ORLANDO, FL. Toxic chemicals were stored improperly near food at a busy Orlando cheesesteak restaurant in September, one of six high-severity violations documented during a state inspection that left the restaurant open and serving customers.
State inspectors visited South Philly Steak on Avalon Lakes Drive on September 21, 2026, and found violations spanning food safety fundamentals: no person in charge performing duties, no written employee health policy, improper handwashing technique observed, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked menu items, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. Inspectors also cited an intermediate violation for inadequate ventilation and lighting.
The restaurant was not emergency-closed.
What Inspectors Found
The chemical storage violation sits at the top of the list for a reason. Cleaning agents and other toxic substances stored near food or without proper labeling create a direct route for chemical contamination, either through physical proximity to ingredients or through mislabeled containers that workers may confuse with food-safe products.
The food contact surface violation compounds the risk. Cutting boards, prep surfaces, and utensils that are not properly cleaned and sanitized between uses carry bacteria from one food item to the next, including from raw meat to ready-to-eat items.
The handwashing citation is particularly pointed because it documents not just a skipped step but a technique failure. An employee who attempts to wash their hands but does so incorrectly still transfers pathogens to every surface and food item they touch afterward.
What These Violations Mean
The absence of a written employee health policy is one of the most consequential violations on this inspection report. Without a formal policy requiring sick employees to stay home or report symptoms, there is no documented system to prevent a worker with Norovirus or another transmissible illness from preparing food and serving it to customers. Norovirus alone accounts for an estimated 20 million cases of illness in the United States each year, and food workers are a primary transmission route.
The lack of a person in charge performing active oversight matters because it is the condition that allows every other violation to persist. CDC data indicates that facilities without active managerial control record three times as many critical violations as those with engaged supervision. When no one is watching, handwashing lapses, sanitization steps get skipped, and chemicals end up in the wrong place.
The missing consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods affects a specific and vulnerable population. Elderly customers, pregnant women, young children, and anyone with a compromised immune system rely on that posted notice to make informed choices about what they order. Without it, they have no way of knowing a menu item may carry elevated risk.
Together, these six violations do not describe isolated oversights. They describe a kitchen operating without several of the most basic safeguards in place at the same time.
The Longer Record
The September 21 inspection is not an outlier for South Philly Steak. State records show 33 inspections on file for the Avalon Lakes Drive location, with 354 total violations documented across that history.
The two most recent high-violation inspections before September came in March 2026, when inspectors found six high-severity and three intermediate violations, and in January 2025, when they documented seven high-severity and three intermediate violations. The July 2025 inspections were the worst on recent record: eight high-severity violations on July 17, followed by seven high-severity violations the very next day, July 18.
The facility has never been emergency-closed despite that accumulation.
The pattern is not one of a restaurant that falls short occasionally and corrects course. Clean inspections in July 2026 and December 2025 show the operation is capable of passing, but serious violation counts have returned repeatedly. The same categories keep appearing: management control failures, food safety fundamentals, and documentation gaps.
Still Open
After the September 21 inspection, with six high-severity violations documented and a toxic chemical storage problem among them, South Philly Steak remained open.
State rules allow inspectors to order an emergency closure when conditions present an immediate threat to public health. The threshold is a judgment call, and on this visit, inspectors did not make that call.
Customers who ate at the Avalon Lakes Drive location on or after September 21 did so without any public notice that the restaurant had accumulated six high-severity violations that day, including improperly stored toxic chemicals, unsanitized food contact surfaces, and no system to keep sick employees out of the kitchen.
The restaurant's record now shows 354 violations across 33 inspections. It has never been closed.
