DAYTONA BEACH, FL. State inspectors visiting Hooters at 2100 International Speedway Blvd. on June 11 found the restaurant had no approved potable water supply, a violation that means customers and staff were using water that could not be verified as free of E. coli, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, or Legionella. The facility collected six high-severity violations that day. It was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The water violation was not the only finding that put customers directly at risk. Inspectors also documented toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled near food, a condition that can cause acute poisoning through direct contamination or mislabeled containers used by staff who don't recognize the hazard.
No allergen awareness was demonstrated by staff, inspectors noted. Food allergies affect 32 million Americans and send 30,000 people to emergency rooms each year. A kitchen that cannot identify allergens in its dishes has no reliable way to protect a customer with a life-threatening sensitivity.
Inspectors also cited the restaurant for failing to post a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, for not following required procedures for specialized cooking processes, and for having no person in charge present or performing supervisory duties. The three intermediate violations covered single-use items being reused, inadequate ventilation and lighting, and improper waste disposal.
What These Violations Mean
The absence of an approved potable water supply is not a paperwork problem. Water used for handwashing, food prep, ice, and cleaning must come from a source verified as safe. When that verification is missing, there is no way to rule out bacterial or parasitic contamination in anything that touched water inside that kitchen during service.
The allergen and consumer advisory violations compound each other. A restaurant that cannot demonstrate allergen awareness among its staff and does not post advisories for undercooked items is operating without two of the most basic protections for its most vulnerable customers, including pregnant women, the elderly, people with immune conditions, and anyone with a documented food allergy.
The person-in-charge violation ties the rest together. CDC data shows that food establishments without active managerial control accumulate critical violations at three times the rate of supervised kitchens. On June 11, inspectors found no one at the Daytona Beach Hooters performing that oversight function. The chemical storage violation, the allergen failure, the water supply gap — all of them are more likely in a kitchen running without a responsible manager on the floor.
Improperly reused single-use items, including gloves, cups, and utensils designed for one use, create direct cross-contamination paths between raw and ready-to-eat food. Improper waste disposal, the third intermediate violation, draws pests. Inadequate ventilation allows grease vapor and airborne contaminants to accumulate over food prep surfaces.
The Longer Record
June 11 was not an anomaly. The day before, on June 10, inspectors had already visited the same location and found eight high-severity violations and four intermediate ones, a single-day total that exceeded the June 11 count. That back-to-back inspection sequence, two consecutive days with combined totals of 14 high-severity violations, reflects a pattern that goes back years in the facility's records.
The Daytona Beach Hooters has 35 inspections on record and 255 total violations across that history. In November 2024, inspectors returned on consecutive days, November 4 and November 5, finding six high-severity violations on the first visit and four more on the second. In August 2024, the same pattern repeated: five high-severity violations on August 13, followed by a follow-up on August 15.
The facility has never been emergency-closed in its recorded inspection history. That is a fact the record holds alongside 255 total violations and a string of inspections showing high-severity citations in nearly every visit dating back through 2024 and 2025.
Still Open
The June 11 inspection ended without a closure order. Customers who walked into the International Speedway Boulevard location that day, or in the days that followed, did so while the facility's record showed an unresolved potable water citation, improperly stored toxic chemicals, and a kitchen that inspectors said had no responsible person actively in charge.
The restaurant has been inspected 35 times. It has never been shut down.