SEBRING, FL. Employees at Azul Tequila Mexican Cuisine on US Highway 27 were observed failing to wash their hands properly, toxic chemicals were stored improperly near food, and food contact surfaces had not been cleaned or sanitized, according to a state inspection on May 18, 2026. The restaurant was not closed.
Inspectors documented six high-severity violations and three intermediate violations during that visit. Despite a violation profile that included two separate chemical storage citations and two separate handwashing citations, the Highlands County restaurant remained in operation.
What Inspectors Found
The chemical violations stand out. Two separate citations, one for toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled and one for toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used, were both flagged as high-severity. Inspectors documented these alongside the food preparation failures, meaning customers may have been served food prepared in proximity to unlabeled or improperly stored hazardous substances.
The handwashing picture was equally direct. Inspectors cited employees both for failing to wash their hands at all and for using improper technique when they did. That combination means the handwashing station offered little actual protection on the day of the inspection.
The intermediate violations added to the picture. Sewage or wastewater was not being properly disposed of, multi-use utensils had not been properly cleaned, and single-use items were being reused. Each of those citations compounds the contamination risks documented in the high-severity findings.
What These Violations Mean
The two handwashing citations together describe a facility where the most basic barrier against foodborne illness was not functioning. Handwashing failures are the leading factor in the spread of pathogens like norovirus, Salmonella, and E. coli from food workers to customers. When employees skip handwashing entirely and also use incorrect technique when they do wash, neither behavior provides any meaningful protection.
Food contact surfaces that are not properly cleaned or sanitized compound that problem. Cutting boards, prep counters, and other surfaces that touch food directly can harbor bacteria for hours or days. Combined with improperly cleaned multi-use utensils and reused single-use items, the May 18 inspection documented multiple overlapping contamination pathways operating simultaneously.
The chemical storage violations carry a different and more acute risk. Toxic chemicals stored near food or without proper labeling can contaminate food directly, and without correct labeling, workers may not recognize the danger or know how to respond. The absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked menu items meant that customers who are pregnant, elderly, or immunocompromised had no way to make an informed choice about what they ordered.
The sewage disposal citation rounds out a profile of systemic failure. Improper wastewater handling introduces fecal contamination risk into the facility environment, which can reach food, surfaces, and hands.
The Longer Record
The May 18 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Azul Tequila has accumulated 294 total violations across 25 inspections on record, and the facility was emergency-closed once before, in August 2022, after inspectors found rodent and fly activity. It reopened the following day.
The inspection history shows a pattern of recurring high-severity findings. On May 12, 2025, just six days before the inspection period covered here, inspectors cited the restaurant for six high-severity and four intermediate violations. On November 21, 2025, the tally reached seven high-severity and five intermediate violations, the highest single-inspection count in the recent record. On January 29, 2024, inspectors again found six high-severity violations.
The day after the May 18 inspection, a follow-up visit on May 19, 2026, found two high-severity violations and one intermediate still present. That means high-priority problems persisted even after inspectors had put the facility on notice.
A facility with 25 inspections on record, a prior emergency closure, and a recent stretch that includes May 2025, November 2025, and May 2026 inspections all carrying six or more high-severity violations is not a restaurant that stumbled into a bad day. The record describes a facility that has cycled through serious violations, brief corrections, and renewed failures across multiple years.
Still Open
State rules allow inspectors to leave a facility operating even when high-severity violations are present, as long as the violations do not meet the threshold for an emergency closure order. Azul Tequila met that threshold once, in 2022. It did not meet it on May 18, 2026.
Six high-severity violations, including improperly stored toxic chemicals, two handwashing failures, unsanitized food contact surfaces, and improper sewage disposal, were documented at a restaurant that served customers that day and continued to operate.