ORLANDO, FL. On September 29, a state inspector walked into El Palacio Buffet on South Orange Blossom Trail and documented something that stops a restaurant cold in most circumstances: no approved potable water supply. The facility had 11 high-severity violations that day. It was not closed.
That water violation means the taps, the ice, the food prep surfaces, and the cooking equipment were all potentially supplied by water that had not been verified safe for human contact. E. coli, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, and Legionella are among the pathogens that can move through a compromised water supply into every dish on a buffet line.
What Inspectors Found
The September 29 inspection produced 11 high-severity violations and 8 intermediate ones, a total of 19 documented problems in a single visit. Beyond the water supply, inspectors cited food coming from unapproved or unknown sources, meaning there is no chain of custody to trace if a customer gets sick.
Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled, a separate citation from a second violation for toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. That is two distinct chemical hazard violations on the same day, in the same facility.
The inspector also documented that no person in charge was present or performing supervisory duties. There was no written employee health policy, and employees were not reporting illness symptoms. Those three violations together describe a kitchen operating without oversight or any formal mechanism to keep a sick worker off the line.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Multi-use utensils were not properly cleaned. Sanitizing solution was improper or improperly applied. Wiping cloths were being used improperly. Sewage or wastewater disposal was flagged as inadequate. Single-use items were being reused.
No consumer advisory was posted for raw or undercooked foods, and shellfish identification records were inadequate, meaning there was no way to trace the origin of oysters, clams, or mussels served that day.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of no approved water supply and improper sewage disposal is not a paperwork problem. Water that has not been verified as potable can introduce bacterial and parasitic contamination into every step of food preparation, from washing produce to cooking proteins to making ice. At a buffet, where food sits in open trays and is handled by dozens of customers and workers, that contamination has no firewall.
The employee illness violations compound the risk. Without a written health policy and without a mechanism for workers to report symptoms, a staff member with Norovirus, Salmonella, or Hepatitis A has no formal obligation to stay home. Norovirus is responsible for approximately 20 million infections in the United States each year, and food workers are among its most efficient vectors. At El Palacio Buffet on September 29, inspectors found no policy requiring them to report.
Food from unapproved sources is a specific traceability failure. If a customer becomes ill after eating at this facility, investigators need to trace the food back through a licensed supplier. Food that entered the building outside that system cannot be traced. That matters most with shellfish, which the inspector separately flagged for inadequate identification records, because oysters and clams are frequently eaten raw or lightly cooked and carry a disproportionate share of foodborne illness cases.
Two chemical violations in a single inspection, covering both storage and labeling, create a direct poisoning risk in a kitchen where improperly labeled containers can be mistaken for food-safe products. That risk sits alongside the contamination risks from the water, the surfaces, and the illness policy failures.
The Longer Record
El Palacio Buffet has accumulated 869 documented violations over 60 state inspections, an average of more than 14 per visit.
The September 29 inspection was not a bad day at an otherwise clean restaurant. State records show El Palacio Buffet has been inspected 60 times and has accumulated 869 total violations. Three of those inspections ended in emergency closure orders.
Inspectors shut the restaurant down on April 7, 2025, for roach activity. It reopened two days later. They closed it again on June 9, 2025, for roach activity. It reopened the next day. A third emergency closure came on July 21, 2025, for roach and fly activity. It reopened four days later.
The inspection immediately following that third closure, on July 25, 2025, showed 2 high-severity and 2 intermediate violations, the lowest count in the recent record. That number did not hold. By September 22, 2025, the facility was back to 6 high-severity violations. By March 30, 2026, it was at 9 high-severity violations. The September 29, 2026 inspection, with 11 high-severity violations, is the highest single-day high-severity count in the data provided.
The two inspections that followed September 29 showed no improvement. On October 1, inspectors returned and found 8 high-severity and 6 intermediate violations. On October 7, the count was the same: 8 high-severity, 6 intermediate.
El Palacio Buffet remained open after the September 29 inspection. Customers eating there that day had no way of knowing the facility's water supply had not been verified as safe.
