DAYTONA BEACH, FL. A state inspector walked into Chicken Exit Wings & Boba on N Nova Road on July 9 and found that employees were not reporting symptoms of illness, a violation that federal health data links directly to the multi-victim outbreaks that send restaurant customers to emergency rooms. The restaurant was not closed.
That single finding was one of eight high-severity violations documented during the inspection, along with four intermediate violations. The facility at 821 N Nova Road, Unit 3, remained open to customers after inspectors left.
What Inspectors Found
The inspection also cited the person in charge as not present or not performing duties. CDC data shows establishments without active managerial control accumulate critical violations at three times the rate of those with engaged management on the floor.
Inspectors found the handwashing facilities themselves inadequate, and separately cited employees for using improper hand and arm washing technique. Both violations appeared on the same inspection report, meaning the facility lacked both the infrastructure for proper hygiene and the practice of it.
Food contact surfaces were documented as not properly cleaned or sanitized. That finding appeared alongside a citation for multi-use utensils not properly cleaned and improper sanitizing solution or procedures, a cluster of sanitation failures covering nearly every surface a food item might touch during preparation.
Inspectors also cited food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated, and flagged inadequate shell stock identification records. Shell stock violations are specific to shellfish, including oysters, clams, and mussels, and mean that if a customer became sick after eating raw or lightly cooked shellfish, tracing the source of the product back through the supply chain would be difficult or impossible. The restaurant also lacked a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, meaning customers had no posted notice that certain menu items carry elevated risk.
What These Violations Mean
The illness-reporting violation is the one that most directly endangered anyone who ate at Chicken Exit Wings & Boba on or before July 9. When food workers do not report symptoms of illness, they continue handling food while potentially infectious. Norovirus, one of the most common causes of foodborne illness outbreaks, can be transmitted by a single infected food handler touching a surface that later contacts food. A single visit to a restaurant where this violation exists is enough exposure.
The handwashing failures compound that risk. Inadequate facilities and improper technique are not redundant violations. One means the physical setup, soap, water access, a dedicated sink, did not meet standards. The other means that even when employees attempted to wash their hands, they did so incorrectly. Studies show that improper handwashing technique leaves pathogens on hands even after a washing attempt is made. Both failures present at the same time means the primary barrier between sick hands and customer food was not functioning.
The sanitization cluster, covering food contact surfaces, multi-use utensils, sanitizing solution, and wiping cloths, describes a kitchen where bacteria can transfer from one food to the next through shared equipment that was never adequately cleaned between uses. Bacterial biofilms develop on improperly cleaned utensils within 24 hours and are significantly harder to remove than fresh contamination.
The shell stock traceability failure carries a specific public health consequence that extends beyond the restaurant. Without proper identification records for shellfish, a disease outbreak linked to a contaminated harvest cannot be traced and recalled. Other customers who bought from the same source, at other restaurants, remain at risk.
The Longer Record
July's inspection was the fifth on record for Chicken Exit Wings & Boba. Across those five inspections, the facility has accumulated 65 total violations. It has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern across those inspections is not one of a new restaurant working out early problems. The December 2024 inspection found 1 high-severity and 2 intermediate violations, a relatively contained result. Two months later, in February 2025, the count rose to 6 high-severity and 2 intermediate violations. By August 2025, it reached 9 high-severity and 4 intermediate violations in a single visit.
The November 2025 inspection showed 4 high-severity and 2 intermediate violations, a partial reduction from the August peak. Then July 2026 brought 8 high-severity violations, the second-highest single-inspection count in the facility's record.
Three of the five inspections on record have logged six or more high-severity violations. The illness-reporting violation and the handwashing failures documented in July are the kind of violations that appear when foundational food safety practices are not in place, not when a single procedure slips.
Still Open
State inspectors documented 8 high-severity violations at Chicken Exit Wings & Boba on July 9, 2026. The restaurant was not emergency-closed. It remained open.
That is the record as it stands.
