ORLANDO, FL. An employee illness went unreported, toxic chemicals were improperly stored, and food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. State inspectors documented all of it at Havana Bistro & Cafe on South Orange Blossom Trail on September 8, 2026. The restaurant was not closed.
The September 8 inspection produced six high-severity violations and five intermediate ones. That tally came just 17 days after the same restaurant was shut down by the state for rodent activity.
What Inspectors Found
The most direct threat to customers came from the illness reporting violation. State records show an employee was not reporting symptoms of illness, a failure that creates a direct route for pathogens to travel from a sick worker to a customer's plate.
Two separate toxic substance violations were also cited. Inspectors flagged both improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals and improperly identified, stored, or used toxic substances. Those are two distinct citations for chemical mishandling in the same kitchen on the same day.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Employees were observed using improper hand and arm washing technique. No person in charge was present or performing duties.
On the intermediate side, inspectors cited improper sewage or waste water disposal, multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, inadequate ventilation and lighting, improper waste disposal or recycling, and inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities.
What These Violations Mean
The illness reporting violation is the one public health officials most often link to multi-victim outbreaks. When a food worker does not report symptoms, there is no mechanism to remove that person from food handling. Norovirus, in particular, spreads with extreme efficiency through food prepared by a symptomatic worker, and a single shift can expose dozens of customers.
The two chemical violations compound each other. Improperly labeled or stored chemicals near food can cause acute poisoning if they contaminate a surface or ingredient. When the same inspection also cites improper identification and use of toxic substances, it signals that the problem is not a single misplaced bottle but a systemic failure in how chemicals are handled throughout the kitchen.
Improperly cleaned food contact surfaces are among the most reliable vectors for bacterial transfer. Cutting boards, prep tables, and slicers that are not properly sanitized carry pathogens from one food item to the next. Combined with employees using incorrect handwashing technique, the barriers between contamination and a customer's meal were, on September 8, reduced to almost nothing.
The sewage and toilet facility violations matter for a less obvious reason. Inadequate or poorly maintained restroom infrastructure discourages employees from washing their hands properly after using the restroom. That connects directly back to the handwashing technique violation already cited in the same inspection.
The Longer Record
The September 8 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show 41 inspections on record at Havana Bistro & Cafe, with 649 total violations documented across that history.
The most recent inspections tell a consistent story. On August 22, inspectors found 6 high-severity and 6 intermediate violations. That visit came one day after the August 21 inspection that triggered the emergency closure for rodent activity, which itself had produced 6 high-severity and 7 intermediate violations. The restaurant was allowed to reopen on August 22.
Before that cluster, inspectors visited on March 23 and found 9 high-severity violations, and on March 12 they found 8 high-severity violations. In September 2025, a single inspection produced 10 high-severity violations. In March 2025, another inspection produced 10 high-severity violations and 6 intermediate ones.
The pattern across eight recent inspections is not one of a facility struggling with minor compliance gaps. High-severity violation counts of 6, 6, 9, 8, 10, 9, and 10 in the 18 months leading up to September 8 represent a facility that has repeatedly been cited for the most serious category of food safety failures the state tracks.
The prior emergency closure, in August 2026 for rodent activity, was the only forced shutdown in the record. Every other inspection, including the ones that produced double-digit high-severity violations, ended with the restaurant remaining open.
Still Open
Florida's emergency closure authority is triggered when an inspector determines there is an imminent threat to public health. The six high-severity violations documented on September 8 did not meet that threshold, at least not on that day.
An employee was not reporting illness symptoms. Toxic chemicals were mishandled in two separate ways. Food contact surfaces were unsanitary. No manager was running the kitchen.
The restaurant stayed open.
