KEY WEST, FL. Seven restaurants spread across the Florida Keys were cited for high-severity health violations during the week of September 26 through October 2, 2026, with inspectors documenting unapproved food sourcing, failed parasite destruction procedures, and employees working without any health reporting policy at five separate locations.
What Inspectors Found
Lazy Days South on 11th Street Ocean in Marathon drew the most serious profile of the week, with inspectors citing seven high-severity violations. Among them: no person in charge was present or performing duties, no employee health policy existed, an employee was not reporting illness symptoms, and food had been sourced from an unapproved or unknown supplier. Inspectors also cited improper handwashing technique and food contact surfaces that had not been properly cleaned or sanitized.
The restaurant also had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, a requirement that directly affects visitors who may not know what they are ordering.
Sports Pub on Overseas Highway in Islamorada matched the seven high-severity violation count. Inspectors documented an employee not reporting illness symptoms, food from an unapproved source, and improper handwashing technique. Two violations stood out as particularly acute: toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled, and toxic substances were improperly identified, stored, or used. The facility also had an intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
Parasite destruction procedures were not followed at Sports Pub, a citation that matters specifically for raw or lightly cooked fish dishes.
Sushi Sake at 103400 Overseas Highway in Key Largo also reached seven high-severity violations. Inspectors found no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, food from an unapproved source, and inadequate shell stock identification records, meaning the origin of oysters, clams, or mussels served at the restaurant could not be verified. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, time as a public health control was not properly used, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods was posted.
Mrs. Mac's Kitchen at 99336 Overseas Highway in Key Largo received six high-severity violations. Inspectors cited no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food from an unapproved source, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Intermediate violations included inadequate ventilation and lighting and improper use of wiping cloths.
Key Thai Restaurant and Sushi Bar at 99611 Overseas Highway in Key Largo was cited for four high-severity violations, including an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned or sanitized food contact surfaces, and no allergen awareness demonstrated. That last citation is notable for a restaurant serving dishes that frequently contain common allergens including shellfish, peanuts, and tree nuts.
Dayas Cafe at 101429 Overseas Highway in Key Largo drew three high-severity violations. Inspectors found food was not cooked to the required minimum temperature, time as a public health control was not properly used, and handwashing technique was improper. Four intermediate violations accompanied those findings, including improper sewage or wastewater disposal, inadequate cooling and cold-holding equipment, inadequate toilet facilities, and equipment in poor repair.
Three Waters Resort Marina, which operates the main kitchen, Tiki Bar, and Kokomos at 84001 Overseas Highway in Islamorada received two high-severity violations. Inspectors found food from an unapproved or unknown source and documented that parasite destruction procedures had not been followed.
What These Violations Mean
Five of the seven facilities, Lazy Days South, Sports Pub, Sushi Sake, Mrs. Mac's Kitchen, and Key Thai Restaurant and Sushi Bar, were cited for employees not reporting illness symptoms. That violation is not a paperwork problem. Food workers who prepare meals while sick with Norovirus are the leading cause of multi-victim outbreaks, and Norovirus spreads through fewer than 20 viral particles. In a tourist corridor where visitors are eating out for every meal and then traveling home across the country, a single infected worker can seed illness across multiple states.
Four of those same facilities also lacked any written employee health policy, meaning there was no formal system requiring workers to disclose symptoms before handling food. Lazy Days South compounded that gap further: inspectors found no person in charge was present or performing active oversight duties during the inspection.
Food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers was documented at five locations: Lazy Days South, Sports Pub, Sushi Sake, Mrs. Mac's Kitchen, and Three Waters Resort Marina. When food enters a restaurant outside the regulated supply chain, there is no traceability if a customer gets sick. Inspectors cannot determine where contaminated product came from, how widely it was distributed, or who else may have received it.
Two facilities, Sports Pub and Three Waters Resort Marina, failed to follow parasite destruction procedures. For restaurants serving raw or lightly cooked fish, proper freezing at specific temperatures for specific durations is required to kill parasites including Anisakis, a roundworm found in saltwater fish that causes severe abdominal pain and can require surgical removal. Sushi Sake added to that concern by failing to properly use time as a public health control and lacking shellfish traceability records, a combination that removes two of the primary safety checks for raw seafood service.
The Longer Record
The data does not include prior inspection counts for these facilities, so a direct comparison of inspection history is not available from this week's records. What the violation profiles themselves reveal, however, is a pattern worth noting. The cluster of employee health policy failures across five separate restaurants in the same tourist corridor in a single week suggests these are not isolated oversights at one poorly managed location. They are a systemic gap.
Three Key Largo restaurants, Sushi Sake, Mrs. Mac's Kitchen, and Key Thai Restaurant and Sushi Bar, were all cited for overlapping violations in the same categories: employee illness reporting, food contact surface sanitation, and consumer advisories for raw foods. Key Largo's Overseas Highway stretch is one of the busiest dining corridors in the upper Keys, drawing visitors heading south toward Key West and divers returning from reef trips.
The two Islamorada locations, Sports Pub and Three Waters Resort Marina, share a citation for food from unapproved sources and for parasite destruction failures. Three Waters operates across multiple food service points on a single resort property, meaning violations in the main kitchen could affect the Tiki Bar and Kokomos simultaneously.
Dayas Cafe's intermediate violation for inadequate cooling and cold-holding equipment is unresolved in this week's data. A facility that cannot maintain proper cold temperatures is operating with a structural failure, not a procedural one, and equipment citations do not resolve themselves between inspection visits.
