WINTER SPRINGS, FL. State inspectors visiting Agave Azul Cocina Mexicana on Red Bug Lake Road on May 6 found that some of the food being served to customers could not be traced to a USDA- or FDA-approved source, meaning if someone got sick, there would be no supply chain to investigate. That was one of seven high-severity violations documented that day. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The food-sourcing violation is among the most serious an inspector can document. When food arrives outside the regulated supply chain, there is no paper trail linking it to a licensed processor, no federal inspection stamp, and no way to identify a contamination source if customers fall ill afterward.
Employees at the restaurant were also cited for not reporting symptoms of illness. That violation is a direct transmission route: a worker handling food while sick with norovirus, for example, can contaminate surfaces, utensils, and plates that reach dozens of customers before anyone knows there is a problem.
No one in a supervisory role was present or performing managerial duties during the inspection. CDC data cited in the violation record shows that establishments without active managerial control accumulate critical violations at three times the rate of those with engaged management. The other violations, from improper handwashing to improperly stored toxic substances to a complete absence of allergen awareness, all document a kitchen operating without meaningful oversight that day.
What These Violations Mean
The allergen violation is worth pausing on. Food allergies affect an estimated 32 million Americans, and allergic reactions send 30,000 people to emergency rooms each year. A kitchen where no staff member can demonstrate allergen awareness is a kitchen where a customer with a tree nut or shellfish allergy cannot rely on any assurance they are given about what is in a dish.
The toxic substances violation is separate from the food itself. Improper storage or use of cleaning chemicals creates a contamination risk that is immediate and chemical rather than bacterial. A bottle stored above a prep surface, or a chemical applied to equipment that is not rinsed, can reach food directly.
Improperly cleaned multi-use utensils, one of the three intermediate violations, compound the bacterial risk already introduced by the handwashing and illness-reporting failures. Bacterial biofilms form on inadequately cleaned surfaces within 24 hours and are significantly harder to remove than fresh contamination.
The toilet facilities violation matters because it is directly connected to handwashing. When restroom infrastructure is inadequate or poorly maintained, employees are less likely to wash their hands properly after using the restroom, which feeds directly back into the improper handwashing technique already cited as a high-severity finding.
The Longer Record
The May 6 inspection was not an anomaly. Agave Azul has 32 inspections on record and 295 total violations documented across its history at the Red Bug Lake Road location.
The pattern in the prior inspection data is consistent and specific. Inspectors visited on December 9, 2024, and found 9 high-severity and 5 intermediate violations. A follow-up the next day showed zero high-severity violations, a result that suggests rapid correction rather than sustained compliance. On March 11, 2024, inspectors found 11 high-severity and 2 intermediate violations. A follow-up the next day again showed a reduced count. The same sequence repeated in November 2025: 3 high-severity violations on November 18, then zero on November 24.
The facility has never been emergency-closed across its entire inspection history.
On March 27, 2025, inspectors documented 8 high-severity and 2 intermediate violations. On October 31, 2023, the count was 7 high-severity and 3 intermediate violations, exactly matching the May 6, 2026 total. The restaurant has reached or exceeded 7 high-severity violations in a single inspection at least four times in the past three years.
Still Open
Florida's emergency closure standard requires an inspector to determine that conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. Seven high-severity violations at Agave Azul on May 6 did not meet that threshold, at least not in the inspector's determination.
The restaurant at 5248 Red Bug Lake Road remained open after the inspection concluded.