ORLANDO, FL. Back in April 2026, a state inspector walked into Christner's Prime Steak and Lobster on Lee Road and found food sourced from suppliers that had never been vetted by federal regulators, a finding that sits near the top of any food safety risk scale.

That single violation, food from an unapproved or unknown source, means inspectors could not verify that what was being served to customers had ever passed a USDA or FDA safety check. At a restaurant where entrees routinely run into the tens of dollars and the clientele expects a certain standard, the April 7 inspection told a different story.

The inspector documented six high-severity violations and one intermediate violation before leaving the restaurant open.

What Inspectors Found

1HIGHFood from unapproved or unknown sourceNo traceability
2HIGHFood not cooked to required minimum temperaturePathogen survival risk
3HIGHEmployee not reporting symptoms of illnessOutbreak enabler
4HIGHFood contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitizedCross-contamination risk
5HIGHNo consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foodsVulnerable diners uninformed
6HIGHPerson in charge not present or performing dutiesManagement failure
7INTMulti-use utensils not properly cleanedBiofilm formation risk

The unapproved food source violation was not the only finding that drew a high-severity citation. The inspector also noted that food was not being cooked to required minimum temperatures, a direct pathway for pathogens like Salmonella to survive and reach a customer's plate.

Employees were not reporting symptoms of illness, according to the inspection record. The inspector also found food contact surfaces that had not been properly cleaned or sanitized, and noted the absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items on the menu.

A person in charge was cited as either not present or not performing required supervisory duties. The single intermediate violation involved multi-use utensils that had not been properly cleaned.

What These Violations Mean

The unapproved food source citation is one of the most consequential a restaurant can receive because it severs the chain of traceability. If a customer becomes ill after eating at Christner's, and the ingredient causing that illness came from a supplier never registered with state or federal regulators, investigators have nowhere to start. Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli outbreaks tied to unvetted sources are notoriously difficult to contain for exactly this reason.

The undercooked food violation compounds that risk. When food arrives from an unknown source and is then served without reaching the temperature required to kill pathogens, the two violations function together as a single, compounded hazard.

The employee illness reporting failure is one the CDC has identified as a primary driver of multi-victim outbreaks. A sick kitchen worker who handles food without triggering any internal reporting protocol can expose every customer served during that shift. At a full-service steakhouse doing a dinner rush, that is not a small number of people.

The missing consumer advisory matters most for the customers least able to tolerate the consequences. Elderly diners, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems rely on menu disclosures to make informed decisions about raw or undercooked items. Without the advisory, they have no warning.

The Longer Record

The April 2026 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Christner's has accumulated 274 violations across 23 inspections on file, and every inspection listed in the facility's recent history has included high-severity citations.

The January 2023 inspection produced nine high-severity violations and five intermediate violations. Five months later, in May 2023, inspectors returned and found eight high-severity violations and three intermediate violations. The count dropped somewhat in the inspections that followed, but it never reached zero on the high-severity column.

The November 2024 inspection recorded seven high-severity violations and four intermediate violations, the highest single-visit total in the most recent two-year stretch. The inspection six months before that, in April 2024, found four high-severity violations. The pattern holds across every season and every year in the record.

Christner's High-Severity Violations: Recent Inspection History

April 20266 high-severity, 1 intermediate. Food from unapproved source, undercooked food, no illness reporting.
October 20253 high-severity, 3 intermediate violations.
April 20254 high-severity, 2 intermediate violations.
November 20247 high-severity, 4 intermediate violations.
April 20244 high-severity, 3 intermediate violations.
May 20238 high-severity, 3 intermediate violations.
January 20239 high-severity, 5 intermediate violations.

Christner's has never been emergency-closed, according to state records. Not after nine high-severity violations in January 2023. Not after eight in May 2023. Not after seven in November 2024. Not after six in April 2026.

Open for Business

The inspection record is a document of persistence. Eight consecutive inspections with high-severity violations, 274 total violations across 23 visits, and a finding in April 2026 that the restaurant was serving food from suppliers regulators had never approved.

The inspector closed the report and left the restaurant open.