POLK COUNTY, FL. A Lakeland bar racked up five high-severity violations in a single inspection last week, including food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and no person in charge present or performing duties.
Detroit Tigers Inc on North Lake Avenue led Polk County's worst performers for the week of April 20 through April 26, 2026. The inspection also cited an employee for not reporting illness symptoms and documented that time as a public health control was not being properly used. That combination, five high-severity violations and zero intermediate ones, placed it at the top of a county-wide list that included 12 facilities with two or more high-severity findings.
The Violations
Three facilities tied at four high-severity violations each, and the findings at each were distinct enough to tell different stories. Curry Leaves Lakeland on US Highway 98 North was cited for food from an unapproved or unknown source, food in poor condition or adulterated, improper handwashing technique, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized.
Frankie Farrells Pub and Grille on Sand Mine Road in Davenport drew four high-severity citations as well, but its violations centered on a different set of risks: improper handwashing technique, unsanitized food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff.
Bob Evans Restaurant 123 on US Highway 98 North in Lakeland was cited for no employee health policy or an inadequate one, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, unsanitized food contact surfaces, and improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals. Inspectors also cited a failure to properly clean multi-use utensils, an intermediate violation.
Cherry Pocket Steak N Seafood Shak on Canal Road in Lake Wales received four high-severity citations including food from an unapproved source, improper handwashing technique, failure to follow parasite destruction procedures, and failure to follow required procedures for specialized processes.
Southern Dunes Golf and Country Club on Southern Dunes Boulevard in Haines City was cited for unsanitized food contact surfaces, improper use of time as a public health control, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals.
Among the facilities with three high-severity violations, a pattern around absent management stood out. Fire Hot Pot and BBQ on US 98 North in Lakeland was cited for no person in charge present or performing duties, improper handwashing technique, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Bartow Golf Course on Herbert Dixon Boulevard shared the same management failure finding and added two more: an employee not reporting illness symptoms, and food not cooked to the required minimum temperature.
Floridino's Italian Kitchen on Highway 27 in Lake Hamilton was cited for improper handwashing technique, food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Sundays Grill on Sandmine Road in Davenport drew three high-severity violations, including improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals, improper handwashing technique, and no consumer advisory, along with an intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
Pa Los Chinos Restaurant on Osceola Polk Line Road in Davenport was cited for improper handwashing technique, unsanitized food contact surfaces, and improper use of time as a public health control. Inspectors also noted improper sanitizing solution or procedures as an intermediate violation.
La Guapachosa on South Florida Avenue in Lakeland rounded out the list with two high-severity violations: no employee health policy and an employee not reporting illness symptoms. An intermediate citation for improper use of wiping cloths accompanied those findings.
What These Violations Mean
Several of the most serious violations documented this week involve the same root problem: a breakdown in the most basic barriers between contamination and the customer. Improper handwashing technique, cited at Curry Leaves Lakeland, Frankie Farrells, Cherry Pocket, Floridino's Italian Kitchen, Fire Hot Pot and BBQ, Sundays Grill, and Pa Los Chinos, does not mean employees skipped washing their hands entirely. It means they washed them incorrectly, leaving pathogens on skin despite the attempt. Norovirus and Salmonella transfer easily from improperly washed hands to food.
The employee illness violations at Detroit Tigers Inc, Bob Evans Restaurant 123, Bartow Golf Course, and La Guapachosa represent a more direct threat. When a sick employee handles food without reporting symptoms, and when no written health policy exists to require that reporting, the facility has no mechanism to pull that worker off the line. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurants, spreads from person to person in amounts as small as 18 viral particles.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources, cited at both Curry Leaves Lakeland and Cherry Pocket Steak N Seafood Shak, removes the traceability that public health officials rely on when an outbreak occurs. Without a verified supply chain, inspectors cannot determine where contaminated product originated or how many other customers may have been exposed.
The parasite destruction and specialized process violations at Cherry Pocket are worth noting on their own. Facilities that serve raw or undercooked fish are required to follow specific freezing protocols that kill parasites including Anisakis and tapeworm. When those procedures are not followed and no consumer advisory is posted, customers have no way of knowing the food they ordered carries that risk.
The Longer Record
The inspection data does not include prior inspection counts for these facilities, so a full longitudinal comparison is not possible from this week's records alone. What the data does show is the concentration of serious violations within a single week across 61 Polk County facilities. Twelve of those facilities, or roughly one in five, generated two or more high-severity citations.
The clustering of certain violation types at multiple locations is notable. Consumer advisory failures appeared at Frankie Farrells, Southern Dunes Golf and Country Club, Floridino's Italian Kitchen, Sundays Grill, and Fire Hot Pot and BBQ. That is five separate facilities, in four different cities, all missing the same basic requirement to disclose the risks of raw or undercooked food to customers.
Toxic chemical storage violations appeared at Detroit Tigers Inc, Bob Evans Restaurant 123, Southern Dunes Golf and Country Club, and Sundays Grill. Chemicals stored near food or improperly labeled are an acute poisoning risk, not a paperwork problem.
The management failure citation, no person in charge present or performing duties, appeared at Detroit Tigers Inc, Fire Hot Pot and BBQ, and Bartow Golf Course. CDC data links the absence of active managerial control to significantly higher rates of critical violations in the same inspection. At Bartow Golf Course, that absent oversight coincided with food not cooked to the required minimum temperature and an employee not reporting illness symptoms.