MIAMI BEACH, FL. Inspectors visiting Churros Manolo at 7300 Collins Ave. on April 27 found food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, a violation that means there is no way to trace where that food came from if someone gets sick. The shop logged 8 high-severity violations and 2 intermediate violations in a single inspection. It was not closed.
The unapproved sourcing violation sits at the top of the list for a reason. Food that bypasses standard USDA and FDA inspection channels can harbor Listeria, Salmonella, and other pathogens with no documentation trail. If a customer becomes ill, investigators have nowhere to start.
What Inspectors Found
Inspectors also cited the shop for food not cooked to the required minimum temperature. Undercooking is one of the most direct routes to foodborne illness, and Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. The record does not specify which item was undercooked.
Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled. Chemicals stored near food preparation areas can contaminate food through mislabeling or physical proximity, and the consequences can include acute poisoning.
Food contact surfaces, the cutting boards, prep counters, and equipment that touches what customers eat, were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Inspectors also found that handwashing facilities were inadequate, and that employees were not washing their hands and arms correctly.
No person in charge was present or performing supervisory duties at the time of the inspection. And the shop had posted no consumer advisory to inform customers about the risks of raw or undercooked items.
What These Violations Mean
Food from unapproved sources is not a paperwork problem. When a supplier is unknown or unverified, there is no inspection record, no lot number, and no way to issue a recall or notify customers if an outbreak is traced back to that ingredient. Anyone who ate at Churros Manolo on or before April 27 and became ill would face a dead end in any investigation.
The undercooking citation compounds that risk directly. If food is sourced from an unverified supplier and then not cooked to the temperature required to kill pathogens, two separate safety layers have failed at once.
Improperly stored toxic chemicals represent a different category of danger. A mislabeled chemical container near food prep surfaces is one handling error away from contaminating food with a substance that causes immediate physical harm, not the delayed onset of a foodborne illness.
The handwashing failures, both the inadequate facilities and the improper technique, close off the last routine defense. Proper handwashing is the most basic intervention between a contaminated surface and a customer's food. When the sink is inadequate and the technique is wrong, that intervention does not happen.
The Longer Record
The April 27 inspection was not an outlier. State records show Churros Manolo has been inspected 27 times total and has accumulated 307 violations across that history. The shop has never been emergency-closed.
The most recent prior inspections tell a consistent story. In September 2025, inspectors found 6 high-severity and 2 intermediate violations. In January 2025, 6 high-severity violations. In April 2024, 7 high-severity and 4 intermediate violations. The numbers have not trended downward.
Going further back, the shop logged 6 high-severity violations in November 2023, 5 in January 2023, and 4 in March 2022. Every single inspection on record going back to at least 2021 has included high-severity violations.
The April 2026 inspection, with 8 high-severity citations, is the worst single inspection in the recent record. It is not a departure from the pattern. It is the pattern at its most concentrated.
Still Open
Collins Avenue runs through the heart of Miami Beach, and 7300 Collins sits in a stretch that draws both tourists and year-round residents. Churros Manolo was not closed after the April 27 inspection.
State inspectors documented unapproved food sources, undercooked food, improperly stored chemicals, unsanitary food contact surfaces, broken handwashing infrastructure, incorrect handwashing technique, no supervisory presence, and no consumer advisory for undercooked items.
The shop has 307 violations across 27 inspections and has never once been emergency-closed.
It remained open after this one too.