KEY WEST, FL. State inspectors cited 12 Florida Keys restaurants for high-severity health violations during the week of July 13, a stretch when tourist traffic across Monroe County peaks and some of the busiest waterfront dining rooms in South Florida are packed from lunch through last call.
The Worst of the Week
Reel Catch at 80001 Overseas Highway in Islamorada drew the most serious findings of the week, with six high-severity violations. Inspectors cited employees for not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, and improper handwashing technique. Food was not cooked to required minimum temperatures, time as a public health control was not properly used, and no consumer advisory was posted for raw or undercooked items.
The sewage and wastewater disposal at Reel Catch was also flagged as an intermediate violation.
Cafe Marquesa at 600 Fleming Street in Key West recorded five high-severity violations. Inspectors found no person in charge present or performing duties, employees not reporting illness symptoms, food sourced from an unapproved or unknown supplier, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used.
Cocomelon Blend and Brew at 1075 Duval Street also drew five high-severity citations. Those included no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, food from an unapproved source, food in poor condition or adulterated, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Four intermediate violations accompanied those findings, including improper sewage disposal and multi-use utensils not properly cleaned.
Key Plaza Creperie at 1105 Key Plaza was cited for five high-severity violations as well. Inspectors documented no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock identification records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and food not cooked to required minimum temperature. Single-use items were also found to be improperly reused.
More Violations Across the Keys
Karlitas Cafe at 934 Truman Avenue received four high-severity citations. Inspectors found food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled in two separate citations.
DJ's Clam Shack at 629 Duval Street, one of the most tourist-trafficked blocks in Key West, was cited for four high-severity violations. No person in charge was present or performing duties. Handwashing technique was flagged as improper. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods was posted.
Kennedy Cafe at 924-A Kennedy Drive drew four high-severity violations, including inadequate shell stock identification records, improper handwashing technique, time as a public health control not properly used, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. Four intermediate violations accompanied those findings.
Puerto Vallarta Mexican Bar and Grill at 86701 Overseas Highway in Islamorada was cited for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, time as a public health control not properly used, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Green Turtle Inn at 81219 Overseas Highway in Islamorada recorded three high-severity violations: no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, and food sourced from an unapproved or unknown supplier.
Key West Poke House at 500 Truman Avenue was cited for employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, and food from an unapproved or unknown source. Inadequately maintained toilet facilities were also flagged as an intermediate violation.
Island House Rest at 1129 Fleming Street drew three high-severity violations: inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, and food from an unapproved or unknown source.
Havana Island Cafe Big Coppitt at 319 Overseas Highway received two high-severity violations: food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and food not cooked to required minimum temperature.
What These Violations Mean
The illness-reporting failures documented at Reel Catch, Cafe Marquesa, and Key West Poke House are among the most direct risks to visitors. Food workers who do not report symptoms of illness are the primary driver of multi-victim outbreaks. Norovirus, which spreads through contaminated hands and surfaces, can floor an otherwise healthy adult within 12 to 48 hours. For tourists on a fixed vacation schedule, that is not an abstract risk.
The food-from-unapproved-source violations at Cafe Marquesa, Cocomelon Blend and Brew, Green Turtle Inn, Island House Rest, and Key West Poke House carry a different kind of danger. When food enters a restaurant from a supplier that has not been vetted by state or federal regulators, there is no paper trail. If a customer gets sick, investigators cannot trace the product back to its origin. That traceability gap is exactly what makes outbreaks harder to contain.
Undercooking violations at Reel Catch, Cafe Marquesa, Key Plaza Creperie, Puerto Vallarta, and Havana Island Cafe are a direct pathogen survival issue. Salmonella in poultry requires an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit to be destroyed. Food not reaching that threshold does not look or smell different from properly cooked food. A tourist ordering grilled chicken or a seafood dish at any of these locations during this inspection window had no way of knowing.
The shellfish traceability failures at Key Plaza Creperie and Kennedy Cafe are especially pointed in a Keys context. Oysters, clams, and mussels are staple menu items across Monroe County, often served raw or minimally cooked. Without proper shell stock identification records, a restaurant cannot tell regulators, or a sick customer's doctor, where those shellfish came from or when they were harvested.
The Longer Record
Several of this week's facilities carry inspection histories that extend well before the July 13 window. Green Turtle Inn on the Overseas Highway in Islamorada is one of the Florida Keys' most recognized roadside institutions, with a record going back decades. Its appearance this week with three high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved source, is not a first-inspection surprise from a new operator.
Cafe Marquesa on Fleming Street is among Key West's more established dining rooms. The combination of no person in charge, an unapproved food source, and an employee illness-reporting failure at a restaurant of that tenure represents a breakdown across multiple layers of management control simultaneously.
The Duval Street corridor produced two citations this week, at DJ's Clam Shack and Cocomelon Blend and Brew, both within blocks of each other on the street that draws the highest foot traffic in the Keys. Both were cited for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Both were cited for handwashing failures. Neither had a consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked items, in the case of DJ's Clam Shack, or an employee health policy in place, in the case of Cocomelon.
Kennedy Cafe on Kennedy Drive drew eight total violations this week, four high-severity and four intermediate, including improperly stored toxic chemicals, shell stock identification failures, and sewage disposal concerns. That is a wide spread of violation categories for a single inspection, touching food safety, chemical safety, infrastructure, and equipment condition at the same time.
