COCONUT GROVE, FL. Inspectors visiting Berries Coconut Grove at 2884 SW 27 Ave on April 29 found food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, meaning some of what was being served that day had bypassed federal safety inspections entirely, with no paper trail to follow if a customer got sick.
The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The April 29 inspection produced seven high-severity violations and four intermediate ones. Beyond the unapproved food source, inspectors cited staff for failing to demonstrate any allergen awareness, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Employees were observed using improper handwashing technique. No person in charge was present or performing supervisory duties.
On the intermediate side, inspectors flagged improper sewage or wastewater disposal, multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, single-use items being reused, and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
What These Violations Mean
The unapproved food source violation is among the most serious a restaurant can receive. When food enters a kitchen outside licensed and inspected suppliers, there is no documentation connecting it to a farm, a processor, or a safety check. If a customer becomes ill, investigators have no chain of custody to trace. The food could harbor Listeria, Salmonella, or other pathogens that regulated suppliers are required to screen for.
The failure to demonstrate allergen awareness compounds that risk. Food allergies affect 32 million Americans and send roughly 30,000 people to emergency rooms each year. When staff cannot identify allergens in dishes, customers with life-threatening sensitivities have no reliable way to make safe choices. At Berries Coconut Grove on April 29, inspectors found no evidence that employees had that knowledge.
Undercooking violations carry their own acute danger. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. When food is pulled from heat before reaching required temperatures, any pathogens present in the raw protein survive into the finished dish. Combined with improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, which allow bacteria to transfer from one item to another, the conditions documented on April 29 created multiple simultaneous pathways for foodborne illness.
The toxic substances violation adds a separate, non-biological hazard. Cleaning chemicals and pesticides stored or used incorrectly near food preparation areas can contaminate food directly, and unlike bacterial illness, chemical exposure does not require incubation time.
The Longer Record
The April 29 inspection did not represent a new low for Berries Coconut Grove. It was the ninth consecutive inspection, dating back to April 2025, in which the restaurant received five or more high-severity violations.
State records show 41 total inspections on file and 457 total violations accumulated over the facility's history. That works out to an average of more than 11 violations per inspection visit.
The restaurant has been emergency-closed twice. In September 2025, inspectors shut it down over rodent activity, and it was allowed to reopen two days later after a follow-up inspection. The other emergency closure came in September 2018, for unsanitary conditions, and it also reopened within a day.
The pattern in the months surrounding the 2025 rodent closure is notable. Inspectors cited seven high-severity violations on July 15, 2025. Eight high-severity violations on May 6, 2025. Seven on April 24, 2025. Six on April 18, 2025. The emergency closure in September followed inspections on September 10 and 11 that each produced at least five high violations. The facility reopened September 12, then drew six high violations again by November 12.
Still Open
Florida's emergency closure authority requires inspectors to find an "imminent hazard" to public health, a threshold that the seven high-severity violations documented on April 29 did not, in the inspector's judgment, meet that day.
The food from the unapproved source was served to customers. The allergen question went unanswered. The improperly stored toxic substances remained in the building.
Berries Coconut Grove was open for business.