LAKE COUNTY, FL. A Clermont restaurant was cited for buying food from unapproved sources, failing to cook food to minimum required temperatures, having no employee illness policy, and demonstrating improper handwashing technique, all in a single inspection during the week of April 18, 2026.
Calabria Ristorante on County Road 455 led all Lake County facilities with 9 high-severity violations and 5 intermediate violations. That total was the highest of the 32 inspections conducted across 29 facilities countywide during the week. Twelve of those facilities accumulated two or more high-severity violations.
The Violations
Calabria's nine high-severity citations included an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and improperly stored toxic chemicals. The food from unapproved sources citation alone puts the restaurant in a category that inspectors treat as an immediate traceability risk.
J and B Boondocks Bar and Grill on South Lakeshore Boulevard in Howey in the Hills recorded 8 high-severity violations, second-most in the county this week. Inspectors cited the bar and grill for having no person in charge present or performing duties, food from unapproved sources, improper handwashing technique, improperly stored toxic chemicals, toxic substances improperly identified or used, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and no allergen awareness demonstrated. That last citation, allergen awareness, means staff could not demonstrate knowledge sufficient to protect customers with food allergies.
Beef O Brady's on East Highway 50 in Clermont drew 6 high-severity violations, including two that directly concern pathogen survival: parasite destruction procedures not followed and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures. The restaurant also had food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, no consumer advisory, and two chemical storage violations.
Wing It On on US 441 in Mount Dora accumulated 6 high-severity violations as well, with inspectors noting no person in charge, an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, improperly stored chemicals, and no allergen awareness demonstrated.
Chili's Grill and Bar on East Highway 50 in Clermont also reached 6 high-severity violations. Inspectors cited the chain location for inadequate shell stock identification records, meaning inspectors could not verify the origin or harvest date of shellfish served at the restaurant. The citation appeared alongside improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, two chemical storage violations, and no allergen awareness.
I Bar B Que Express Inc on US 441/27 in Fruitland Park was cited for 6 high-severity violations, three of which concerned handwashing directly: no employee health policy, inadequate handwashing facilities, and improper hand and arm washing technique. That combination, inadequate infrastructure and inadequate technique, means proper hand hygiene was compromised at multiple points in the facility.
Miller's Ale House on South Grand Highway in Clermont drew 5 high-severity violations, including parasite destruction procedures not followed, no consumer advisory, and two separate chemical violations. The parasite destruction citation is specific to facilities serving raw or undercooked fish or pork.
A Moveable Feast on North Grove Street in Eustis recorded 5 high-severity violations: no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and improperly stored toxic chemicals.
Fish N Chix LLC on North Central Avenue in Umatilla also had 5 high-severity violations, including an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and improperly stored chemicals.
Pizzamore on East 5th Avenue in Mount Dora was cited for 5 high-severity violations. Inspectors found no person in charge, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, no consumer advisory, and improperly stored chemicals. The intermediate violations included inadequate cooling and cold holding equipment, a finding that compounds the risk of the high-severity citations.
Frog and Monkey Restaurant on North Donnelly Street in Mount Dora had 1 high-severity violation, the missing consumer advisory, alongside an intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
McDonald's on SR 19 in Tavares drew 1 high-severity violation for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and an intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
What These Violations Mean
The food from unapproved sources citations at Calabria Ristorante and J and B Boondocks Bar and Grill represent a specific traceability failure. When food enters a restaurant through channels that bypass USDA or FDA inspection, there is no paper trail connecting it to a licensed processor. If a customer becomes ill, investigators cannot trace the food back to its origin to determine whether others were exposed or whether a recall is needed.
The parasite destruction failures at Miller's Ale House and Beef O Brady's carry a different kind of risk. Fish served raw or undercooked, including sushi, ceviche, or rare preparations, must first be frozen to specific temperatures for specific time periods to kill parasites like Anisakis. Without that step, live parasites can survive into a finished plate.
Employee illness reporting failures, cited at Calabria Ristorante, Wing It On, Fish N Chix, and Pizzamore, are consistently linked to multi-victim outbreaks. Norovirus, which spreads through contaminated food handled by sick workers, causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year. A written illness policy and a culture of reporting are the primary barriers between a sick employee and a sick dining room.
The allergen awareness failures at J and B Boondocks, Wing It On, and Chili's are not paperwork problems. Food allergies send approximately 30,000 Americans to emergency rooms each year and kill roughly 200. When staff cannot demonstrate allergen awareness, customers with serious allergies have no reliable way to assess whether a dish is safe.
The Longer Record
The prior inspection history is not available in the data provided for this week's facilities, so direct comparisons of inspection counts across years cannot be made from this report alone. What the week's record does show is a concentration of serious violations in Clermont, where three of the top performers, Calabria Ristorante, Miller's Ale House, and Beef O Brady's, all drew multiple high-severity citations in the same inspection cycle.
Beef O Brady's and Frog and Monkey Restaurant are worth noting for their repeat violation categories. Beef O Brady's was cited for both parasite destruction failures and food not cooked to required temperatures, two violations that address the same underlying problem from different angles: food leaving the kitchen before it is safe to eat. Frog and Monkey, meanwhile, drew a sewage disposal citation alongside its consumer advisory failure, a combination that points to infrastructure problems beyond standard food handling.
The breadth of the chemical storage violations across the county is also notable. Improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals appeared at Calabria Ristorante, J and B Boondocks, Wing It On, Chili's, Beef O Brady's, I Bar B Que Express, Miller's Ale House, A Moveable Feast, Fish N Chix, and Pizzamore. Ten of the twelve worst-performing facilities this week had a chemical storage citation. That is not a pattern limited to one kitchen or one owner.
Pizzamore's intermediate citation for inadequate cooling and cold holding equipment is the finding that sits unresolved at the end of this week's record. Broken equipment cannot be corrected with a policy change or a staff meeting. Until the equipment is repaired or replaced, the facility's ability to keep food at safe temperatures depends on workarounds that inspectors cannot verify between visits.