was not the only problem inspectors documented that day.

That combination, eight high-severity findings alongside a pest activity citation, was enough for inspectors to order the restaurant vacated within 48 hours.

What This Means

Fly activity in a food service environment is not a housekeeping complaint. Flies carry bacteria from surfaces including garbage, drains and raw waste directly onto food, utensils and prep surfaces, transferring pathogens such as Salmonella and E. coli with each landing. Unlike roaches, which tend to concentrate in specific harborage areas, flies move continuously through a kitchen and dining room, meaning cross-contamination is not limited to a single zone.

Florida's Division of Hotels and Restaurants treats active fly infestations as an imminent public health hazard precisely because the contamination pathway is direct and immediate. A customer eating at Soriano Brothers on June 17 had no way of knowing that flies had been moving through the kitchen that same day.

The eight high-severity violations documented alongside the fly activity compound that risk. High-severity violations are the category reserved for findings most directly linked to foodborne illness, covering temperature failures, improper food handling, contamination risks and employee hygiene. A single high-severity violation can be enough to trigger a warning; eight in one visit, paired with pest activity, is what produces an emergency closure order.

The Longer Record

The June closure was not the first time the state has shut Soriano Brothers down. Records show one prior emergency closure in the facility's history, meaning this is the second time inspectors have determined conditions at 2393 West 78th Street posed an imminent enough risk to require an immediate shutdown rather than a standard warning.

Across 33 inspections on record, the restaurant has accumulated 314 total violations. That figure averages out to more than nine violations per inspection visit.

The pattern of high-severity findings did not begin in June. The March 4, 2026 inspection found 6 high-severity and 3 intermediate violations. The October 28, 2025 visit produced 7 high-severity violations. November 13, 2025 brought 4 high-severity violations. March 10, 2025 added 4 more high-severity findings. The restaurant did pass a December 2, 2024 inspection with no high-severity or intermediate violations, but that clean visit stands alone between two stretches of serious citations.

Five of the seven most recent inspections before the June closure produced four or more high-severity violations each. The December 2024 pass and a single low-count visit in March 2025 were the exceptions, not the trend.

The Reopening

The follow-up inspection on June 19 found no high-severity violations and no intermediate violations, and the restaurant was cleared to reopen that morning. State records confirm the doors opened again at 9:32 a.m.

What those records do not show is whether the conditions that produced 314 violations across 33 inspections have been structurally addressed, or whether the June 19 clearance reflects a cleaned kitchen ahead of a single follow-up visit. The restaurant's history includes at least one prior cycle of closure, clearance and return to high violation counts.

The next routine inspection will determine which pattern holds.