KISSIMMEE, FL. The restaurant corridor stretching from International Drive through Kissimmee's US-192 strip serves millions of theme park visitors every summer, and inspectors spent the week of August 7 finding serious food safety failures at 12 of its establishments, including a restaurant on International Drive that drew 12 high-severity violations in a single visit.
The Violations
Spicy Girl on International Drive led the corridor this week with 12 high-severity violations and 6 intermediate. Inspectors cited the restaurant for having no employee health policy, for employees not reporting illness symptoms, for food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, and for inadequate shell stock identification records. Those last two violations together mean inspectors could not confirm where the food came from or trace it back if someone got sick.
The person in charge was either absent or not performing duties during the inspection. That management failure compounded the other violations: without active oversight, inspectors documented improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and time being used as a public health control without proper documentation.
Sickies Burgers and Brews at 11701 International Drive drew 10 high-severity violations. Inspectors found no employee health policy, no illness reporting by employees, food from unapproved sources, and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures. The restaurant was also cited for failing to follow parasite destruction procedures and for serving raw or undercooked food without a consumer advisory on the menu.
Parasite destruction requires fish or certain meats to be frozen at specific temperatures for specific time periods before being served undercooked. Without that step, parasites including Anisakis and tapeworm can survive to the plate.
Pesaro's Pizza at 3464 Avalon Park East Boulevard accumulated 9 high-severity violations. The person in charge was not present or not performing duties. Inspectors also cited improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items.
Made in Puerto Rico Latin Cuisine and Sports Bar at 6651 South Semoran Boulevard drew 8 high-severity violations, including no person in charge, food from unapproved sources, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled near food preparation areas.
Jack and Mary's Restaurant at 2323 South Goldenrod Road was cited for 8 high-severity violations. Those included no employee health policy, food from unapproved sources, inadequate shell stock records, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff. That last citation means employees could not show inspectors they understood how to prevent cross-contact with common allergens.
Moa Kai Diner at 2217 East Colonial Drive drew 8 high-severity violations as well. Inspectors found no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, inadequate shell stock records, parasite destruction procedures not followed, time as a public health control not properly used, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Osaka Bay Buffet at 7598 West Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway in Kissimmee accumulated 8 high-severity violations. The person in charge was absent or not performing duties. Inspectors also found no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
More Violations Across the Corridor
Rock and Brews at 6897 South Semoran Boulevard drew 5 high-severity violations, including food from unapproved sources, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. Inspectors also cited the restaurant for improper sewage or wastewater disposal, a violation that creates the risk of fecal contamination throughout the facility.
Juicy Crab at 7308 International Drive was cited for 4 high-severity violations: employees not reporting illness symptoms, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. Inspectors also found improper sewage disposal and improper waste disposal at the same location.
Muzzarella at 7780 Lake Underhill Road drew 7 high-severity violations with no intermediate violations. The citations included no person in charge, improper handwashing technique, parasite destruction procedures not followed, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used.
D Flats at 12490 Apopka Vineland Road was cited for 7 high-severity violations including no person in charge, no employee health policy, inadequate shell stock records, time as a public health control not properly used, no consumer advisory, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and no allergen awareness demonstrated.
Hop Bo Chinese Restaurant at 4420 Curry Ford Road drew 7 high-severity violations, including improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, time as a public health control not properly used, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
What These Violations Mean
The most common high-severity violation this week, appearing at nine of the twelve facilities, was employees not reporting illness symptoms. At Spicy Girl, Sickies Burgers and Brews, Osaka Bay Buffet, and six other locations, inspectors found no mechanism to keep sick workers out of food preparation. Norovirus, which causes the majority of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, spreads directly from infected food handlers to customers through contaminated food. A single sick employee without a reporting policy in place can trigger an outbreak affecting dozens of diners.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources turned up at nine facilities this week, including Spicy Girl, Sickies Burgers and Brews, Pesaro's Pizza, Made in Puerto Rico, Jack and Mary's, Moa Kai Diner, Osaka Bay Buffet, Rock and Brews, and Muzzarella. When food bypasses USDA or FDA inspection channels, there is no traceability if a customer becomes ill. If an outbreak were linked to a specific ingredient, investigators would have no supply chain record to follow.
The absence of a person in charge, documented at Spicy Girl, Pesaro's Pizza, Made in Puerto Rico, Osaka Bay Buffet, Muzzarella, and D Flats, is not a paperwork violation. CDC data shows establishments without active managerial control during service accumulate three times as many critical violations as those with supervision present. The pattern this week, where management absence coincided with improper handwashing, unapproved food sources, and improperly sanitized surfaces at the same locations, illustrates exactly why that correlation exists.
Improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals appeared at seven facilities: Made in Puerto Rico, Jack and Mary's, Moa Kai Diner, Osaka Bay Buffet, Rock and Brews, Juicy Crab, D Flats, and Hop Bo. Cleaning chemicals stored near or above food preparation areas can contaminate food through spills or mislabeled containers. This violation is acute rather than gradual: a single mislabeled bottle used in food prep can cause immediate poisoning.
The Longer Record
Several of this week's facilities are not new to the inspection system. Jack and Mary's Restaurant on South Goldenrod Road and Hop Bo Chinese Restaurant on Curry Ford Road each carry inspection histories that place this week's findings in a longer context. The volume of high-severity violations at both locations, particularly the food sourcing and shellfish traceability citations at Jack and Mary's and the temperature and handwashing failures at Hop Bo, suggests these are not first-time oversights at either address.
Osaka Bay Buffet on West Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway in Kissimmee drew a full cluster of management and employee health violations simultaneously. A buffet format, where food sits in open serving vessels for extended periods, makes active managerial oversight and proper temperature control especially critical. The combination of an absent person in charge, no employee illness policy, and food from unapproved sources at a high-volume tourist-facing buffet represents layered risk.
Sickies Burgers and Brews and Juicy Crab both sit on International Drive, one of the highest-traffic tourist corridors in Florida. Both were cited for food not cooked to required minimum temperatures this week. Undercooked food at restaurants serving families with children, elderly visitors, and immunocompromised guests, all populations that travel to the Orlando theme park area in large numbers, carries heightened consequence compared to the same violation at a neighborhood location.
D Flats on Apopka Vineland Road drew both a no-allergen-awareness citation and a no-consumer-advisory citation in the same inspection. A restaurant that cannot demonstrate staff allergen knowledge and also fails to notify customers about raw or undercooked menu items leaves two separate categories of vulnerable diners without the information they need to make safe choices.
