GROVELAND, FL. A state inspector walked into Coyote Rojos II on Broad Street on May 20 and found food that had not been cooked to the required minimum temperature, toxic chemicals improperly stored, no written employee health policy, and no one in charge performing managerial duties. The restaurant was not closed.
The inspection documented eight high-severity violations and one intermediate violation in a single visit. Under Florida law, an emergency closure is not automatic, even with that many high-priority findings. Inspectors have discretion. On May 20, they exercised it in favor of keeping the restaurant open.
What Inspectors Found
The undercooked food violation is the one that most directly put customers at risk that day. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit and can cause severe illness within hours of consumption. The inspector documented that food was not reaching required minimum temperatures before being served.
The chemical violations compounded the picture. Inspectors cited the restaurant twice on the same visit, once for improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals and once for toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Chemicals stored near food or mislabeled as something else can contaminate a meal without any visible sign.
No one in a position of authority was actively managing the kitchen. That finding, the absence of a functioning person in charge, appeared alongside a complete failure on employee illness protocols: no written health policy, and employees not required to report symptoms. Those three violations together describe a kitchen with no active oversight and no system for keeping sick workers away from food.
The follow-up inspection the next day, May 21, showed three high-severity violations and one intermediate still on the books. The restaurant remained open through that visit as well.
What These Violations Mean
The undercooked food finding is not a paperwork problem. Salmonella, Campylobacter, and E. coli all survive in poultry and ground meat that does not reach the required internal temperature. A customer who ate an undercooked item at Coyote Rojos II on May 20 had no way of knowing the risk. There was no consumer advisory posted to inform them.
The employee illness violations are, in some ways, the more insidious set. Norovirus is responsible for roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, and food workers who handle food while symptomatic are the most direct transmission route into a restaurant's kitchen. Without a written health policy and without a requirement that workers report symptoms, there is no mechanism to stop a sick employee from preparing food. The inspection record shows Coyote Rojos II had neither.
Improperly stored or unlabeled toxic chemicals create a separate and immediate category of risk. A chemical stored in an unmarked container near food prep surfaces, or mistaken for a food-safe product, can cause acute poisoning. The inspector cited this restaurant on both counts in the same visit.
The intermediate violation, inadequate cooling and cold holding equipment, ties directly to the temperature problem. A kitchen that cannot reliably hold cold food below 41 degrees Fahrenheit is a kitchen where bacteria multiply in protein-rich foods between the time they are prepared and the time they are served.
The Longer Record
The May 20 inspection was not a one-time stumble. State records show 27 inspections on file for Coyote Rojos II, with 256 total violations documented across that history. That is an average of nearly 9.5 violations per inspection visit.
The pattern in the most recent years is consistent. In August 2024, inspectors found 10 high-severity violations on one visit and returned the next day to document four more high-severity findings. In February 2025, the count was seven high and five intermediate. In August 2025, seven high and three intermediate. The May 2026 inspection, with eight high-severity violations, fits squarely within that range.
The restaurant has never been emergency-closed in 27 inspections on record. That fact sits alongside a cumulative total of 256 violations and a pattern of repeat high-severity findings in the same categories, food temperature, management control, and employee illness protocols, across multiple consecutive years.
The day after the May 20 inspection, three high-severity violations remained. Coyote Rojos II was open for business.