BRADENTON, FL. Back in April 2026, state inspectors walked into Aroy D Thai and Sushi on Cortez Road West and found toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled near the food operation, one of seven high-severity violations documented that day. The restaurant was not closed.
The April 2 inspection produced a violation sheet that included failures at nearly every layer of food safety: management, hygiene, sanitation, and chemical storage. Despite the breadth and severity of what inspectors found, the Bradenton restaurant at 4442 Cortez Rd W remained open to customers.
What Inspectors Found
The seven high-severity violations touched the full arc of a meal's preparation. Inspectors cited no person in charge present or performing duties, employees not reporting symptoms of illness, inadequate handwashing facilities, and improper hand and arm washing technique. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled. And the restaurant, which serves sushi, had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods.
Three intermediate violations accompanied the high-severity findings: multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, single-use items being improperly reused, and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
What These Violations Mean
The toxic chemical storage violation is the kind that can cause harm in a single meal. When cleaning agents or other chemicals are stored improperly near food preparation areas, or when containers are unlabeled, the risk is acute poisoning through direct contamination. A customer would have no way of knowing.
The illness reporting failure is a different kind of danger, and historically a more consequential one. Food workers who do not report symptoms of illness are the primary driver of multi-victim outbreaks. Norovirus, in particular, spreads rapidly through a kitchen when a sick employee continues working without disclosure. At Aroy D, inspectors found no system in place to catch that before it reached a plate.
The handwashing failures compound every other violation on the list. Inadequate handwashing facilities means proper hand hygiene is structurally impossible, regardless of intent. Improper technique means that even when employees attempted to wash their hands, pathogens remained. Those two violations together, alongside improperly cleaned food contact surfaces and multi-use utensils developing bacterial biofilm, create overlapping contamination pathways from prep to plate.
The missing consumer advisory for raw and undercooked foods is a specific risk for vulnerable diners. Elderly customers, pregnant women, young children, and anyone with a compromised immune system rely on that disclosure to make informed decisions about sushi and other raw items. Without it, they have no warning.
The Longer Record
The April 2 inspection was not an aberration. Aroy D Thai and Sushi has accumulated 209 total violations across 24 inspections on record, a volume that places this visit inside an established and documented pattern rather than an isolated bad day.
The inspection history going back through 2023 shows high-severity violations at every visit. The most severe single inspection on record came on January 27, 2025, when inspectors cited nine high-severity and seven intermediate violations in one visit. A follow-up the next day, January 28, still found one high-severity violation remaining.
The pattern holds across years. In December 2023, inspectors found four high and five intermediate violations. In April 2024, three high and four intermediate. In October 2025, four high and three intermediate. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed in any of those visits.
Four days after the April 2 inspection that generated seven high-severity citations, inspectors returned on April 6. That follow-up visit found one high-severity violation and one intermediate still present.
Still Open
Florida's emergency closure authority is triggered when inspectors determine an immediate threat to public health exists. Aroy D Thai and Sushi has not met that threshold across 24 inspections and 209 recorded violations.
The April 2 inspection, with its seven high-severity findings spanning chemical storage, illness reporting, handwashing infrastructure, surface sanitation, and raw food disclosure, did not change that. Customers who visited the Cortez Road West location that week had no posted notice, no closed sign, and no indication from the outside that inspectors had been inside two days earlier documenting failures at nearly every stage of food preparation.
The restaurant remained open.
