TAMPA, FL. When state inspectors walked into Coasis on North Nebraska Avenue on June 5, they left with seven high-severity violations documented and the restaurant still serving customers.
Not one intermediate violation. Seven high-severity citations, every single one of them flagged at the most serious level the state uses. The facility was not emergency-closed.
What Inspectors Found
The shellfish citation stands out. Inspectors found inadequate shell stock identification records, meaning Coasis could not demonstrate where its oysters, clams, or mussels came from. These are foods commonly served raw or lightly cooked, and without that documentation, there is no way to trace an outbreak back to its source if a customer gets sick.
Two separate handwashing violations appeared on the same report. Inspectors cited both inadequate handwashing facilities and improper hand and arm washing technique, a combination that means the physical infrastructure for hand hygiene was insufficient and, where attempts were made, the technique itself was wrong.
No person in charge was present or performing duties during the inspection. That single finding explains a great deal about the rest of the list.
What These Violations Mean
The absence of a written employee health policy is not a paperwork technicality. Without one, there is no formal mechanism requiring sick employees to stay out of the kitchen. Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, spreads through exactly this route: an infected food worker handles food, and customers eat it. A written policy is the first line of defense. Coasis did not have one as of June 5.
The shellfish traceability failure carries its own distinct danger. Shellfish filter large volumes of water and can concentrate pathogens, including Vibrio and hepatitis A, in their tissue. The tagging and record-keeping requirements exist so that if customers become ill, health officials can identify the harvest source and pull product from the supply chain. Without those records at Coasis, that chain of accountability is broken before it begins.
The time-as-public-health-control violation adds another layer. When a restaurant uses time rather than temperature to manage food safety, it commits to discarding food after a set window. If that system is not properly implemented, food sits in the bacterial growth range, between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit, for longer than it should. The missing consumer advisory for raw and undercooked foods compounds this: pregnant women, elderly customers, and anyone with a compromised immune system have no way of knowing they are eating something that carries elevated risk.
The person-in-charge violation ties all of it together. CDC data indicates that establishments without active managerial control accumulate critical violations at roughly three times the rate of those with engaged supervision. On June 5, that supervision was absent at Coasis.
The Longer Record
This was not Coasis's worst inspection on record. That distinction belongs to two visits in the fall of 2023, each of which produced eight high-severity violations and two intermediate violations. The October 2023 inspection was followed by another in November 2023 with the same counts. A June 2023 visit found four high-severity violations. Then the numbers dropped: two high-severity violations in May 2025, two more in December 2024, and a relatively clean March 2026 inspection with only one intermediate citation.
June 5, 2026 reversed that recent improvement sharply. Seven high-severity violations in a single visit represents the second-highest single-inspection total in the facility's recorded history, and it comes after what looked like a stabilizing trend.
Across nine inspections on record, Coasis has accumulated 52 total violations. The facility has never been emergency-closed. The pattern shows a restaurant that has cycled through serious citations, pulled back, and then accumulated them again. The shellfish traceability issue and the missing consumer advisory for raw foods are not the kinds of violations that appear by accident. They reflect decisions, or the absence of them.
Still Open
State inspectors documented seven high-severity violations at Coasis on June 5 and left the restaurant open. No emergency closure order was issued. Customers who visited after the inspection had no way of knowing what the records showed.
The facility's prior inspections include two separate visits with eight high-severity violations each, neither of which resulted in a closure. The June 5 inspection is the ninth on record.
Coasis remained open.