FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. The Crowne Plaza Fort Lauderdale at 455 SR 84 led all facilities inspected this week with 7 high-severity violations, including food from unapproved sources, inadequate shellfish traceability records, improper parasite destruction procedures, and toxic substances stored or used incorrectly, state records show.
That tally made the Crowne Plaza the most-cited facility in Fort Lauderdale during the week of October 5 through October 11, 2026. Inspectors also documented food in poor condition, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and no written employee health policy at the hotel kitchen.
What Inspectors Found
Vale Food Company at 420 N Federal Hwy came in second with 5 high-severity violations. Inspectors cited the restaurant for an employee not reporting illness symptoms, food from an unapproved source, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked items.
Taco Bell #134 at 3500 W Broward Blvd drew 4 high-severity violations, including inadequate shellfish traceability records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. The location also accumulated 5 intermediate violations, the most of any facility this week, including improper sewage or wastewater disposal and inadequate cooling equipment.
Waxy O'Connors at 1095 SE 17th St Causeway was cited for an employee not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate shellfish traceability records, time as a public health control not properly used, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Inspectors also found multi-use utensils not properly cleaned and wiping cloths improperly used.
Woodone Ramen at 910 N Federal Hwy had 4 high-severity violations: an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper hand and arm washing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. Inspectors also noted improper sewage or wastewater disposal and inadequate toilet facilities.
Resto Cafe Corporation at 6700 N Andrews Ave was cited for no employee health policy, improper hand and arm washing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff.
Tin Roof at 219 S Andrews Ave drew citations for inadequate handwashing by food employees, improper hand and arm washing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and food not cooked to required minimum temperature.
Mad Chicken at 3045 N Federal Hwy was cited for improper hand and arm washing technique, food in poor condition or mislabeled, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Sugar Bae at 8253 Sunset Strip drew violations for no employee health policy, improper hand and arm washing technique, and inadequate shellfish traceability records.
Anthony's Clam House and Grill at 2861 E Commercial Blvd was cited for a person in charge not present or not performing duties, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, and food from an unapproved source.
Just 1 More at 3074 NE 33rd Ave had 3 high-severity violations: inadequate handwashing by food employees, food in poor condition or mislabeled, and food not cooked to required minimum temperature.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe at 1851 Cordova Rd was cited for inadequate shellfish traceability records and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, along with multi-use utensils not properly cleaned.
Arby's 1453 at 1720 E Sunrise Blvd drew citations for inadequate handwashing by food employees and time as a public health control not properly used. Inspectors also documented improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
La Costa Restaurant at 1855 S State Rd 7 was cited for an employee not reporting illness symptoms and food in poor condition or mislabeled.
What These Violations Mean
Five of the 14 facilities this week, including Waxy O'Connors, Anthony's Clam House and Grill, Vale Food Company, Woodone Ramen, and La Costa Restaurant, were cited for employees not reporting illness symptoms. This is not a paperwork violation. When a food worker with Norovirus handles plates, cutting boards, or any food-contact surface, that virus transfers directly to customers. Norovirus causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, and restaurant outbreaks are among its most efficient delivery mechanisms.
Shellfish traceability failures appeared at five facilities this week: the Crowne Plaza, Taco Bell #134, Waxy O'Connors, Sugar Bae, and Tropical Smoothie Cafe. Oysters, clams, and mussels are frequently consumed raw or barely cooked, and without the required shellstock identification tags, there is no way to trace a contaminated batch back to its harvest bed if a customer gets sick. That traceability gap is what turns a single illness into an uncontained outbreak.
Improper handwashing, both inadequate washing and flawed technique, was cited at seven facilities this week, including Tin Roof, Just 1 More, Arby's, Woodone Ramen, Resto Cafe Corporation, Mad Chicken, and Sugar Bae. The distinction matters: inadequate handwashing means employees are skipping the step entirely or not washing long enough. Improper technique means they are going through the motion without removing pathogens. Both routes lead to the same outcome: contaminated food.
The Crowne Plaza's citation for food from an unapproved source, shared this week by Vale Food Company and Anthony's Clam House and Grill, carries a specific danger that other violations do not. Food purchased outside the regulated supply chain has not been inspected by USDA or FDA. If a batch is contaminated with Listeria or Salmonella, there is no distributor record, no lot number, and no way to issue a targeted recall. The food simply disappears into the kitchen with no paper trail.
The Longer Record
Vale Food Company has now accumulated 36 prior inspections on record, the most of any facility cited this week. Yet this week's findings included 5 high-severity violations, among them food from an unapproved source and a worker not reporting illness symptoms. A facility with 36 inspections behind it has had ample opportunity to build the systems that prevent those violations. The record suggests those systems are not in place.
La Costa Restaurant at 31 prior inspections and the Crowne Plaza at 27 are also deep into their inspection histories. The Crowne Plaza's 7 high-severity violations this week, including toxic substance handling and parasite destruction failures, represent a particularly serious finding for a hotel kitchen that has been inspected nearly three dozen times.
Waxy O'Connors at 24 prior inspections and Tropical Smoothie Cafe at 24 both returned shellfish traceability violations this week. That violation requires maintaining physical tags from shellfish deliveries, a procedural step that does not require equipment, training, or capital investment. Finding it repeatedly across a long inspection history points to a practice that has simply not been corrected.
Woodone Ramen stands apart from the rest of this week's list. The ramen shop on N Federal Hwy has only 2 prior inspections on record, making this week's 4 high-severity violations, including improper sewage disposal and toxic chemical storage failures, an early and serious signal. Whether those violations are corrected in the next inspection or become a pattern is the question the record has not yet answered.
