FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. Mixteca on NW 20th Avenue drew six high-severity violations during a single inspection this week, the most of any facility in a stretch that saw 15 Fort Lauderdale restaurants cited for serious food safety failures between August 17 and August 23, 2026.
Inspectors at Mixteca found no written employee health policy, documented that workers were not reporting illness symptoms, cited inadequate handwashing facilities, noted improper handwashing technique, flagged food in poor condition, and cited the improper use of time as a public health control. That last violation means food was allowed to sit in the temperature danger zone, between 41 and 135 degrees, without any documented tracking of how long it had been there.
The Week's Worst Findings
Beehive Kitchen on N Andrews Avenue and Ozzie's Oceanfront Restaurant and Bar on North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard each drew five high-severity violations and two intermediate citations. At Beehive Kitchen, inspectors found no person in charge present or performing duties, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Ozzie's Oceanfront added a violation that stands apart from the others this week: food from an unapproved or unknown source. That means at least some of the food served to beachfront customers this week could not be traced back to a USDA- or FDA-inspected supplier. The same inspection also cited employees for not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, improper sewage or wastewater disposal, and improperly cleaned multi-use utensils.
Carvel and Blimpie on West Commercial Boulevard drew four high-severity violations including food not cooked to required minimum temperatures and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. A national franchise chain serving ice cream and sandwiches also came up short on cooling equipment, with inspectors citing inadequate cold-holding equipment as an intermediate violation.
Kousine Peruvian Kitchen on North Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard, less than a mile from Ozzie's, drew four high-severity violations of its own: employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Inspectors also noted improper sanitizing solution and improperly used wiping cloths.
Living Green Cafe on SE 17th Street drew a violation that demands attention at any restaurant serving shellfish: inadequate shell stock identification and records. Without those records, there is no way to trace oysters, clams, or mussels back to their harvest location if a customer gets sick. The same inspection also cited employees for not reporting illness, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and improper use of time as a public health control.
Thai Garlic and Sushi on Weston Road drew four high-severity violations and none at the intermediate level. Inspectors found no person in charge present, employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, and improper handwashing technique. A sushi restaurant with no functioning handwashing infrastructure and no illness-reporting protocol in place is exactly the kind of combination that state inspectors flag as acutely dangerous.
Moonlite Diner on N Andrews Avenue was cited for three high-severity violations including food in poor condition and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. That last citation means cleaning agents or other hazardous substances were kept in a location or manner that could result in direct food contamination.
Smoke BBQ on NE 32nd Street drew three high-severity violations including food not cooked to required minimum temperatures. At a barbecue restaurant, that citation carries particular weight: poultry that does not reach 165 degrees internally can harbor live Salmonella.
Irie Jerk on NW 5th Way was cited for improper handwashing technique, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, along with three intermediate violations including inadequate toilet facilities.
Three more restaurants drew shellfish traceability violations this week alongside other serious citations. McDonald's at 1201 SR 84 was cited for inadequate shell stock identification, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and employees not reporting illness symptoms. Doughboys Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant on SE 17th Street drew the same shellfish records violation alongside no employee health policy and employees not reporting illness. Wok'n'Lime on West Commercial Boulevard was cited for inadequate shell stock records, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and employees not reporting illness.
Piman on NE 4th Avenue drew two high-severity violations: improperly cleaned food contact surfaces and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, plus an intermediate citation for improper sewage disposal.
Family Kitchen Restaurant and Catering on West Commercial Boulevard was the only facility inspected this week to avoid high-severity violations entirely, drawing a single intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
What These Violations Mean
The illness-reporting failures documented this week are the category of violation most directly connected to multi-victim outbreaks. Eleven of the fifteen facilities inspected this week were cited for either no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, or both. At Mixteca, Beehive Kitchen, Ozzie's Oceanfront, Kousine Peruvian Kitchen, Thai Garlic and Sushi, and eight others, a sick worker handling food had no formal system requiring them to stay home or report symptoms to a manager. Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, spreads with particular efficiency through food handled by an infected worker.
The handwashing violations compound that risk. Improper technique, cited at Mixteca, Beehive Kitchen, Ozzie's Oceanfront, Carvel and Blimpie, Kousine Peruvian Kitchen, Thai Garlic and Sushi, and Irie Jerk, means that even when workers attempt to wash their hands, pathogens remain. At Thai Garlic and Sushi, the problem ran deeper: inspectors found the handwashing facilities themselves were inadequate, meaning proper hygiene was structurally impossible regardless of intent.
The food sourcing violation at Ozzie's Oceanfront is a different category of risk. Food from an unapproved or unknown source bypasses federal inspection entirely. If a customer becomes ill after eating there, investigators may have no supply chain to trace.
The shellfish traceability failures at Living Green Cafe, McDonald's, Doughboys Pizzeria, and Wok'n'Lime matter for a specific reason: oysters, clams, and mussels are frequently consumed raw or lightly cooked, and shellfish harvested from contaminated waters can carry Vibrio bacteria or hepatitis A. Without harvest location records on file, there is no way to connect a sick customer to a contaminated harvest bed.
The Longer Record
Piman on NE 4th Avenue carries the longest inspection history of any facility cited this week, with 51 prior inspections on record. That history makes this week's high-severity violations for chemical storage and unsanitary food contact surfaces harder to dismiss as a first-time oversight.
Moonlite Diner on N Andrews Avenue has 41 prior inspections on record and drew three high-severity violations this week. The diner sits one block from Beehive Kitchen, which has 28 prior inspections and drew five high-severity violations. Two facilities on the same stretch of N Andrews Avenue, with a combined 69 prior inspections between them, both cited for serious violations in the same week.
Mixteca, which led this week with six high-severity violations, has 22 prior inspections on record. That is a shorter history than several other facilities here, but the breadth of this week's findings, spanning illness policy, handwashing infrastructure, food quality, and time-temperature control simultaneously, suggests systemic rather than isolated failures.
Ozzie's Oceanfront has only 10 prior inspections on record, making it one of the newer locations in this group. Five high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved source, in a facility with that limited a history is a pattern inspectors and customers alike should watch.
Smoke BBQ on NE 32nd Street has 34 prior inspections on record. This week's citation for food not cooked to required minimum temperatures at a restaurant built around smoked and grilled meat raises a question the inspection record alone cannot answer: whether undercooking was documented in any of those 34 prior visits.
