FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. Fish Tales at 3355 NE 33rd Street drew nine high-severity violations in a single inspection during the week of August 24, the most of any restaurant cited in Fort Lauderdale that week, with inspectors documenting failures that touched nearly every stage of food handling, from the person running the kitchen to the temperature of what was served.
The violations at Fish Tales included an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food in poor condition, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and food not cooked to the required minimum temperature. Inspectors also cited the restaurant for inadequate shellfish identification records and the absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. The person in charge was either not present or not performing required duties.
What Inspectors Found
The Tower Club at 1 Financial Plaza drew four high-severity violations, including a missing or absent person in charge, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. The private dining club atop downtown Fort Lauderdale's tallest office tower also had an intermediate citation for inadequate ventilation and lighting.
Cafe Roma Italy at 1 East Broward Boulevard also accumulated four high-severity violations. Inspectors cited no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, and food from an unapproved or unknown source. The unapproved sourcing citation is among the most serious in this week's data, because food that bypasses standard supply chains carries no traceability if a customer gets sick.
Ruby Chinese Restaurant on SR 84 drew three high-severity violations, including improper handwashing, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, plus two intermediate citations for unclean multi-use utensils and inadequate ventilation.
Four Points by Sheraton at 1800 South Federal Highway was cited for food from an unapproved source, improper use of time as a public health control, and no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff. The allergen citation is notable: the hotel sits near both Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Port Everglades, meaning its restaurant serves a high volume of travelers who have no local options if a reaction occurs.
Shooters Waterfront Cafe at 3033 NE 32nd Avenue was cited for an employee not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate shellfish identification records, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned. The sewage disposal intermediate violation is the most structurally serious of the facility's five citations.
Bokamper's at 3115 NE 32nd Avenue drew two high-severity violations, food not cooked to the required minimum temperature and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, plus an intermediate citation for improperly reused single-use items.
Checkers Drive-In #256 at 400 East Sunrise Boulevard was cited for food from an unapproved source, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. The chemicals citation is one of the more unusual in this week's data, flagging a direct contamination risk at a fast-food counter that serves hundreds of customers daily.
Caffe Europa at 910 East Las Olas Boulevard drew three high-severity violations: a missing person in charge, improper handwashing technique, and food not cooked to the required minimum temperature. Las Olas is one of Fort Lauderdale's highest-foot-traffic dining corridors.
The Whole Enchilada Fresh Mexican Grill at 745 North Federal Highway was cited for a missing person in charge, no employee health policy, and an employee not reporting illness symptoms. Three separate illness-related failures in a single inspection represent a layered breakdown in the facility's basic disease prevention structure.
Jalisco Inc. at 700 North Federal Highway drew three high-severity violations, including an employee not reporting illness symptoms, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and required procedures for specialized processes not followed. The specialized process citation suggests the restaurant is conducting smoking, curing, fermenting, or similar techniques without the documented protocols those methods require.
Freda's Dominican Cuisine at 6868 Powerline Road was cited for an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, and inadequate shellfish identification records. Freda's is the newest facility in this week's data, with only four prior inspections on record.
Wendy's 1945 at 943 West SR 84 drew three high-severity violations, including improper handwashing technique, inadequate shellfish identification records, and no consumer advisory. The shellfish traceability citation at a Wendy's franchise is unusual and worth noting.
G&B Dockside at 3333 NE 32nd Avenue and Chipotle Mexican Grill #1912 at 1515 SE 17th Street each drew a single high-severity violation. G&B Dockside was cited for an employee not reporting illness symptoms. Chipotle was cited for no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
What These Violations Mean
The single most repeated violation across this week's fifteen facilities was employees not reporting illness symptoms, cited at Fish Tales, G&B Dockside, The Tower Club, Cafe Roma Italy, Shooters Waterfront Cafe, The Whole Enchilada, Jalisco Inc., and Freda's. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, spreads readily from an infected food worker to dozens of customers through direct food contact. A worker who does not report symptoms, or a facility with no policy requiring them to do so, removes the only barrier between a sick employee and the food on your plate.
Shellfish traceability failures appeared at Fish Tales, Shooters Waterfront Cafe, Freda's Dominican Cuisine, and Wendy's 1945. Oysters, clams, and mussels are typically consumed raw or lightly cooked, meaning they carry no heat-kill step to eliminate pathogens. When shellfish identification records are missing or inadequate, there is no way to trace the source of an illness back to a specific harvest area or supplier, which is the mechanism that allows health agencies to pull a contaminated product before more people are exposed.
Unapproved food sourcing, cited at Cafe Roma Italy, Four Points by Sheraton, and Checkers Drive-In, carries a different kind of risk. Food that enters a kitchen outside of inspected supply chains has no documented safety record. If someone becomes ill after eating at one of these facilities, investigators have no paper trail to follow. At Cafe Roma Italy, that gap exists alongside three other high-severity violations, including missing illness reporting protocols and improper handwashing.
The consumer advisory violations, cited at Fish Tales, Bokamper's, The Tower Club, Chipotle, Jalisco Inc., and Wendy's 1945, are about disclosure. Customers who are elderly, pregnant, or immunocompromised face heightened risk from raw or undercooked proteins. A menu that does not flag those items leaves the most vulnerable diners without information they need to make a safe choice.
The Longer Record
Jalisco Inc. carries 38 prior inspections on record, the deepest history of any facility in this week's data, and still drew three high-severity violations including a specialized process failure. Shooters Waterfront Cafe has 35 prior inspections and was cited this week for shellfish records, illness reporting, and improperly sanitized food contact surfaces, plus a sewage disposal intermediate violation.
Bokamper's has 34 prior inspections on record, the third-deepest history in this week's group. Two high-severity violations and a reused single-use items citation represent a continued pattern of citations at a restaurant that has been visited by state inspectors more than three dozen times.
Cafe Roma Italy and Ruby Chinese Restaurant each have 30 prior inspections. Cafe Roma's four high-severity violations this week, including unapproved food sourcing and no employee health policy, suggest that three decades of inspection history has not resolved foundational food safety practices. Ruby Chinese's combination of undercooking, improper handwashing, and unclean food contact surfaces across five citations this week echoes violations that commonly recur at facilities with long records and persistent gaps.
Freda's Dominican Cuisine stands apart from the rest of this week's list. With only four prior inspections on record, it is the newest facility flagged this week, and it already drew three high-severity violations including shellfish traceability failures and improper handwashing. That the facility is handling shellfish without adequate identification records this early in its inspection history is the one citation in this week's data that has no prior record to explain it away.
