PEMBROKE PINES, FL. Back in February 2026, state inspectors walked into Markk Holdings, a convenience store on the edge of Pembroke Pines, and found something that triggers immediate enforcement action: no hot water anywhere in the building.
The inspector's notes are direct. "No hot water available at the establishment at the time of the visit." Stop sale and stop use orders were issued on the spot.
That finding alone would have made for a difficult inspection. But the records show the hot water problem was just the beginning.
What Inspectors Found
The store was also operating without a valid food permit. The inspector noted that an application had been submitted, but as of February 10 the permit had not been issued and the fee had not been paid. The store had 10 days to remit payment.
In the backroom, inspectors found no sanitizer solution at the three-compartment sink and no test kit to measure sanitizer concentration. Stop use orders were issued for both the sink and the equipment it was meant to clean. Without sanitizer and without the ability to verify sanitizer strength, there was no way to confirm that utensils or equipment had been properly decontaminated.
The handwash sink next to that same three-compartment sink had no soap and no paper towels. The employee restroom had no hot water. The person in charge, when asked standard questions about foodborne illness symptoms and employee reporting responsibilities, could not answer them correctly.
Multiple beverage cases were stored directly on the retail floor, not the required six inches above it.
The hemp extract age restriction signage was missing from the product display. That violation was marked repeat, meaning inspectors had cited the store for the same problem before this visit.
Not a single violation was corrected on site.
Stop Orders and What They Mean for Shoppers
The inspection triggered two stop sale orders and four stop use orders. The stop sale orders cited a violation of Florida Food Law tied to the absence of hot and cold water under pressure, the same root cause as the hot water finding. Those orders effectively prohibited the sale of products subject to that condition until the violation was resolved.
The stop use orders covered the three-compartment sink and associated equipment, again citing unsanitary equipment and the missing sanitizer and test kit. Inspectors noted that corrections had to be verified by a food safety inspector before those orders could be lifted.
For anyone who shopped at Markk Holdings in the days or weeks before this inspection, the records raise a straightforward question: if there was no hot water and no functioning sanitizer system, how long had that been the case?
What These Violations Mean
Hot water is not a comfort amenity in a food retail environment. It is the foundation of hand hygiene and equipment sanitation. When there is no hot water at any sink in the building, employees cannot wash their hands at the temperature required to reduce pathogen transmission. That matters most in a store where workers handle food, restock open displays, and interact with shared surfaces throughout the day.
The absence of sanitizer at the three-compartment sink compounds that risk directly. The three-compartment sink is where food contact surfaces and equipment get cleaned, rinsed, and sanitized. Without a sanitizer solution and without a test kit to confirm the solution is at the right concentration, there is no reliable way to know whether equipment is actually safe to use.
The person in charge failing basic foodborne illness questions is a separate and serious problem. That person is responsible for enforcing employee health policies, including keeping sick workers away from food. If the person in charge does not know the symptoms that require an employee to stay home, that policy does not exist in any practical sense.
The repeat hemp extract signage violation is a narrower issue, but its repeat status matters. Inspectors had flagged the missing age restriction signs before. The store had not fixed it.
The Longer Record
The inspection data does not include a prior inspection count for Markk Holdings, so it is not possible to place this visit in the context of a longer numerical history. What the record does show is that at least one violation, the missing hemp extract age restriction signage, had been cited in a previous inspection and remained unresolved when inspectors returned in February 2026.
The inspection type itself is notable. This was classified as an "Operating Without a Valid Food Permit" inspection, meaning the store was already on the agency's radar before the inspector walked through the door. The visit was not a routine check. It was triggered by a known compliance problem.
The store had submitted a permit application, according to the inspector's notes. But on the day of the visit, 11 violations were documented, stop orders were issued across multiple areas of the operation, and none of the violations were corrected before the inspector left.
As of the inspection date, the three-compartment sink and associated equipment remained under stop use orders, pending a follow-up visit to verify corrections.