SOUTH DAYTONA, FL. Inspectors visiting NY Korean BBQ & Chicken at 2225 S. Ridgewood Ave. on October 1, 2026 found food not cooked to required minimum temperatures at a restaurant that specializes in grilled meat, an employee failing to report illness symptoms, and toxic chemicals stored improperly near food. They documented seven high-severity violations and three intermediate ones. Then they left the restaurant open.
The facility has now accumulated 230 violations across 28 inspections on record, and it has never been emergency-closed.
What Inspectors Found
The cooking temperature violation is the most direct threat to anyone who ate there. Korean BBQ restaurants serve poultry and meat that customers cook themselves at tabletop grills, or that kitchen staff prepare in advance. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. The inspector found food not reaching that threshold.
Alongside that, an employee was not reporting illness symptoms, a violation that state records classify as an outbreak enabler. Food workers who handle ingredients while symptomatic are the primary transmission route for norovirus and other pathogens that can sicken dozens of customers from a single shift.
Toxic chemicals were stored or labeled improperly near food. The inspector also found food contact surfaces, the cutting boards, prep tables, and grilling equipment that touches what customers eat, not properly cleaned or sanitized. That is a direct cross-contamination pathway.
The person in charge was either absent or not performing supervisory duties. No consumer advisory was posted to warn customers that some items may be served raw or undercooked. And the facility was not properly using time as a public health control, meaning food was allowed to sit in the bacterial growth temperature range without adequate tracking.
Inspectors also cited improper sewage or wastewater disposal, single-use items being reused, and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of undercooking and no consumer advisory is especially significant at a Korean BBQ concept. Customers at tabletop-grill restaurants sometimes believe they are cooking their own food to safety, but that assumption depends on the kitchen delivering properly prepared raw product and the facility posting clear guidance about doneness. Neither condition was met here on October 1.
The illness-reporting failure compounds that risk. A single symptomatic food handler working a busy dinner service can contaminate surfaces, utensils, and finished dishes before any symptom is visible to a manager. The absence of an active person in charge makes that scenario more likely, not less, because there is no one monitoring whether workers are showing signs of illness before they handle food.
Improper sewage disposal, cited as an intermediate violation, introduces a separate contamination pathway entirely. Raw sewage carries fecal bacteria. When disposal is handled incorrectly, that contamination can spread through a facility via floor drains, prep surfaces, and employee hands.
The reuse of single-use items, gloves, cups, or utensils designed for one-time contact, eliminates the contamination barrier those items are meant to provide. When that failure occurs alongside unsanitized food contact surfaces, the facility has effectively removed two independent layers of protection at once.
The Longer Record
The October 1 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show the restaurant has been inspected 28 times and has accumulated 230 total violations. It has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern of high-severity citations is consistent and recent. On September 25, 2025, inspectors found nine high-severity violations and two intermediate ones. On March 5, 2025, seven high-severity violations and one intermediate. On August 29, 2024, seven high-severity violations and two intermediate ones. The October 1, 2026 inspection logged seven high-severity violations, matching that same threshold.
A follow-up inspection on October 9, 2026, eight days after the visit covered here, found two high-severity violations and two intermediate ones. That is a reduction, but high-severity violations were still present.
The March 2026 inspection found six high-severity violations and four intermediate ones. Every inspection in the past two years for which records are available has included at least three high-severity citations.
Still Open
Florida's emergency closure authority is triggered when inspectors determine that conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. The state's own violation classifications rated seven of the ten findings on October 1 as high severity.
The restaurant was not closed.
As of the follow-up inspection eight days later, high-severity violations remained on the record. NY Korean BBQ & Chicken at 2225 S. Ridgewood Ave. continued serving customers throughout.
