CLERMONT, FL. A state inspector walked into Root & Branch Bistro & Bar on Oakley Seaver Drive on June 10 and found food that had not been cooked to the required minimum temperature, meaning pathogens capable of causing serious illness were left alive on plates headed for customers.
That was one of six high-severity violations documented that day. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The inspector also cited employees for failing to report illness symptoms, a violation that state health data links directly to multi-victim outbreaks. When food workers conceal or ignore symptoms and continue handling food, they become a transmission route for norovirus and other pathogens that spread rapidly through a dining room.
Food contact surfaces, the cutting boards, prep counters, and utensils that touch what customers eat, were found improperly cleaned and sanitized. Inspectors also noted that employees were not washing their hands correctly, meaning that even when a handwashing attempt was made, pathogens were left on their hands.
The restaurant had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked items on its menu. Without that notice, customers who are elderly, pregnant, or immunocompromised have no way to make an informed choice about what they order.
No person in charge was present or performing supervisory duties at the time of the inspection. Two intermediate violations rounded out the report: improper sewage or wastewater disposal, and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
What These Violations Mean
Undercooked food is not a paperwork problem. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A customer who eats chicken that never reached that temperature has consumed a live pathogen. The same principle applies across proteins. The risk is not theoretical.
The employee illness reporting violation compounds the cooking temperature failure. If a sick worker handles food that is then undercooked, two separate barriers against contamination have failed at once. State health records show that food workers who do not report symptoms are the leading cause of multi-victim outbreaks, and the transmission is direct.
Improperly sanitized food contact surfaces create a third exposure route. Bacteria transferred from a contaminated cutting board to the next item prepared on it does not require any additional failure to reach a customer. It is already in the food.
The absence of a person in charge during the inspection is not incidental to the other violations. CDC data shows that establishments without active managerial control accumulate critical violations at three times the rate of those with engaged management on the floor. Every other violation found on June 10 is consistent with a kitchen operating without oversight.
The Longer Record
The June 10 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Root & Branch Bistro & Bar has been inspected 24 times and has accumulated 254 total violations across its history, with zero emergency closures on record.
The pattern is consistent and recent. On January 21, 2026, five months before this inspection, the restaurant logged 10 high-severity violations and 5 intermediate violations. On December 27, 2024, inspectors found another 10 high-severity violations and 4 intermediate violations. On June 14, 2024, the tally was again 10 high-severity violations and 6 intermediate violations.
Three separate inspections, each producing 10 high-severity violations. Then a follow-up inspection on June 17, 2024, found zero high-severity violations, suggesting the restaurant can meet standards when it chooses to. The September 2025 inspection sequence tells the same story: 7 high-severity violations on September 12, reduced to 2 high-severity violations three days later on September 15.
The April 2025 sequence follows the same arc: 7 high-severity violations on April 25, down to 1 on April 28. The facility demonstrates it can correct violations quickly. The question the record raises is why they keep returning.
Still Open
Florida law gives inspectors discretion to order an emergency closure when conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. Six high-severity violations, including undercooked food and employees not reporting illness, did not meet that threshold on June 10.
Root & Branch Bistro & Bar at 1200 Oakley Seaver Drive remained open to customers after the inspection concluded.