KISSIMMEE, FL. The week of August 8 brought 12 restaurants across the Kissimmee and Orlando tourist corridor to the attention of state inspectors, with violations ranging from food pulled from unapproved sources to employees working through illness symptoms, parasite destruction failures, and cleaning chemicals stored near food.
The Violations
Pesaros Pizza at 3464 Avalon Park E Blvd led the week with 9 high-severity violations, the most of any facility inspected. Inspectors cited the restaurant for food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, and improper use of time as a public health control. There was no person in charge present or performing duties during the inspection.
Also flagged at Pesaros: employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked items.
Jack and Mary's Restaurant at 2323 S Goldenrod Rd drew 8 high-severity violations. Inspectors found no written employee health policy, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, food from unapproved sources, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. The restaurant was also cited for inadequate shell stock identification records and no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff.
Moa Kai Diner at 2217 E Colonial Dr also received 8 high-severity violations. The diner had no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, and inadequate shell stock identification. Inspectors additionally cited parasite destruction procedures not followed and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Osaka Bay Buffet at 7598 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy in Kissimmee collected 8 high-severity violations. The buffet, which sits along the tourist-heavy stretch of US-192 near major theme park corridors, had no person in charge present, no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing, food from unapproved sources, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
TGI Friday's at 5933 Caravan Ct received 7 high-severity violations. Inspectors documented both inadequate handwashing by food employees and improper handwashing technique as separate citations, along with inadequate shell stock identification, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, improper use of time as a public health control, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. An intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal was also noted.
Yummi at 1937 S Alafaya Trl was cited for 7 high-severity violations. No person in charge was present or performing duties. Employees were not reporting illness symptoms. Inspectors also found improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, improper use of time as a public health control, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. Yummi also drew an intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
Hong Kong Alley Kitchen at 10663 E Colonial Dr received 7 high-severity violations. Inspectors found food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated; parasite destruction procedures not followed; improperly cleaned food contact surfaces; no consumer advisory; toxic chemicals improperly stored; and no allergen awareness demonstrated. Single-use items were also found being improperly reused.
Muzzarella at 7780 Lake Underhill Rd was cited for 7 high-severity violations, including no person in charge present, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, parasite destruction procedures not followed, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used.
Azteca d' Oro Lake Nona at 10783 Narcoossee Rd drew 7 high-severity violations. No person in charge was present. Employees were not reporting illness symptoms. Food from unapproved sources and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces were documented, along with improper use of time as a public health control and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Hop Bo Chinese Restaurant at 4420 Curry Ford Rd received 7 high-severity violations. Inspectors cited improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock identification records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, improper use of time as a public health control, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Rock and Brews at 6897 S Semoran Blvd was cited for 5 high-severity violations, including employees not reporting illness symptoms, food from unapproved sources, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. An intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal was also documented.
Made in Puerto Rico Latin Cuisine and Sports Bar at 6651 S Semoran Blvd drew 6 high-severity violations, including improper handwashing technique, food from unapproved sources, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
What These Violations Mean
The food-from-unapproved-sources citation appeared at eight facilities this week, including Pesaros Pizza, Jack and Mary's, Moa Kai Diner, Osaka Bay Buffet, Made in Puerto Rico, Rock and Brews, Azteca d' Oro, and Yummi. When a restaurant sources food outside the licensed, inspected supply chain, there is no traceability if a customer becomes ill. Investigators cannot pull records to identify the origin of a contaminated product, which means an outbreak can spread further before it is contained.
Parasite destruction failures at Moa Kai Diner, Hong Kong Alley Kitchen, and Muzzarella are particularly relevant to tourists. Visitors eating fish dishes at these locations had no assurance that fish intended for raw or lightly cooked preparations had been frozen to the temperatures required to kill Anisakis and other parasites. Symptoms of anisakiasis can mimic appendicitis and often go undiagnosed for days, well after a traveler has returned home.
The employee illness reporting failures documented at Osaka Bay Buffet, Pesaros Pizza, Rock and Brews, Yummi, Muzzarella, Azteca d' Oro, and Jack and Mary's represent a direct transmission risk. Norovirus, one of the leading causes of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, spreads readily when sick employees handle food without restriction. For tourists, the consequences are acute: an illness that begins on day two of a vacation can end the trip entirely.
Toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled appeared at nine of the twelve facilities. At Osaka Bay Buffet, Jack and Mary's, Moa Kai Diner, TGI Friday's, Yummi, Hong Kong Alley Kitchen, Made in Puerto Rico, Rock and Brews, Hop Bo, and Azteca d' Oro, inspectors documented cleaning agents or other chemicals kept near food or food contact surfaces without proper labeling or separation. Chemical contamination of food is not detectable by taste or smell until after ingestion.
The Longer Record
Several facilities on this week's list carry inspection histories that put the current findings in context. Hop Bo Chinese Restaurant on Curry Ford Rd holds one of the longer records in this week's group, and its citations for undercooking and improper time-as-a-public-health-control this week are not isolated categories. TGI Friday's on Caravan Ct, a national chain location in a high-tourist-traffic commercial corridor, was cited for both inadequate handwashing and improper handwashing technique as separate violations, suggesting the problem is not a single employee but a systemic gap in training.
Osaka Bay Buffet on W Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy sits directly in the path of families arriving from the theme park clusters along US-192. Its eight high-severity violations this week included the full cluster of management failures: no person in charge, no employee health policy, and employees not reporting illness. Those three violations together indicate a facility where oversight is absent at every level.
Jack and Mary's on S Goldenrod Rd was cited for no allergen awareness demonstrated, a violation that carries specific weight. With 32 million Americans affected by food allergies, a restaurant where staff cannot identify allergens in dishes is a facility where a guest with a peanut or shellfish allergy has no reliable way to assess risk before ordering.
Rock and Brews on S Semoran Blvd drew an intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal alongside its five high-severity violations. That same citation appeared at TGI Friday's and Yummi this week. Wastewater handling failures create conditions for fecal contamination throughout a facility, and their presence at three separate locations in a single week's inspections is a detail the records leave unresolved.
