NEW SMYRNA BEACH, FL. A state inspection of Little Griddle on Canal on Canal Street on August 12, 2026 found that the restaurant had no written employee health policy, no mechanism for workers to report illness symptoms, and no person in charge actively performing supervisory duties, all at the same time, on the same day.
Inspectors cited eight high-severity violations and two intermediate violations. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The three illness-related violations, taken together, describe a kitchen with no formal system for keeping sick workers away from food. There was no written health policy, no process for employees to report symptoms, and no manager on duty enforcing either.
Inspectors also cited improperly identified, stored, or used toxic substances. That violation sits in a different category of risk than a missing sign or a cracked tile: chemical contamination of food can happen quickly and invisibly.
The allergen awareness violation adds another layer. With no demonstrated knowledge of allergen protocols among staff, a customer with a severe food allergy has no reliable protection beyond hoping the kitchen gets it right by chance.
Shellfish traceability records were also missing. The restaurant serves shellfish, which are consumed raw or lightly cooked and carry elevated risk for bacteria like Vibrio. Without identification tags and records tied to specific harvesting lots, there is no way to trace an illness back to a source if someone gets sick.
Food contact surfaces, including cutting boards and preparation equipment, were not properly cleaned or sanitized. The restaurant also lacked a consumer advisory notifying customers that raw or undercooked items carry additional risk.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of no employee health policy and no illness reporting process is not a paperwork problem. Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, spreads most efficiently through food workers who are sick and do not know they are required to stay home or report symptoms. A written policy creates a legal and practical obligation. Without one, there is no obligation at all.
The absence of an active person in charge compounds every other violation on the list. CDC data shows that establishments without active managerial control accumulate critical violations at roughly three times the rate of those with engaged oversight. When no one is watching, nothing else gets enforced.
The toxic substance violation is worth pausing on. Cleaning chemicals stored near or above food, or unlabeled containers used for food-adjacent tasks, can contaminate a meal without any visible sign. That risk is immediate, not theoretical.
Allergen failures cause approximately 30,000 emergency room visits in the United States each year. At a restaurant where no staff member demonstrated allergen awareness during the inspection, a customer with a tree nut or shellfish allergy is relying entirely on luck.
The Longer Record
The August 12 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show 28 inspections on file for Little Griddle on Canal, with 152 total violations documented across that history.
The pattern going back through 2024 and 2025 is consistent. Inspectors found six high-severity violations in February 2026, five in August 2025, six in February 2025, five in September 2024, and five in February 2024. The only inspection in recent years that produced zero high-severity violations was November 2023.
August 2026 is the worst single inspection in the recent record, with eight high-severity citations. It is not a departure from the pattern. It is the pattern, pushed further.
The restaurant has never been emergency-closed. In 28 inspections and 152 recorded violations, the state has not once ordered the doors shut.
Still Open
After the August 12 inspection, with eight high-severity violations documented and no person in charge present to address them, Little Griddle on Canal remained open for business.
Customers who ate there that day had no way of knowing that the kitchen had no formal policy for keeping sick workers away from their food, that allergen protocols had not been demonstrated to inspectors, that shellfish on the menu could not be traced to a specific harvest lot if someone fell ill, or that toxic substances had been improperly handled somewhere in the building.
The record is public. The restaurant is open.
