HIALEAH, FL. Inspectors visiting Graziano's Gourmet at 1001 W. 49th Street on September 4 found the facility selling shellfish with no identification tags or harvest records on hand, meaning that if a customer became ill, state investigators would have no way to trace where those oysters, clams, or mussels came from.
That was one of eight high-severity violations documented that day. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The September 4 inspection produced a list that covered nearly every direct pathway by which food can make customers sick. Beyond the missing shellfish records, inspectors cited employees for not reporting illness symptoms, for inadequate handwashing, and for using improper handwashing technique.
Both handwashing violations appearing together is notable. The first means employees were not washing their hands when required. The second means that even when they did wash, the technique left pathogens on their hands.
Inspectors also found that food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, that time as a public health control was not being correctly applied, and that no consumer advisory was posted for raw or undercooked menu items. The person in charge was either absent or not performing supervisory duties. Sewage or wastewater disposal was flagged as improper, and equipment was found in poor repair.
What These Violations Mean
The missing shellfish identification records are not a paperwork problem. Shellfish, including oysters and clams, are frequently eaten raw or lightly cooked. They filter large volumes of water and concentrate whatever pathogens that water contains. When harvest tags go missing, there is no way to identify the source bed if customers report illness, and no way for public health investigators to pull product from other restaurants that received the same harvest.
The back-to-back handwashing violations carry a separate and direct risk. Improper handwashing is, according to public health data, the single most significant factor in spreading foodborne illness in restaurant settings. At Graziano's Gourmet on September 4, the record shows employees were neither washing frequently enough nor washing correctly when they did.
The failure to report illness symptoms is the violation that most directly enables an outbreak. A food worker shedding norovirus, salmonella, or hepatitis A who continues to handle food can expose dozens of customers before a single complaint is filed. That violation, combined with the absence of functioning managerial oversight on the same day, means the systems designed to catch that scenario were not operating.
The improper sewage disposal citation adds a physical contamination dimension. Raw sewage contains fecal bacteria. When disposal is not handled correctly inside a food facility, the contamination risk extends to surfaces, equipment, and food preparation areas throughout the building.
The Longer Record
The September 4 inspection was not an aberration for Graziano's Gourmet. State records show the facility has accumulated 178 total violations across 22 inspections on record, and has been emergency-closed once before.
That prior closure came on December 7, 2021, when inspectors ordered the facility shut for a sewage backup. The restaurant reopened three days later on December 10, 2021, after the issue was addressed. A sewage disposal violation was again cited on September 4, 2026.
The pattern in the inspection history is consistent. The facility logged six high-severity violations in February 2022, four in May 2022, and six more in August 2022. It produced a clean inspection in December 2021 and again in May 2025. But the clean inspections have not held. Seven high-severity violations were recorded in December 2025, five more in May 2026, and eight on September 4, 2026.
A follow-up inspection on September 8, four days after the most recent visit, found two remaining high-severity violations. That is an improvement from eight. It is not a clean bill of health.
Open for Business
Florida's emergency closure authority is triggered when an inspector determines that conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. On September 4, with eight high-severity violations documented at Graziano's Gourmet, including missing shellfish traceability, uncorrected handwashing failures, and improper sewage disposal, the inspector did not make that determination.
The facility served customers that day.
