TAMPA, FL. State records show that on August 24, inspectors walked into Maikels Kitchen on Waters Avenue and found food sourced from unknown or unapproved suppliers, meaning that if a customer got sick, there would be no supply chain to trace.
That was one of ten high-severity violations documented that day. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The full picture from August 24 is this: ten high-severity violations and seven intermediate ones, for a total of seventeen citations in a single inspection. Among the high-severity findings, inspectors documented inadequate handwashing facilities alongside a separate citation for improper handwashing technique, meaning employees lacked both the infrastructure and the practice to wash their hands correctly.
Inspectors also cited the facility for inadequate shell stock identification records. Shellfish, including oysters and clams, are among the highest-risk foods in any kitchen because they are often consumed raw. Without proper tagging and sourcing records, there is no way to determine where a batch came from if someone falls ill.
Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled near food. That is a direct contamination risk with no ambiguity.
The restaurant also had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, which means customers with compromised immune systems, pregnant women, or elderly diners had no way to know what risks they were taking with certain menu items.
What These Violations Mean
Food from unapproved or unknown sources is not a paperwork problem. When food bypasses USDA or FDA inspection channels, it may carry Listeria, Salmonella, or other pathogens that regulated suppliers are required to screen for. If a customer gets sick and investigators need to trace the source, there is nothing to trace.
The combination of no employee health policy and a separate citation for employees not reporting illness symptoms is particularly significant. These two violations together describe a workplace where a sick employee has no formal obligation to disclose symptoms and no written standard telling them to stay home. CDC data identifies food workers who continue working while ill as the leading cause of multi-victim outbreaks, with Norovirus as the most common result.
Improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, the kind of cutting boards and prep areas that touch raw meat and then vegetables, are among the most reliable pathways for bacterial cross-contamination in a commercial kitchen. Combined with inadequate handwashing facilities and documented improper technique, the inspection record from August 24 describes a facility where contamination had multiple unchecked routes.
The intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal adds another layer. Raw sewage contains fecal bacteria, and any breach of proper disposal creates the possibility of that contamination spreading through a kitchen.
The Longer Record
The August 24 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Maikels Kitchen has been inspected 38 times and has accumulated 361 total violations across its history.
The facility was emergency-closed once before, in March 2023, for roach activity. Inspectors allowed it to reopen the following day.
Looking at the most recent stretch alone: inspectors returned on August 25, the day after the inspection at the center of this story, and found five high-severity violations and five intermediate ones. A week later, on September 1, they found two more high-severity violations and four intermediate ones. The inspection on August 24 that produced ten high-severity citations sits in the middle of a sequence that shows no sustained improvement.
Going back further, the pattern holds. In April 2025, inspectors cited six high-severity violations and four intermediate ones. In September 2025, a visit produced eight high-severity violations. In January 2026, four more high-severity citations. The facility has not had a clean inspection in the documented recent record.
Still Open
Florida's emergency closure authority is triggered when inspectors determine a facility poses an imminent threat to public health. The ten high-severity violations documented on August 24 at Maikels Kitchen did not result in a closure order.
The restaurant at 3864 Waters Ave. remained open that day, and in the days that followed.
