ALACHUA, FL. A state inspector walked into New York Pizza Plus on NW 147 Drive on September 3 and found food that had not been cooked to the required minimum temperature, an employee who had not reported symptoms of illness, and toxic chemicals stored improperly near the food operation. The restaurant collected eight high-severity violations and four intermediate ones. It was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The undercooking violation is the one that most directly put customers at risk. Poultry that does not reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit can carry live Salmonella to the table. The inspection record does not specify which menu item was involved, but the citation stands as a documented finding on September 3.
The employee illness violation compounds it. An employee who does not report symptoms, and who continues handling food, is the most direct route for norovirus and other pathogens to move from a sick worker to a customer's plate. The inspector flagged that failure here alongside the undercooking citation on the same visit.
Toxic chemicals stored or labeled improperly near food rounded out the three violations that carry the most acute risk. Mislabeled or misplaced cleaning agents can contaminate food directly, and the results can be immediate, not the slow-building risk of bacterial growth.
The inspector also cited the person in charge as absent or not performing duties. That finding, combined with the employee illness reporting failure, points to a kitchen that was operating without meaningful oversight on the day of the visit.
What These Violations Mean
Undercooking is not a paperwork problem. Salmonella in chicken survives at temperatures below 165 degrees, and a customer who eats undercooked poultry can develop symptoms within hours. The violation means that on September 3, food left this kitchen without reaching the temperature that kills the bacteria most commonly associated with poultry.
The employee illness reporting failure is categorically different from a temperature or sanitation lapse. A worker who does not tell a manager about vomiting or diarrhea can shed norovirus onto every surface they touch. Norovirus spreads with as few as 18 particles. A single sick employee without restrictions can generate a multi-victim outbreak before anyone in the kitchen knows there is a problem.
Improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, also cited here, are the mechanism by which bacteria move from raw ingredients to cooked food or to surfaces customers touch. Cutting boards, prep tables, and utensils that are not properly sanitized between uses carry contamination forward through every dish prepared on them.
The inadequate shell stock records violation means that if a customer became ill after eating shellfish from this location, investigators would have no reliable way to trace the oysters, clams, or mussels back to a harvest source. Shellfish are consumed raw or lightly cooked and carry a higher baseline risk than most menu items. Traceability is the only tool public health officials have when an outbreak is already underway.
The Longer Record
The September 3 inspection is not an anomaly. New York Pizza Plus has 26 inspections on record and 226 total violations across that history. The pattern is consistent and it repeats on a near-clockwork schedule.
The most recent prior visit, on August 19, found zero high-severity violations. But the visit before that, on August 12, produced 11 high-severity and 6 intermediate violations. The visit on January 15 of this year produced 8 high-severity and 6 intermediate violations. The August 12, 2024 inspection produced 10 high-severity and 4 intermediate violations.
The clean inspections in between, January 20 and August 14 of prior years, follow the same pattern. Severe violations appear. A follow-up visit shows the problems corrected. Months later, severe violations appear again.
The August 12 inspection, just 22 days before the September 3 visit, already included 11 high-severity violations. The August 19 follow-up showed those cleared. Then September 3 brought 8 more high-severity citations, including the undercooking and employee illness findings. The facility has never been emergency-closed across 26 inspections.
Open for Business
State inspectors documented food served undercooked, an employee working without reporting illness, improperly stored toxic chemicals, unsanitized food contact surfaces, and no person in charge actively managing the operation. They left New York Pizza Plus open.
The restaurant's 26-inspection record shows this is the fifth time it has accumulated eight or more high-severity violations in a single visit. It has never been closed once.
