HOMESTEAD, FL. Inspectors visiting Royal Palm Grill & Deli at 806 N Krome Ave on May 28 found food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, meaning any ingredient on the menu that day could have bypassed federal safety inspections entirely, with no way to trace it if someone got sick.
That was one of 13 high-severity violations documented in a single inspection. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The full list reads less like a checklist of isolated oversights and more like a portrait of a kitchen operating without basic controls in place. No person in charge was present or performing duties. No written employee health policy existed. An employee was not reporting illness symptoms. Handwashing technique was documented as improper.
Inspectors also cited inadequate shell stock identification records, meaning shellfish served at the restaurant, which can be consumed raw or lightly cooked, could not be traced to a certified harvest source. Parasite destruction procedures were not being followed, a violation that applies to fish, pork, and wild game served undercooked or raw.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled, and a separate citation noted toxic substances were improperly identified, stored, or used. No consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods was posted. No allergen awareness was demonstrated by staff.
Four intermediate violations accompanied the 13 high-severity ones. Multi-use utensils were not properly cleaned. Single-use items were being reused. Ventilation and lighting were inadequate. Toilet facilities were inadequate or improperly maintained.
What These Violations Mean
Food from unapproved sources is not a paperwork problem. When a restaurant cannot identify where its food came from, there is no way to issue a recall, notify customers, or trace an illness back to a specific supplier if people get sick. USDA and FDA inspections exist precisely to catch Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli before food reaches a kitchen. Bypassing that system removes the only early warning available.
The combination of no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, and improper handwashing technique is what outbreak investigators call a transmission cluster. Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, spreads most efficiently when a sick food worker handles food without proper hand hygiene and no policy exists to send them home. All three conditions were present at Royal Palm Grill & Deli on May 28.
The allergen violation carries its own weight. Food allergies affect 32 million Americans, and allergic reactions send roughly 30,000 people to emergency rooms annually. When staff cannot demonstrate allergen awareness, a customer with a tree nut or shellfish allergy has no reliable way to assess what is safe to order.
Improperly stored chemicals near food create a risk that is immediate rather than cumulative. Mislabeled or misplaced toxic substances can contaminate food directly, and the symptoms, ranging from nausea to acute poisoning, can be difficult to distinguish from foodborne illness in the hours after a meal.
The Longer Record
Royal Palm Grill & Deli: Recent Inspection History
The May 28 inspection was the 32nd on record for this address. Across those 32 inspections, state records show 464 total violations accumulated. The restaurant has been emergency-closed once before, on October 30, 2024, when inspectors ordered it shut for a sewage issue and roach activity. It reopened the following day with 4 high-severity violations still on the books.
Every inspection since that closure has produced high-severity violations. The September 2025 visit found 9. The November 2025 visit found 6. The February 2026 visit found 7. The May 2026 visit found 13, the second-highest single-inspection total in the recent record, trailing only the 14 documented on the day of the emergency closure.
The violations are not rotating through new categories. The same structural failures, no active managerial control, no employee health policy, improper food handling, appear across multiple inspection cycles. A facility with 32 inspections and 464 violations on record is not a restaurant that had a bad week.
After the May 28 inspection, Royal Palm Grill & Deli remained open for business.