MIAMI, FL. Inspectors ordered Thyme Machine, a licensed food service establishment at 13920 SW 139 Ct in Miami, to shut its doors on September 1, 2026, after documenting temperature violations in food storage that state regulators determined posed an immediate risk to public health.
The closure order gave the restaurant until September 3 to correct the violations. Records show the facility was allowed to reopen at 12:20 p.m., though the data does not specify on which date within that window the reopening occurred.
What Inspectors Found
Thyme Machine was ordered shut for temperature storage violations, with a vacate deadline two days later and a recorded reopening at 12:20 p.m.
The violation that triggered the closure was temperature-related food storage. Inspectors determined that food at the facility was not being held at temperatures required to prevent bacterial growth, a finding serious enough under Florida law to warrant an immediate emergency shutdown rather than a standard citation and correction window.
Temperature violations in food storage are among the most direct triggers for emergency closures in Florida's inspection system. They are not paperwork problems or administrative oversights.
What This Means
When food is stored outside of safe temperature ranges, bacteria multiply rapidly. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation requires cold food to be held at 41 degrees Fahrenheit or below, and hot food at 135 degrees or above. The gap between those thresholds is where pathogens including Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria thrive.
A customer eating food that has been held at unsafe temperatures has no way of knowing it. The food may look, smell, and taste completely normal. The danger is invisible at the point of consumption, which is precisely why inspectors are authorized to close a facility on the spot when they find it.
Temperature violations are not self-correcting. A restaurant that has allowed food to drift into unsafe temperature ranges has already created a window of risk for anyone who ate there before the inspector arrived. The closure order is meant to stop that window from widening.
The state treats temperature storage violations as high-priority findings because the harm they can cause, foodborne illness, can range from severe gastrointestinal distress to hospitalization, particularly for elderly customers, young children, and anyone with a compromised immune system.
The Violations
The specific temperatures recorded by inspectors, and the foods involved, are not detailed in the available records. What the records confirm is that the violation was categorized as serious enough to trigger an emergency closure order rather than a routine citation.
Florida's emergency closure authority exists for exactly this scenario. When an inspector determines that continued operation poses an immediate threat to public health, the facility can be ordered closed without a hearing or advance notice. The operator is then required to correct the violations and pass a follow-up inspection before reopening.
Thyme Machine is licensed as a food service establishment, meaning it is authorized to prepare and serve food to the public. That license comes with the obligation to maintain safe food handling practices at all times, including temperature controls throughout storage, preparation, and service.
The Longer Record
State inspection records show zero prior inspections on file for Thyme Machine before this closure. There are no prior violations on record and no prior emergency closures.
That absence of history cuts two ways. It means there is no documented pattern of repeat violations leading up to this closure, no string of warnings that went unheeded, no escalating citations in the same categories. This was not the culmination of a long paper trail.
It also means there is no prior inspection record to suggest the facility had ever been found in compliance. The first documented contact between state inspectors and this restaurant, based on available records, is the closure order itself.
A facility with no inspection history is not necessarily a new operation. Inspection frequency in Florida varies by facility type and prior performance. Some restaurants go years between routine visits. The absence of prior records here does not establish when Thyme Machine opened or how long it had been operating before September 1.
What the record does show is this: the first time inspectors documented conditions at Thyme Machine, those conditions were serious enough to shut the restaurant down. There is no prior baseline to compare against, no earlier inspection showing the same kitchen passing with no issues. The closure stands alone in the record.
The facility reopened at 12:20 p.m. after correcting the violations to the satisfaction of a follow-up inspector. Whether that reopening occurred on September 1, September 2, or September 3 is not specified in the available data.
