MIAMI, FL. Inspectors visiting Burgermeister Brickell at 1111 SW 1st Avenue on April 30 found that food was not being cooked to required minimum temperatures, a violation that means pathogens including Salmonella can survive in the food and reach a customer's plate.
That was one of seven high-severity violations documented in a single inspection. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The undercooking violation was compounded by a separate citation for failing to properly use time as a public health control. When a kitchen does not hold food at safe temperatures, it can use a documented time-tracking system as a backup safeguard. Inspectors found that system was not being followed correctly either, removing both layers of protection simultaneously.
Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled. Chemicals stored near food or in unlabeled containers can contaminate food directly, and mislabeled containers create a poisoning risk if a worker reaches for the wrong bottle.
Inspectors also cited the kitchen for not following required procedures for specialized processes. Techniques such as smoking, curing, or reduced-oxygen packaging require precise written protocols approved by the state, because they create conditions where dangerous bacteria can multiply if steps are missed.
The sewage and wastewater disposal violation added a separate contamination risk. Raw sewage contains E. coli, Hepatitis A, and other pathogens, and improper disposal can spread fecal contamination to surfaces throughout a facility.
The Handwashing Problem
Inspectors cited the restaurant twice for handwashing failures, once for employees not washing their hands adequately and once for using improper technique even when a handwashing attempt was made.
Those are two distinct citations, and together they describe a kitchen where the most basic contamination barrier was not functioning. Hands carry pathogens from raw meat, from surfaces, and from employees themselves directly onto food that goes to customers.
Multi-use utensils were also cited as not properly cleaned. Improperly washed utensils develop bacterial biofilms within 24 hours, films that standard washing cycles do not fully remove and that transfer bacteria to every item the utensil touches afterward.
What These Violations Mean
The undercooking citation is among the most direct risks in this inspection record. Salmonella survives in poultry cooked below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A customer who ate undercooked food on April 30 had no way of knowing it, and no warning was posted.
The handwashing violations matter because hands are the most common vehicle for spreading illness from kitchen to customer. Studies have found that food workers contaminate food through hand contact more frequently than through any other route. Two separate handwashing citations at the same facility on the same day indicate this was not an isolated lapse.
The chemical storage violation adds a layer of risk that most customers would not associate with a burger restaurant. Cleaning agents and sanitizers stored near food preparation areas, or placed in containers without proper labels, can end up in food through splash, mislabeling, or worker error. Acute chemical poisoning from this route sends people to emergency rooms.
Taken together, the April 30 inspection documented failures across multiple independent safety systems: cooking temperature, time controls, handwashing, surface sanitation, utensil cleaning, chemical storage, and wastewater handling. Each is a separate pathway to customer harm.
The Longer Record
The April 30 inspection was not an outlier. State records show Burgermeister Brickell has been inspected 12 times and has accumulated 70 total violations across those visits.
High-severity violations have appeared in every inspection since at least 2022, with the counts rising over time. Inspectors found two high-severity violations in November 2022, five in September 2024, and three in each of two separate inspections in November 2025, just five months before the April visit. The April 2026 count of seven is the highest single-inspection total on record for this location.
The facility has never been emergency-closed. None of the prior inspections, including a September 2024 visit with five high-severity violations, resulted in a closure order.
The pattern across 12 inspections shows high-severity violations present at every recent visit, with the number climbing rather than declining. The April 30 inspection brought that total to its highest point yet.
The restaurant remained open after inspectors left.