DUNEDIN, FL. Food at Prohibition Kitchen and Tap on Main Street was not cooked to the required minimum temperature during a state inspection on April 20, a violation that inspectors classify as a direct pathway for pathogen survival, and the restaurant was not closed.
That undercooking citation was one of six high-severity violations documented during the visit. Inspectors also found toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, a second citation for toxic substances improperly identified or used, food contact surfaces that had not been properly cleaned or sanitized, inadequate handwashing facilities, and no person in charge present or performing duties.
Two intermediate violations rounded out the inspection: improper use of wiping cloths and inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities.
What Inspectors Found
The chemical violations stand out for their immediacy. Inspectors cited the kitchen twice over toxic substances, once for improper storage or labeling and once for improper identification, storage, or use. Both categories describe conditions where a cleaning agent or other hazardous substance could contaminate food or be mistaken for a food-safe product.
The absent manager citation connects to nearly everything else. Without a person in charge actively overseeing the kitchen, there is no one accountable for catching a dish that has not reached temperature, a sanitizer that has not been mixed correctly, or a handwashing sink that has been blocked or left without soap.
What These Violations Mean
The undercooking violation is the most direct threat to anyone who ate at Prohibition Kitchen and Tap on or around April 20. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Bacteria that cause illness do not change color, texture, or smell. A customer has no way to identify undercooked food by looking at it.
The two chemical violations compound that risk. Improperly stored or unlabeled chemicals near food preparation areas can contaminate food directly, or a worker can mistake a chemical product for a food-safe one. At Prohibition Kitchen and Tap, inspectors found both types of chemical mishandling in the same visit.
Unsanitized food contact surfaces, the third high-severity finding, are how bacteria travel from one meal to the next. A cutting board or prep surface that has not been properly cleaned carries whatever was on it before, across every plate prepared on that surface afterward.
The handwashing citation closes the loop. When the infrastructure for hand hygiene is inadequate, employees cannot wash their hands correctly even if they intend to. That is not a procedural failure. It is a physical one.
The Longer Record
The April 20 inspection was the sixteenth on record for Prohibition Kitchen and Tap. Across those 16 inspections, state records show 75 total violations. The facility has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern of high-severity citations stretches back to at least October 2022, when inspectors found three high-severity and two intermediate violations. A March 2023 inspection found four high-severity and three intermediate violations in a single visit. The facility returned for a follow-up the next day, March 7, with one high-severity violation remaining.
High-severity violations appeared again in September 2023, twice in 2024, and twice more in May 2025 before the April 2026 inspection produced the highest single-visit high-severity count in the recorded history: six.
The May 2025 pair of inspections tells its own story. On May 6, inspectors found two high-severity and two intermediate violations. A follow-up on May 7 showed the high-severity count drop to zero. That sequence suggests the restaurant can correct problems quickly when pressed. The April 2026 inspection shows six high-severity violations with no closure order requiring that same urgency.
Still Open
State inspectors have the authority to order an emergency closure when violations pose an immediate threat to public health. After documenting six high-severity violations at Prohibition Kitchen and Tap on April 20, including undercooked food, two chemical storage failures, unsanitized food contact surfaces, and no manager on duty, they did not exercise that authority.
The restaurant on Main Street in Dunedin remained open.