MELBOURNE, FL. State inspectors visiting Runway Rooftop Bar & Grill at 747 Air Terminal Pkwy on August 28 found food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, a violation that means there is no way to trace that food back through the supply chain if a customer gets sick.
The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The August 28 inspection turned up nine violations in total, seven of them rated high-severity. Inspectors documented food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated alongside the unapproved sourcing citation. Both violations appeared on the same inspection report.
Food was also not cooked to the required minimum temperature, a separate high-severity finding. Toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled, meaning cleaning agents or other hazardous substances were kept in proximity to food or in containers that could cause confusion.
The restaurant had no written employee health policy and inspectors cited improper handwashing technique, meaning employees may have attempted to wash their hands but left pathogens on them regardless. There was also no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked menu items. The two intermediate violations covered inadequate ventilation and lighting, and improperly maintained toilet facilities.
What These Violations Mean
Food from an unapproved or unknown source is one of the most serious violations a food service establishment can receive. It means the food bypassed USDA and FDA safety inspections entirely. If a customer becomes ill, public health investigators have no supply chain to trace, no lot numbers to pull, no way to determine whether others are at risk from the same batch.
The undercooking violation compounds that risk. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. When food arrives from an unverified source and is then not cooked to the temperature required to kill pathogens, the two violations work together. A customer eating that food has no layer of protection from sourcing and no layer of protection from cooking.
The absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items matters most to the people who are most vulnerable. Elderly diners, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems make different decisions when they know a dish contains undercooked protein. Without that notice posted on the menu, they cannot make an informed choice.
Improper handwashing technique is often misread as a minor paperwork issue. It is not. An employee who goes through the motions of washing their hands but uses incorrect technique, too brief, skipping steps, can transfer Norovirus directly to food. Norovirus causes an estimated 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, and food workers are a primary transmission route.
The Longer Record
The August inspection was the fifth on record for Runway Rooftop Bar & Grill. Across those five visits, inspectors have documented 35 total violations. The facility has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern in the records is not a single bad day. The January 2025 inspection found zero high-severity and zero intermediate violations, a clean report. Five months later, in June 2025, inspectors returned and found two high-severity violations. By November 2025, that number had climbed to seven high-severity violations and one intermediate. The March 2026 inspection found six high-severity violations. The August 2026 inspection matched the November 2025 peak at seven high-severity violations.
Three of the last four inspections have produced six or seven high-severity violations each. The January 2025 clean inspection now reads less like a baseline and more like an outlier.
The food sourcing violation is particularly notable in context. Unapproved food sources and food in poor condition are not the kind of citations that result from a momentary lapse in a busy kitchen. They reflect decisions made before service begins, about where food is purchased and how it is evaluated when it arrives.
Still Open
Florida's emergency closure authority exists for situations where inspectors determine an immediate threat to public health. Seven high-severity violations at Runway Rooftop Bar & Grill on August 28 did not trigger that determination.
The bar and grill sits at the edge of Melbourne Orlando International Airport, a location that draws travelers and airport workers alongside local diners. None of them were told, by a closure notice or a consumer advisory, what state inspectors found that Friday.
As of the August 28 inspection, Runway Rooftop Bar & Grill remained open for business.
