NORTH MIAMI BEACH, FL. When state inspectors walked into Merkado 31 at 1127 NE 163rd Street on July 16, they found a restaurant where employees had no written policy requiring them to report when they were sick, and where at least one worker was observed not reporting illness symptoms at all.
Seven high-severity violations and three intermediate violations later, the restaurant on NE 163rd Street was still open.
What Inspectors Found
The illness violations were among the most direct risks to anyone who ate at Merkado 31 that week. Inspectors cited the restaurant both for lacking a written employee health policy and for having an employee who was not reporting illness symptoms, two separate high-severity violations that together describe a kitchen with no formal guardrail against a sick worker preparing food.
The handwashing findings compounded that picture. Inspectors cited the restaurant for inadequate handwashing facilities and for improper handwashing technique, meaning the physical infrastructure was insufficient and the practice itself was flawed.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled, and toxic substances were improperly identified, stored, or used, two distinct chemical violations recorded on the same visit.
The intermediate violations included improper waste disposal, inadequate ventilation and lighting, and improper use of wiping cloths.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of no employee health policy and an employee not reporting illness symptoms is the documented setup for a multi-victim outbreak. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness in the United States, spreads when a sick food worker handles food without restriction. A written health policy is the mechanism that legally requires a worker to stay home or be removed from food handling. Without one at Merkado 31, there was no formal requirement in place.
Handwashing failures add a second transmission route. Inadequate facilities means a worker may not have had a properly equipped sink nearby, with soap and a means to dry hands, when it was needed. Improper technique means that even when a worker did attempt to wash, pathogens were likely left on their hands. Studies consistently show that improper technique reduces hand hygiene effectiveness to near zero.
Unsanitized food contact surfaces are where those pathogens go next. Cutting boards, prep tables, and utensils that are not properly cleaned between uses become transfer points, moving bacteria from one food item to the next without any visible sign of contamination.
The two chemical violations are a separate category of risk. Toxic cleaning chemicals stored or labeled incorrectly near food can contaminate a meal directly, and the consequences range from gastrointestinal illness to acute poisoning. Improper waste disposal, cited as an intermediate violation, draws the pests that were already documented at this address in 2023.
The Longer Record
Merkado 31 Inspection History, Selected Dates
Merkado 31 has 26 inspections on record and 340 total violations accumulated across that history. That volume is not the result of one bad week.
The restaurant was emergency-closed in September 2023 for roach and fly activity, reopened two days later, and then returned seven high-severity violations at a November 2023 inspection. Six high-severity violations followed in August 2024. Seven high-severity violations appeared again in August 2025, and again in May 2026.
The July 2026 inspection is not a departure from the pattern. It matches the May 2026 inspection count exactly: 7 high-severity, 3 intermediate. The same totals, two months apart.
The illness-related violations, no health policy and an employee not reporting symptoms, are particularly notable given the history. A kitchen that cycled through a pest closure, multiple high-severity inspection cycles, and 340 cumulative violations over 26 inspections was cited in July 2026 for having no formal mechanism to keep a sick worker away from food.
Merkado 31 was not closed after the July 16 inspection.
