PASCO COUNTY, FL. A Hudson restaurant was cited for pulling food from unapproved or unknown sources, storing toxic chemicals improperly, and operating without a functional employee health policy, all in the same inspection week that a Lutz eatery failed to cook food to required minimum temperatures and left shellfish without required traceability records.
State inspectors visited 39 facilities across Pasco County between October 7 and October 13, 2026, completing 41 total inspections. Twelve of those facilities drew two or more high-severity violations. That is nearly one in three establishments inspected.
The Worst of the Week
Franks Restaurant on US Highway 19 North in Hudson tied for the county's worst inspection this week with eight high-severity citations. Inspectors found food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, food in poor condition or adulterated, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and toxic chemicals stored improperly. The facility also lacked an adequate employee health policy and had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked menu items.
Two of Franks' eight high-severity violations involved chemical hazards. Inspectors cited both improper storage or labeling of toxic chemicals and the improper identification, storage, or use of toxic substances as separate violations, meaning the chemical safety failures were documented in more than one form.
Ayoki LLC on State Road 54 in Lutz matched Franks with eight high-severity violations of its own. Inspectors found food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, food in poor condition, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and shellfish without adequate identification records. An employee was observed not reporting illness symptoms, and handwashing technique was cited as improper.
Sasha's on Main Street in New Port Richey drew six high-severity violations. Inspectors found no person in charge present or performing duties, no adequate employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Seafire Grill and Sunset Cove Grill and Bar on US Highway 19 in New Port Richey also drew six high-severity violations. Food from unapproved or unknown sources was cited, along with an employee not reporting illness symptoms, no person in charge on duty, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, no consumer advisory, and improperly stored chemicals. Inspectors also flagged improper sewage or wastewater disposal as an intermediate violation.
Joey's Pizza on Seven Springs Boulevard in New Port Richey was cited for food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, no consumer advisory, and improperly stored chemicals, along with the reuse of single-use items as an intermediate violation.
Captain D's #3848 on South US Highway 301 in Dade City drew four high-severity violations: inadequate shellfish identification records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, no consumer advisory, and improperly stored or labeled chemicals.
Social NPR on Main Street in New Port Richey was cited for improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, no consumer advisory, and improperly stored chemicals. Inspectors also noted improper sewage disposal and improper use of wiping cloths as intermediate violations.
Florida Avenue Brewing Co on Arrowgrass Drive in Wesley Chapel drew three high-severity violations: no person in charge present or performing duties, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned.
Subway #37117 on Land O' Lakes Boulevard in Lutz was cited for inadequate shellfish identification records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and no consumer advisory, along with intermediate violations for ventilation, wiping cloths, and inadequate toilet facilities.
San Antonio Restaurant on State Road 52 in San Antonio was cited for improper handwashing technique, inadequate shellfish identification records, and improperly stored chemicals.
Rice N Beans on Wesley Chapel Boulevard in Wesley Chapel drew three high-severity violations: no adequate employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used.
Pit Boss Bar B Que and Pub on Little Road in New Port Richey was cited for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, improperly stored chemicals, and failure to follow required procedures for specialized processes, a violation specific to operations like smoking and curing that require documented safety controls.
What These Violations Mean
The most common high-severity violation across Pasco County this week was improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals, cited at Franks Restaurant, Ayoki LLC, Sasha's, Seafire Grill, Joey's Pizza, Captain D's, Social NPR, San Antonio Restaurant, and Pit Boss Bar B Que. When chemicals are stored near food or mislabeled, the contamination risk is direct and immediate. A worker reaching for a sanitizer can grab the wrong bottle. A chemical stored above a prep surface can drip.
Food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized appeared at seven facilities this week, including Franks, Ayoki, Seafire Grill, Captain D's, Social NPR, Florida Avenue Brewing Co, Subway, and Pit Boss. Cutting boards, prep tables, and slicers that are not properly sanitized transfer bacteria from one food to the next without any visible sign that anything went wrong. The surface looks clean. The contamination is not visible.
The employee illness violations at Sasha's, Seafire Grill, Ayoki, and Florida Avenue Brewing Co represent a different category of risk. A sick employee who does not report symptoms and continues handling food is the most direct route for Norovirus to move from a single infected worker to dozens of customers in a single shift. The health policy violations at Franks, Sasha's, and Rice N Beans compound that risk: without a written policy, workers may not know they are required to report symptoms at all.
Shellfish traceability failures at Ayoki, Captain D's, Subway, and San Antonio Restaurant carry a specific danger that most customers do not consider. Oysters, clams, and mussels are frequently eaten raw or lightly cooked. If a customer becomes ill after eating shellfish, investigators need harvest records to trace the source. Without those records, an outbreak cannot be traced, contained, or stopped.
The Longer Record
New Port Richey accounted for five of the twelve worst-performing facilities this week: Sasha's, Seafire Grill, Joey's Pizza, Social NPR, and Pit Boss Bar B Que. That concentration in a single city is the most notable geographic pattern in this week's data.
Pit Boss Bar B Que's citation for failing to follow required procedures for specialized processes is worth noting on its own. Smoking and curing are the specific techniques that citation covers. Those processes require precise time and temperature controls documented in advance. A barbecue restaurant that is not following those protocols is operating its core cooking method outside documented safety boundaries.
The chemical storage violations at nine separate facilities in a single week suggest the issue is not isolated to one kitchen's habits. Improperly stored chemicals are among the easiest violations to correct and among the most consistently cited. Their appearance across Hudson, Lutz, New Port Richey, Dade City, Wesley Chapel, and San Antonio in the same seven-day window points to a countywide gap in basic chemical safety practice.
Ayoki LLC's combination of undercooking violations and missing shellfish traceability records presents a layered risk. Food that is not cooked to minimum temperature can harbor Salmonella in poultry or other pathogens. When that same facility cannot document where its shellfish came from, the absence of records means any illness traced back to that kitchen would have no paper trail to follow.
