MIAMI, FL. Three Miami restaurants were ordered shut in a single week for roach and rodent activity, as state inspectors documented high-severity violations at 15 facilities across Miami-Dade County between September 14 and September 20, 2026.
The Closures
Victory Restaurant and Lounge on NE 1st Avenue was the first to close, on September 14, after inspectors documented roach and rodent activity on the premises. That same day, Club Fellowship at 9827 E Hibiscus Street was also ordered shut for the same reason.
Two days later, on September 16, China Express at 5301 NE 2nd Avenue received an emergency closure order, also for roach and rodent activity.
All three closures came within a 72-hour window.
The Violations
Shorty's Bar-B-Que on South Dixie Highway drew seven high-severity violations, among the most serious tallies of the week. Inspectors cited the barbecue institution for failing to follow parasite destruction procedures, not cooking food to required minimum temperatures, and improperly storing toxic chemicals near food. A separate violation noted improper sewage or wastewater disposal on the premises.
Mitricolor at 13740 SW 152nd Street and Raccoon Coffee on Biscayne Boulevard each drew 11 high-severity violations, tying for the week's highest count. Both were cited for no employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate shell stock identification, parasite destruction failures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
New York/Roma Pizza and Pasta at 125 SE 2nd Avenue also reached 11 high-severity violations. Inspectors found food from an unapproved or unknown source, food in poor condition or adulterated, employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing, and food not cooked to minimum required temperatures.
Old Cutler Inn at 16800 Old Cutler Road accumulated 10 high-severity violations, including no person in charge present or performing duties, no employee health policy, inadequate handwashing facilities, and parasite destruction procedures not followed. Inspectors also noted food not cooked to required minimum temperatures.
Conch Heaven on NW 27th Avenue drew nine high-severity violations and seven intermediate violations, the highest intermediate count of the week. The facility was cited for no employee health policy, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper hand-washing technique, parasite destruction failures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Caffe Portofino on South Dixie Highway and Arepa.Bar on NW 36th Street each drew nine high-severity violations. Caffe Portofino was cited for no person in charge, food from an unapproved source, inadequate shell stock records, and time as a public health control not properly used. Arepa.Bar was cited for no person in charge, no employee health policy, food from an unapproved source, parasite destruction failures, and time as a public health control not properly used.
Shahs of Kabob at 48 SW 12th Street received nine high-severity citations including food from an unapproved source, inadequate shell stock identification, food not cooked to minimum temperatures, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. The facility also drew violations for both inadequate handwashing and improper hand-washing technique.
Osteria Vecchio Piemonte on SW 72nd Street was cited for eight high-severity violations, including no person in charge, inadequate handwashing facilities, food from an unapproved source, undercooking, and improperly stored toxic chemicals.
Casa Juan on NW 7th Street drew six high-severity violations, including improper hand-washing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, food not cooked to required temperatures, and two separate violations for improperly stored or unlabeled toxic chemicals and substances.
Sushi Sake on SW 42nd Street was cited for three high-severity violations: food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff.
Victory Restaurant and Lounge, despite its emergency closure, drew only three high-severity violations in the inspection record: food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Tran An on NE 82nd Street drew four high-severity violations, including improper hand-washing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Tutto Pasta on SW 3rd Avenue drew the lightest load of the week, with one high-severity violation for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, alongside intermediate citations for improper sewage disposal and inadequate ventilation.
What These Violations Mean
The most widespread high-severity violation this week was improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, cited at 12 of the 15 facilities. Cutting boards, prep tables, and slicers that are not properly sanitized become direct transfer points for bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli, moving from one food item to the next without any visible sign of contamination. At a facility like Shorty's Bar-B-Que, where undercooking was also cited, that combination means bacteria can survive on a surface and then be introduced to a protein that never reaches a temperature high enough to kill it.
The food-from-unapproved-sources violation, cited at New York/Roma Pizza and Pasta, Caffe Portofino, Arepa.Bar, Shahs of Kabob, and Osteria Vecchio Piemonte, carries a specific risk most customers don't consider. When food enters a kitchen from an uninspected supplier, there is no chain of custody. If someone becomes ill, investigators have no records to trace the product back to its origin, making outbreak investigations slower and more difficult.
No employee health policy and employees not reporting illness symptoms were cited together at Mitricolor, Raccoon Coffee, Old Cutler Inn, Conch Heaven, and Arepa.Bar. These two violations compound each other: a written policy is the mechanism by which a sick worker knows to stay home or report symptoms, and without one, a worker with Norovirus or Hepatitis A has no formal instruction to do either. Norovirus can be transmitted by a single infected employee to dozens of customers in a single shift.
Parasite destruction failures, documented at Shorty's Bar-B-Que, Mitricolor, Raccoon Coffee, Old Cutler Inn, Conch Heaven, Arepa.Bar, and Shahs of Kabob, are particularly relevant for any facility serving fish or shellfish. Parasites including Anisakis in raw or undercooked fish are not visible to the naked eye and survive unless fish is either cooked to proper temperature or frozen to a specific temperature for a specified time. The absence of consumer advisories at most of these same facilities means customers are not being warned that they are eating food that has not undergone that process.
The Longer Record
Conch Heaven carries 42 prior inspections on record, the longest history of any facility cited this week. Nine high-severity violations and seven intermediate violations in a single inspection, after more than four dozen total visits from state inspectors, represents a facility that has been in the system for years without apparent resolution of foundational problems.
Shorty's Bar-B-Que has 38 inspections on record. Seven high-severity violations this week, including undercooking and toxic chemical storage, follow a long history of regulatory contact.
Victory Restaurant and Lounge has 32 prior inspections on record and was emergency-closed this week. Sushi Sake carries 29 inspections and drew allergen awareness failures this week, a violation with direct life-threatening potential for customers with food allergies who have no way of knowing staff cannot identify allergens in dishes they are serving.
Old Cutler Inn presents the sharpest contrast of the week. With only four prior inspections on record, it is among the newest facilities in this group, yet it accumulated 10 high-severity violations including no person in charge, no employee health policy, inadequate handwashing facilities, and parasite destruction failures. A facility that new, accumulating that many serious citations that quickly, had not yet established the basic operational controls that inspectors expect to find in place from the start.
Club Fellowship, emergency-closed September 14 for roach and rodent activity, does not appear in the inspection violation data for this week. Its prior inspection record is not included in the state data for this period.
