BREVARD COUNTY, FL. A Titusville restaurant that serves hot dogs racked up seven high-severity violations in a single inspection this week, including toxic chemicals improperly stored near food, food not cooked to minimum required temperatures, and no written employee health policy — the most high-severity citations of any facility inspected across the county July 6 through July 12, 2026.
State inspectors visited 44 establishments across 43 facilities during the week. Twelve of those facilities drew two or more high-severity violations. The worst performers stretched from Titusville to Palm Bay, with handwashing failures, unapproved food sources, and chemical storage problems appearing repeatedly across the list.
The Worst of the Week
Dogs 'R' Us on South Washington Avenue drew the week's highest single-facility count: seven high-severity violations from one inspection. The list included food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and two separate chemical storage violations — both toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled and toxic substances improperly identified or stored. The facility also had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods and no written employee health policy.
The restaurant also had one intermediate violation: inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities.
New Century Chinese Restaurant on Cheney Highway in Titusville came in with six high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved or unknown source, time not properly used as a public health control, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. Inspectors also cited improper handwashing technique and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items. Two intermediate violations included single-use items being reused and inadequate toilet facilities.
Rooney's on Northeast Palm Bay Road also drew six high-severity citations. Among the most serious: food from an unapproved or unknown source, inadequate shell stock identification records, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. The facility also had no written employee health policy, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and improper handwashing technique. Inspectors noted inadequate cooling and cold holding equipment as an intermediate violation.
Friendly Toast Cafe 2 on North Wickham Road in Melbourne collected six high-severity violations, including an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, food not cooked to minimum required temperature, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled, and no consumer advisory was posted. Inspectors also cited improper handwashing technique.
El Mezcalito Mexican Grill on Northeast Babcock Street in Palm Bay had six high-severity violations and three intermediate. Inspectors found no allergen awareness demonstrated, food from an unapproved or unknown source, toxic chemicals improperly stored, no employee health policy, and improper handwashing technique. No consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods was posted.
Planet Grilled Cheese and Wing It on East Eau Gallie Boulevard in Indian Harbour Beach drew six high-severity violations including food in poor condition or adulterated, inadequate shell stock identification records, food not cooked to minimum required temperature, and food from an unapproved or unknown source. Inspectors also cited improper handwashing and no employee health policy. Two intermediate violations included improper sewage or wastewater disposal and multi-use utensils not properly cleaned.
Big Island Burrito on Highway A1A in Indialantic had six high-severity violations, one of them standing out from the rest of this week's list: no approved potable water supply. Inspectors also found required procedures for specialized processes not followed, no allergen awareness demonstrated, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, and improper handwashing technique. Improper sewage or wastewater disposal was cited as an intermediate violation.
Island Pancake House on North Courtenay Parkway in Merritt Island had six high-severity violations: food from an unapproved or unknown source, food in poor condition or adulterated, inadequate shell stock identification records, food not cooked to minimum required temperature, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and no allergen awareness demonstrated.
Doubles Beachside on Highway A1A in Satellite Beach drew five high-severity violations, including an employee not reporting illness symptoms, required procedures for specialized processes not followed, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and no consumer advisory. Improper sewage disposal was among two intermediate violations.
Hotel Melby on East Strawbridge Avenue in Melbourne had five high-severity violations, led by a person in charge not present or not performing duties. Inspectors also found no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, food from an unapproved or unknown source, and inadequate shell stock identification records.
Third Culture Kitchen on Cheney Highway in Titusville drew five high-severity violations including a person in charge not present or not performing duties, inadequate handwashing facilities, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and no employee health policy. Improper sewage disposal was cited as an intermediate violation.
Double Tap Grill on South Harbor City Boulevard in Melbourne had five high-severity violations and none at the intermediate level. Inspectors found food from an unapproved or unknown source, inadequate shell stock identification records, food not cooked to minimum required temperature, no employee health policy, and toxic substances improperly identified or stored.
What These Violations Mean
The most widespread high-severity violation this week was improper handwashing technique, cited at Dogs 'R' Us, New Century Chinese Restaurant, Rooney's, Friendly Toast Cafe 2, El Mezcalito, Planet Grilled Cheese and Wing It, Big Island Burrito, and Hotel Melby. Improper technique means pathogens remain on hands even when a worker goes through the motions of washing. That is the direct route from a sick employee's hands to a customer's food.
Chemical storage violations appeared at Dogs 'R' Us, New Century Chinese Restaurant, Rooney's, Friendly Toast Cafe 2, El Mezcalito, Doubles Beachside, and Third Culture Kitchen. Improperly stored or unlabeled chemicals can contaminate food through direct contact or mislabeled containers, and the consequences range from acute poisoning to long-term toxic exposure.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources was cited at New Century Chinese Restaurant, Rooney's, El Mezcalito, Planet Grilled Cheese and Wing It, Island Pancake House, Hotel Melby, and Double Tap Grill. When food bypasses USDA and FDA inspection, there is no traceability if a customer becomes ill. That is not a paperwork problem: it means investigators cannot identify or recall a contaminated product after an outbreak begins.
Big Island Burrito's citation for no approved potable water supply is the week's most acute single finding. Non-potable water used in food preparation can carry E. coli, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, and Legionella. Combined with the facility's improper sewage disposal citation, inspectors documented a facility where both the water coming in and the waste going out raised contamination concerns in the same visit.
The Longer Record
The data provided does not include prior inspection counts for the facilities cited this week, which limits direct comparison of each restaurant's cumulative history. What the week's record does show is that several of these facilities are accumulating serious citations across multiple violation categories simultaneously, not isolated paperwork gaps.
Dogs 'R' Us stands apart on that measure. Seven high-severity violations in a single inspection, spanning food handling, cooking temperatures, chemical storage, employee health policy, and sanitation, represents a broad failure across nearly every major category inspectors evaluate. A facility with that spread of problems in one visit is not dealing with one overlooked procedure.
Third Culture Kitchen and Hotel Melby both drew citations for a person in charge not present or not performing duties. CDC data links the absence of active managerial oversight to three times the rate of critical violations in a facility. Both restaurants also had additional high-severity violations on top of that management gap, which is consistent with what the research would predict.
Island Pancake House on Merritt Island had no violations related to handwashing or chemical storage, but its six high-severity citations were concentrated in food sourcing and food condition: unapproved source, food in poor condition, inadequate shell stock records, undercooked food, no consumer advisory, and no allergen awareness. That cluster suggests a kitchen operating without the documentation and protocols that allow inspectors or health investigators to trace a problem back to its origin.
