LAKE COUNTY, FL. A Clermont pizza restaurant drew 9 high-severity violations in a single inspection last week, including food sourced from unapproved or unknown origins, failure to follow parasite destruction procedures, and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, the most alarming single-facility performance in Lake County during the week of July 8 through July 14, 2026.
Michael's Ali Coal Fired Pizza on West Minneola Avenue also failed on handwashing infrastructure, improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food in poor condition or mislabeled, and the absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items. That is 9 high-severity violations and 3 intermediate citations from a single visit.
Inspectors found problems across 41 inspections at 40 facilities countywide. Twelve of those facilities carried 2 or more high-severity violations. The week's findings stretch from Clermont to Leesburg, Eustis, Mount Dora, and Groveland.
The Violations
Five Star Seafood on US 441 in Leesburg finished second with 8 high-severity violations. Inspectors cited the seafood restaurant for having no employee health policy, employees failing to report illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock identification records, parasite destruction failures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Oakwood Smokehouse on David Walker Drive in Eustis drew 7 high-severity violations, including the absence of a person in charge performing duties, inadequate handwashing facilities, food from unapproved sources, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. Inspectors also cited the restaurant for improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
Bagel Bros Cafe on South Bay Street in Eustis matched that count with 7 high-severity violations of its own. No person in charge was present or performing duties, no employee health policy was in place, employees were not reporting illness symptoms, handwashing technique was improper, food came from unapproved sources, no consumer advisory existed for raw or undercooked items, and toxic chemicals were improperly stored. Inspectors also noted improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
Vincents Italian Restaurant on North Orange Blossom Trail in Mount Dora also reached 7 high-severity violations. The citations included no employee health policy, food from unapproved sources, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, time as a public health control not properly used, no consumer advisory, and two separate toxic substance violations: chemicals improperly stored or labeled and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Inspectors also found single-use items being reused.
Jeannie's Place on East Gottsche Avenue in Eustis produced 6 high-severity violations, including no person in charge on duty, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. Improperly cleaned multi-use utensils and inadequate ventilation rounded out the intermediate citations.
Subway #29413 on SR 50 in Groveland drew 6 high-severity violations, including employees not reporting illness symptoms, food in poor condition or mislabeled, parasite destruction failures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Five facilities each drew 5 high-severity violations. Roma Pizza and Italian Cuisine on North Eustis Street in Eustis was cited for no employee health policy, food in poor condition, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
Via Food and Beverage on US 441 in Leesburg drew citations for no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
J and T Smokehouse on US Highway 441 in Leesburg was cited for employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing by food employees, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. Inspectors also flagged inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe on SR 44 in Mount Dora drew 5 high-severity violations including inadequate handwashing facilities, inadequate shell stock identification records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and no allergen awareness demonstrated. Improper sewage disposal, inadequate ventilation, and improper use of wiping cloths were cited at the intermediate level.
Cotton's Kitchen on Pine Street in Leesburg rounded out the 5-violation tier with citations for employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing by food employees, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
What These Violations Mean
The most frequently cited high-severity violation this week was improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, appearing at nine of the twelve worst-performing facilities, including Michael's Ali Coal Fired Pizza, Five Star Seafood, Oakwood Smokehouse, Bagel Bros Cafe, Vincents Italian Restaurant, Jeannie's Place, Subway #29413, Roma Pizza, Via Food and Beverage, and J and T Smokehouse. Cutting boards, prep tables, and slicers that are not properly sanitized become direct transfer points for bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli between raw and ready-to-eat foods.
The "no consumer advisory" violation, found at nine facilities, is not a paperwork technicality. Customers with compromised immune systems, pregnant women, elderly diners, and young children face elevated risk from raw or undercooked proteins. Without a menu disclosure, those customers have no way to make an informed choice before ordering.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources, cited at Michael's Ali Coal Fired Pizza, Oakwood Smokehouse, and Bagel Bros Cafe, is among the most serious categories because it severs the traceability chain entirely. If someone gets sick, investigators cannot trace the food back to its origin to determine whether a supply-level contamination is causing broader illness. USDA and FDA inspections at approved facilities exist specifically to catch Listeria, Salmonella, and other pathogens before food reaches a kitchen.
The illness-reporting failures at Five Star Seafood, Bagel Bros Cafe, Jeannie's Place, Subway #29413, Via Food and Beverage, J and T Smokehouse, and Cotton's Kitchen compound the contamination risks above. Norovirus requires fewer than 20 viral particles to cause infection. A single sick employee working a full shift can expose dozens of customers through food handling alone.
The Longer Record
The data provided does not include prior inspection counts for the facilities featured this week, which limits historical comparison. What the current record does show is a concentration of the most serious violation categories, food sourcing, illness reporting, and surface sanitation, at facilities that span the county's geography and restaurant types, from a national sandwich chain in Groveland to a seafood specialist in Leesburg to a smoothie franchise in Mount Dora.
The pattern of repeat violation categories across unrelated facilities is notable on its own. Toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled appeared at eight of the twelve facilities this week: Five Star Seafood, Oakwood Smokehouse, Bagel Bros Cafe, Vincents Italian Restaurant, Jeannie's Place, Subway #29413, Roma Pizza, Via Food and Beverage, J and T Smokehouse, and Cotton's Kitchen. That breadth suggests the issue is not isolated to one kitchen's practices.
Three facilities, Oakwood Smokehouse, Bagel Bros Cafe, and Jeannie's Place, were cited for having no person in charge present or performing duties. CDC data cited in the inspection records links the absence of active managerial control to three times as many critical violations in a given establishment.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe's citation for no allergen awareness stands apart from the rest of this week's violations. Allergen failures cause roughly 30,000 emergency room visits annually in the United States. For a beverage and smoothie concept where customers routinely ask about ingredient substitutions, the absence of demonstrated allergen knowledge is a gap that extends well beyond a single inspection visit.
