TAMPA, FL. Back in December 2025, state inspectors arrived at Elevation Coffee Haus, a convenience store and food service operation in Tampa, and found something that stopped the visit cold: the establishment could not produce documentation proving its water came from an approved source or that its sewage was properly disposed of through an approved facility.
Inspectors ordered an immediate stop-use on all food processing and food service.
What Inspectors Found
The December 29 inspection, conducted by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, turned up 16 violations in total, including 3 priority violations and 6 priority-foundation violations. None were corrected on site at the time they were cited, though a handful were addressed before inspectors left.
The water problem was foundational. The inspector noted: "There is not a water source documentation available during permitting. Stop-use for all processing/food service, equipment, and utensils." A separate violation cited the sewage side of the same issue: "There is no documentation of approved sewage. A water/sewage bill must be obtained from the City of Tampa."
Five stop-use orders were issued during the visit, covering food processing, food service equipment, utensils, warewashing facilities, and water and ice use.
The Handwashing Failures
The inspection found multiple, overlapping failures at the handwashing sinks, and together they painted a picture of a facility where basic hygiene infrastructure had broken down entirely.
The sinks had no hot water. The inspector noted no soap or paper towels were available at the food service handwashing sink or in the back area. One sink was physically blocked with utensils, though that was cleared before the inspector left.
A food employee was observed not washing hands before putting on gloves. The inspector flagged the non-functional handwashing sink as a contributing factor and issued a stop-use order.
The person in charge did not correctly answer questions about preventing the transmission of foodborne illness, a separate priority-foundation violation. The establishment also had no written procedures for responding to vomiting or diarrhea incidents.
The Other Violations
Beyond the water, sewage, and handwashing failures, inspectors documented a series of additional problems that individually would warrant attention at any food service establishment.
Opened milk and half-and-half in the reach-in cooler had no date markings, and the inspector noted both had been opened more than 24 hours. Those items were marked before the inspector left.
There was no probe thermometer available to check food temperatures, no sanitizer test strips for quaternary ammonium, and no three-compartment sink installed for washing, rinsing, and sanitizing equipment. That last item triggered its own stop-use order.
Cups with no handles were stored in direct contact with oats in an oats bag. Cleaned plates near the reach-in cooler were not inverted on the shelving.
The establishment also had no certified food protection manager.
What These Violations Mean
The water and sewage documentation violations are not paperwork technicalities. When a food establishment cannot verify that its water comes from an approved public water system, there is no assurance the water used to prepare food, brew coffee, wash hands, or clean equipment is free of contamination. At Elevation Coffee Haus, inspectors found no such documentation on December 29.
The same logic applies to sewage. Unapproved or undocumented sewage disposal creates a direct route for waste to contaminate food preparation areas or water supplies. The inspector's instruction was specific: a water and sewage bill from the City of Tampa was required before operations could resume.
The handwashing failures compound the water problem. An employee observed not washing hands before putting on gloves, combined with sinks that had no hot water, no soap, and no paper towels, means the primary barrier between an employee's hands and a customer's food was effectively absent. Gloves worn over unwashed hands do not prevent contamination.
The absence of a three-compartment sink means the establishment had no approved method for properly washing, rinsing, and sanitizing food contact equipment. Without sanitizer test strips, there was also no way to verify that any sanitizing solution in use was at an effective concentration.
The Longer Record
The inspection history at this location is short but notable for what it shows after the December findings. The December 29, 2025 inspection was the first on record at this address and produced 16 violations, including a stop-use order and an operating-without-a-valid-permit citation.
A focused inspection followed on February 12, 2026, and recorded zero violations.
That follow-up result means the facility addressed enough of the December findings to satisfy inspectors during a subsequent targeted visit. What the record does not show is whether every underlying infrastructure problem, including the water and sewage documentation, was fully resolved before food service resumed. The December inspection required written release from a Food Safety Inspector before the stop-use orders could be lifted.
The December 29 inspection was classified as a re-inspection-required event. As of that visit, no violations had been corrected on site at the time of citation, and the establishment was operating without a valid food permit.