CORAL GABLES, FL. Inspectors visiting SRA. Martinez on Galiano Street in April 2026 found toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled alongside food, one of six high-severity violations documented during a single inspection at the Coral Gables restaurant. The facility was not closed.
State records from the April 23 inspection show the violations ranged from food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers to employees using improper handwashing technique. Six of the seven total violations cited that day carried a high-severity designation, the most serious classification under Florida's inspection system.
What Inspectors Found
The chemical violations appear twice in the inspection record, cited separately as improperly stored or labeled chemicals and as toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Both citations point to the same core failure: hazardous cleaning or sanitizing agents kept in proximity to food or food-contact surfaces without adequate separation or labeling.
Inspectors also cited food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers. That violation sits alongside a finding that food on the premises was in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated.
The time-as-public-health-control violation adds another layer. When a restaurant uses time rather than temperature to keep food safe, it operates under a strict written plan requiring food to be discarded after a set window. Inspectors found that plan was not being properly followed.
The handwashing violation rounds out the high-severity citations. Employees were observed using improper technique, meaning pathogens can remain on hands even after a washing attempt. Inspectors also noted that multi-use utensils had not been properly cleaned, a finding classified at the intermediate level.
What These Violations Mean
The chemical storage violations are among the most immediately dangerous findings in any restaurant inspection. Cleaning agents and sanitizers stored near food or food-contact surfaces without proper labeling can contaminate a dish without any visible sign. A customer would have no way of knowing. Acute chemical poisoning from restaurant contamination can cause symptoms ranging from nausea to organ damage depending on the substance involved, and mislabeled containers make it nearly impossible to identify the source quickly if someone becomes ill.
The food sourcing violation carries a different but equally serious risk. Ingredients obtained outside the regulated supply chain have not been inspected by USDA or FDA at any point in their handling. If a product harbors Listeria or Salmonella, there is no paper trail connecting it to a farm, a processor, or a distributor. That traceability gap is precisely what investigators need when they try to contain an outbreak.
Food described as in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated compounds that risk. Mislabeled food can mask allergens. Adulterated food can introduce contaminants that proper sourcing and inspection would have caught.
The time control failure matters because it is the last line of defense when refrigeration is not used. Food left in the temperature danger zone, between 41 and 135 degrees, allows bacteria to multiply rapidly. A properly maintained time log and a strict discard schedule are what prevent that food from reaching a customer's plate hours after it became unsafe.
The Longer Record
SRA. Martinez: Inspection History
SRA. Martinez has only four inspections on record, meaning the restaurant is relatively new to the state's inspection database. But the trajectory across those four visits is notable. The November 2024 inspection produced no high-severity violations. By April 2025, there were two. By October 2025, three. By April 2026, six.
Across all four inspections, the facility has accumulated 20 total violations. It has never been emergency-closed.
The April 2026 inspection represents the highest single-visit violation count in the restaurant's short recorded history, and the first time chemical hazards and unapproved food sourcing appeared in the same report. Neither of those violation types appeared in any prior inspection on record.
The restaurant served customers after the April 23 inspection. It remained open.