MANATEE COUNTY, FL. A Palmetto sushi and Thai restaurant accumulated 8 high-severity violations during a single inspection this week, the worst performance among 47 facilities examined across Manatee County between October 8 and October 14, 2026.
Hideko Sushi and Thai LLC at 737 8th Ave W drew citations for toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, toxic substances improperly identified or used, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, time as a public health control not properly used, improper handwashing technique, an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, and no person in charge present or performing duties. That last violation was the foundation for all the others: no manager, no accountability, no checks.
Twelve of the 47 facilities inspected this week recorded two or more high-severity violations. Together they accounted for the bulk of the 60-plus high-severity citations issued across the county.
The Violations
Four facilities tied with six high-severity violations each, a cluster that points to systemic failures across the county rather than isolated incidents.
New Garden at 4629 Cortez Road W was cited for food not cooked to required minimum temperature, inadequate shell stock identification and records, no allergen awareness demonstrated, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, toxic substances improperly identified or used, and no person in charge. The shell stock citation is notable: without proper identification tags, there is no way to trace oysters or clams back to their harvest source if customers fall ill.
Cortez Clam Factory at 10104 Cortez Rd W was cited for food from an unapproved or unknown source, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, improper handwashing technique, an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, and no person in charge. A seafood business sourcing food from an unverified supplier is a particular concern: without a documented supply chain, there is no traceability if a customer becomes sick.
Greyson at 5045 96th St E in Palmetto accumulated six high-severity citations that included parasite destruction procedures not followed, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, time as a public health control not properly used, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, toxic substances improperly identified or used, and improper handwashing technique. The parasite destruction failure stands out: fish served without proper freezing or cooking can harbor Anisakis and tapeworm larvae.
Pho City at 5326 34th St W was cited for inadequate handwashing facilities, an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, no allergen awareness demonstrated, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and no person in charge. When handwashing facilities are inadequate, proper hygiene becomes structurally impossible, not just neglected.
Cortez Cafe at 12108 Cortez Rd drew six citations including bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food, inadequate shell stock identification and records, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, improper handwashing technique, an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, and no person in charge. Bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food is among the most direct routes for norovirus transmission.
Gulf Drive Cafe at 900 N Gulf Drive in Bradenton Beach recorded five high-severity violations: no person in charge, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Duffy's Sports Grill at 3005 University Parkway also reached five high-severity citations, including food from an unapproved or unknown source, an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. No intermediate violations were recorded alongside the five high-severity findings.
Sage Biscuit Cafe at 6656 Cortez Rd W was cited for improper handwashing technique, an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, toxic substances improperly identified or used, and no allergen awareness demonstrated.
Top China at 3558 53rd Ave W recorded four high-severity violations: an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and no allergen awareness demonstrated.
Cracker Barrel No. 73 at 636 67th St Cir E recorded one high-severity violation, for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. RJ Gator's Sea Grill and Bar at 6100 Cortez Rd W recorded no high-severity violations, its single citation an intermediate finding for inadequate ventilation and lighting.
What These Violations Mean
The single most repeated high-severity violation this week was "no person in charge present or performing duties," cited at Hideko Sushi and Thai, New Garden, Cortez Clam Factory, Pho City, Cortez Cafe, and Gulf Drive Cafe. This is not a paperwork failure. When no qualified manager is actively overseeing a kitchen, there is no one to catch an ill employee before they handle food, no one to verify cooking temperatures, and no one to enforce handwashing. CDC data links the absence of active managerial control to three times the rate of critical violations at comparable establishments.
The illness-reporting failure appeared at Hideko Sushi and Thai, Cortez Clam Factory, Pho City, Cortez Cafe, Duffy's Sports Grill, Sage Biscuit Cafe, and Top China. An employee who works through vomiting or diarrhea can shed norovirus onto every surface and food item they touch. Norovirus requires as few as 18 viral particles to cause infection in a healthy adult.
Shell stock traceability failures at New Garden and Cortez Cafe carry a specific risk that goes beyond the inspection visit itself. Oysters, clams, and mussels are filter feeders that concentrate bacteria and viruses from the water they are harvested in. Without the required identification tags linking a batch to its harvest location and date, public health investigators cannot trace an illness outbreak back to its source or pull a contaminated batch from circulation.
The dual toxic chemical citations at Hideko Sushi and Thai, Greyson, Duffy's Sports Grill, and Sage Biscuit Cafe represent a different category of risk entirely. Chemical contamination does not require a failure of cooking temperature or handwashing. An unlabeled spray bottle stored next to a prep surface, or a cleaning compound used on food-contact equipment without proper rinsing, can cause acute poisoning in the customer who receives that plate.
The Longer Record
The data does not include prior inspection counts for the facilities listed this week, which limits the ability to place this week's findings against each restaurant's full history. What the current record does show is that several of the worst performers this week share violation categories that tend to recur across inspections rather than appearing once and being corrected.
The combination of no person in charge and employee illness reporting failures, present together at Hideko Sushi and Thai, Cortez Clam Factory, Pho City, and Cortez Cafe, is a pairing that inspectors associate with management cultures that do not prioritize food safety between visits. A single inspection can document the gap; only a pattern of inspections can show whether a facility corrects it.
Cortez Clam Factory's citation for food from an unapproved or unknown source is the kind of violation that raises questions about supply chain practices that predate any single inspection week. Sourcing decisions are not made day-to-day. The same is true of New Garden's shell stock traceability failure: maintaining harvest records is an ongoing operational requirement, not a one-time task.
Greyson's parasite destruction failure and Pho City's inadequate handwashing infrastructure both point to structural deficiencies. Parasite destruction requires documented freezing protocols or cooking temperature records. Inadequate handwashing facilities require physical modification of the space. Neither is resolved by a manager's promise to do better before the next inspector arrives.
