MIAMI, FL. When state inspectors walked into La Birra Bar on NW 24th Street on October 6, they found a bar where employees were not reporting illness symptoms, toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled near food, and no one in a position of authority was actively managing any of it.
Six high-severity violations. The facility stayed open.
What Inspectors Found
The illness-reporting violation is the most direct threat to anyone who ate or drank there that day. Employees who do not report symptoms of illness, whether nausea, diarrhea, or vomiting, can transmit norovirus and other pathogens directly to food and surfaces before anyone knows they are sick.
The toxic chemical violation compounds that picture. Inspectors cited improperly stored or labeled chemicals near food, a condition that can cause acute poisoning through cross-contamination or simple mislabeling.
Inspectors also cited food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated. Separately, they noted inadequate shell stock identification records, meaning the bar could not demonstrate where its shellfish came from or when it was harvested.
Improper handwashing technique rounded out the list. An employee making a handwashing attempt but using the wrong technique still leaves pathogens on their hands.
The person-in-charge violation tied it together. No one present was actively overseeing any of it.
What These Violations Mean
The illness-reporting and handwashing violations are the two most direct transmission routes between a sick employee and a customer's food. When an employee does not report symptoms, the kitchen has no mechanism to remove that person from food-handling duties. When handwashing technique is improper, the gesture of washing hands provides no actual protection. Both violations were present at La Birra Bar on October 6.
The toxic chemical citation is a different category of risk. Chemicals stored near food, or stored in unlabeled containers, can contaminate food directly. A customer would have no way of knowing.
The shellfish traceability violation matters most when something goes wrong. Oysters, clams, and mussels are high-risk foods, often consumed raw or lightly cooked. Without proper shell stock identification records, there is no way to trace a cluster of illnesses back to a specific harvest lot or supplier. If customers got sick, investigators would have nowhere to start.
The absence of an active person in charge is not a paperwork issue. CDC data shows that establishments without active managerial control accumulate critical violations at three times the rate of those with it. Every other violation on this list is, in part, a consequence of that one.
The Longer Record
The October 6 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show La Birra Bar has been inspected 24 times and has accumulated 156 total violations, with zero emergency closures in that span.
The prior year alone tells a consistent story. On October 6, 2025, inspectors documented 9 high-severity and 1 intermediate violation in one visit, then returned the same day and found 5 high-severity and 2 intermediate violations on a second inspection. On August 1, 2025, it was 7 high-severity violations. February 7, 2025 brought 3 high-severity violations. December 5, 2024 brought 3 more.
The categories repeat. High-severity violations have appeared at La Birra Bar across eight of the eight most recent inspections on record.
The most recent inspection before this one, on October 29, 2025, showed 3 high-severity violations. The October 6, 2026 inspection brought 6. The number went up, not down.
Still Open
Despite six high-severity violations documented in a single inspection, including an employee illness-reporting failure, improperly stored toxic chemicals, adulterated or mislabeled food, and no active manager on duty, La Birra Bar was not emergency-closed.
The bar at 250 NW 24th Street remained open to the public.
