PORT RICHEY, FL. State inspectors found food from unapproved or unknown sources inside Grand Sushi Hibachi Buffet at 10421 US Hwy 19 on September 15, 2026, a violation that means some of what customers ate that day had never passed through a USDA or FDA inspection checkpoint. The restaurant was not closed.
That single citation sat alongside five other high-severity violations and four intermediate ones, a total of ten documented problems on a day when the buffet kept its doors open and its steam trays full.
What Inspectors Found
Inspectors also cited the restaurant for food not cooked to the required minimum temperature. At a buffet, that violation is compounded by volume: food that has not reached a safe internal temperature moves directly onto a serving line where dozens of customers fill their plates.
Toxic substances were improperly identified, stored, or used, a citation that places chemical contamination risk in the same kitchen where food is being prepared. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, meaning the cutting boards, prep tables, or utensils that touched raw proteins may have carried bacteria forward to the next item prepared on them.
Employees were observed using improper hand and arm washing technique. The record also showed no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, leaving customers with no written warning that some items on the buffet may not have been fully cooked.
On the intermediate level, inspectors cited improper sewage or wastewater disposal, multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, improper sanitizing solution or procedures, and single-use items being reused.
What These Violations Mean
The food-from-unapproved-sources citation is one of the most consequential a restaurant can receive. When food enters a kitchen outside the regulated supply chain, there is no paper trail. If a customer gets sick, investigators cannot trace the product back to a farm, processor, or distributor. Listeria and Salmonella have both been linked to uninspected supply chains.
The undercooked food violation compounds that risk. Salmonella in poultry requires an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit to be destroyed. At a buffet serving dozens of people simultaneously, a single batch of underprepared protein can affect a large number of customers before anyone reports a symptom.
The improper handwashing technique citation is not the same as no handwashing. It means employees were going through the motions, washing their hands in a way that leaves pathogens behind. Combined with improperly sanitized food contact surfaces and a sanitizing solution that may not have been at effective concentration, the kitchen had multiple simultaneous failure points on September 15.
The sewage and wastewater disposal citation adds a separate contamination pathway. Raw sewage carries E. coli and other fecal pathogens. When disposal is improper, those pathogens can reach surfaces, equipment, and food.
The Longer Record
September 15 was not an anomaly. Grand Sushi Hibachi Buffet has 61 inspections on record and 816 total violations documented across that history. The facility has been emergency-closed twice: once in September 2021 for roach activity, and again in November 2022 when it lost potable water.
Grand Sushi Hibachi Buffet: Recent Inspection Pattern
The pattern in 2026 is particularly concentrated. On July 16, inspectors documented 13 high-severity and 7 intermediate violations. The following day, July 17, a return visit still found 9 high-severity and 6 intermediate violations. Two months later, on September 15, the count stood at 6 high-severity and 4 intermediate.
The facility has also shown the ability to pass inspections. It recorded zero high-severity violations on four separate visits, including July 24, 2025, and February 6, 2025. That history makes the September 15 findings harder to attribute to confusion about the rules.
Open for Business
Florida's emergency closure threshold requires an immediate public health hazard. The six high-severity violations documented on September 15, including food from an unknown source, undercooked food, and improperly stored toxic substances, did not collectively trigger that threshold.
The restaurant's two prior emergency closures came in 2021 and 2022. In the four years since, it has accumulated hundreds of additional violations without another forced shutdown.
On September 15, 2026, Grand Sushi Hibachi Buffet served customers through the lunch and dinner hours.
