HIALEAH, FL. State inspectors visiting Rincon Nica Restaurant at 4395 W 16th Ave on April 29 found that the kitchen was sourcing food from unapproved or unknown suppliers, meaning the ingredients arriving in that kitchen had bypassed every federal safety checkpoint designed to catch Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli before they reach a customer's plate.
That was one of 13 high-severity violations documented in a single visit.
The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The inspector also cited the restaurant for food in poor condition, for failing to follow parasite destruction procedures, and for food not cooked to required minimum temperatures. Together, those three violations describe a kitchen where ingredients of uncertain origin were being undercooked, and where the freezing protocols that kill parasites in fish and pork were not being followed.
Two separate violations addressed toxic chemicals. Inspectors found chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and separately cited improper identification, storage, or use of toxic substances. Both violations were classified as high severity, meaning chemicals were in a position to contaminate food.
The handwashing picture was equally stark. Inspectors cited employees for inadequate handwashing and, in a separate violation, for improper handwashing technique. That is not a single lapse. That is a finding that even when employees made an attempt to wash their hands, they were doing it wrong.
The person in charge was either absent or not performing supervisory duties. The restaurant had no written employee health policy. Employees were not reporting illness symptoms.
No consumer advisory was posted for raw or undercooked foods.
What These Violations Mean
Food from unapproved sources is not a paperwork problem. When a restaurant buys ingredients outside the licensed supply chain, there is no traceability. If a customer gets sick, investigators cannot identify where the food came from, which lot it was part of, or who else received the same shipment. The violation at Rincon Nica means that on April 29, at least some of what was being served there had no documented path from farm or processor to plate.
The illness-reporting violations compound that risk directly. Without a written health policy and without employees required to report symptoms, a worker with Norovirus, Hepatitis A, or Salmonella has no formal obligation to stay out of the kitchen. Norovirus alone accounts for roughly 20 million cases of foodborne illness in the United States each year, and a single infected food handler can expose dozens of customers in a single shift.
The undercooking violation matters because it is the last line of defense. If food is coming from an unapproved source and may carry pathogens, proper cooking temperatures are what kill them. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. The inspector found that minimum temperatures were not being reached.
The chemical storage violations carry a separate and immediate risk. Cleaning agents and sanitizers stored near or above food preparation surfaces can contaminate food directly, and mislabeled chemicals can be mistaken for food-safe products by staff. Both conditions were present at Rincon Nica on April 29.
The Longer Record
The April 29 inspection was not an anomaly. It was the worst single inspection in a documented pattern stretching back years.
State records show 32 inspections on file for this address, with 326 total violations accumulated across that history. High-severity violations have appeared in every inspection listed in the most recent two years, including six high-severity violations in December 2025, four in March 2025, and three in both November 2024 and April 2024.
The restaurant was emergency-closed once before, in November 2020, for roach activity. It reopened the following day. In the five-plus years since that closure, high-severity violations have continued to appear at every documented inspection.
The day after the April 29 inspection, a follow-up visit on April 30 found two high-severity violations and one intermediate violation still present. Whatever corrections were made overnight, they did not bring the facility to full compliance.
Open for Business
Thirty-two inspections. Three hundred twenty-six violations on record. A prior emergency closure for roaches. And on April 29, 2026, thirteen high-severity violations in a single visit, including food from unknown sources, employees not reporting illness, and chemicals improperly stored near food.
Rincon Nica Restaurant on West 16th Avenue in Hialeah was not closed.