BOCA RATON, FL. Food at Alleycat on East Palmetto Park Road was not cooked to the minimum required temperature when state inspectors visited on June 12, a violation that puts customers at direct risk of consuming live pathogens including Salmonella in poultry that survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. That was one of nine high-severity violations documented that day. The restaurant was not closed.
The June 12 inspection also found no employee health policy, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, food in poor condition or adulterated, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, improper use of time as a public health control, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Five intermediate violations accompanied those nine high-severity citations, covering improper sewage disposal, multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, improper sanitizing procedures, inadequate ventilation and lighting, and improper waste disposal.
What Inspectors Found
The absence of a person in charge performing duties is not a paperwork problem. CDC data links establishments without active managerial control to three times the rate of critical violations compared to those with engaged management on-site. On June 12, inspectors found no one at Alleycat filling that role.
The handwashing findings compound that. Inspectors cited both inadequate facilities and improper technique, meaning the infrastructure for hand hygiene was insufficient and, where attempts were made, they were not done correctly. Those two violations together close off the most basic barrier between kitchen workers and customer illness.
The food condition violation adds another layer. Food described as in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated was present in the facility. Combined with food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized, the conditions inspectors documented on June 12 created multiple simultaneous routes for contamination to reach a customer's plate.
What These Violations Mean
Undercooking is among the most direct causes of foodborne illness in commercial kitchens. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. When food is not brought to the required minimum temperature, that pathogen reaches the customer alive. At Alleycat on June 12, inspectors cited this violation alongside food in poor condition, meaning the risk was not limited to one cooking station or one dish.
The absence of an employee health policy means no formal system exists to keep sick workers out of the kitchen. Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, spreads directly through food handled by infected workers. A written policy is the mechanism that gives management the authority and the procedure to send a symptomatic employee home. Without one, the decision is informal, inconsistent, or absent.
Improper sewage disposal carries a specific threat: fecal contamination can spread through a facility when wastewater is not handled correctly. Raw sewage contains pathogens including E. coli and Hepatitis A. That violation appeared alongside improper waste disposal, which attracts rodents and insects, all of which are secondary vectors for those same pathogens.
The consumer advisory violation is the last line of defense for customers who order raw or undercooked items by choice. Without the advisory posted, a pregnant customer, an elderly diner, or someone with a compromised immune system has no way of knowing the risk they are accepting.
The Longer Record
Alleycat Inspection History, Selected Dates
June 12 was not Alleycat's first difficult inspection. State records show 30 inspections on file for the Palmetto Park Road location, with 176 total violations accumulated across that history. High-severity citations have appeared in six of the eight most recent inspections listed in the record.
The facility was emergency-closed on April 10, 2026, after inspectors found roach activity, along with two high-severity and three intermediate violations. It passed a follow-up inspection the next day and reopened. Six weeks later, on June 12, it logged the worst inspection in its recent history.
The April closure came after a string of inspections that had already identified high-severity violations repeatedly: four in March 2025, three in August 2024, three in August 2024, and two in October 2025. A clean inspection in May 2025 and a clean follow-up in April 2026 sit between those findings, but the pattern is one of recurring serious violations with periodic clearance, not sustained improvement.
On June 12, with nine high-severity violations documented and an intermediate citation for improper sewage disposal, Alleycat on East Palmetto Park Road was not closed. It remained open for business.