MIAMI, FL. Toxic chemicals were stored improperly at a Collins Avenue Subway on June 8, one of six high-severity violations state inspectors documented during a single visit to the Miami Beach sandwich chain location that remained open after the inspection.
The Subway at 6542 Collins Ave. accumulated six high-priority and two intermediate violations during that inspection, a tally that represents the worst single-visit record in the location's 17-inspection history. Despite the findings, state regulators did not order an emergency closure.
What Inspectors Found
Two of the six high-priority violations involved chemicals. Inspectors cited the location both for toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled and for toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Those are recorded as separate violations, meaning inspectors found more than one distinct problem with how hazardous materials were being handled in the same facility where food is prepared.
No manager was present or performing supervisory duties at the time of the inspection. Employees were also documented using improper handwashing technique, meaning they made an attempt to wash their hands but did so incorrectly.
The location was also cited for failing to follow required procedures for specialized food processes and for not displaying a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. On the intermediate side, multi-use utensils were not properly cleaned, and ventilation and lighting were found to be inadequate.
What These Violations Mean
The two chemical violations carry the most immediate risk of acute harm. When cleaning agents, sanitizers, or other toxic substances are stored near or above food, mislabeled, or used without proper controls, they can contaminate food directly. A customer would have no way of knowing, and the symptoms of chemical ingestion can be rapid and severe.
The management failure compounds every other violation on the list. CDC data cited in the inspection record notes that establishments without active managerial control have three times as many critical violations as those with a present, engaged person in charge. When no one is overseeing food handling, chemical storage, and sanitation simultaneously, problems in each area tend to multiply rather than stay isolated.
Improper handwashing technique is not the same as skipping handwashing entirely, but the risk is similar. Studies show that incorrect technique, rushing through the process, missing parts of the hand, or not washing long enough, leaves pathogens on skin that then transfer to food and surfaces. At a sandwich shop where employees handle food directly and continuously, that gap matters.
The consumer advisory violation is specific to customers in vulnerable groups. Pregnant women, elderly customers, young children, and people with compromised immune systems face elevated risk from raw or undercooked ingredients. Without a posted advisory, they cannot make an informed choice about what they order.
The Longer Record
The June 8 inspection was the 17th on record for this location, and the worst by violation count. The facility has accumulated 62 total violations across those inspections and has never been emergency-closed.
Prior visits show a location that has never fully cleared its record. Inspectors found high-priority violations on eight of the nine most recent inspections with available data, going back to 2020. The July 2022 visit produced two high-priority and three intermediate violations. The December 2023 visit produced two high-priority violations. The July 2025 visit, less than a year before this inspection, produced one high-priority and one intermediate.
None of those visits resulted in the kind of accumulation seen on June 8. Six high-priority violations in a single inspection is more than the location had recorded in any prior visit, and more than it recorded in the three most recent inspections combined.
The location has never been cited for the same chemical storage violations before in the available record. The management failure citation, however, fits a pattern. A facility that has cycled through high-priority violations across multiple years without a closure order or a sustained clean stretch is, by the inspection record, a facility that has not resolved the conditions that produce those violations.
Open for Business
State inspectors documented six high-severity violations at the Collins Avenue Subway on June 8, 2026, including two separate chemical hazard citations and a finding that no qualified manager was on duty.
The restaurant was not closed.
Seventeen inspections, 62 total violations, and the worst single-day tally in the location's recorded history, and customers ordering at the counter that afternoon had no way of knowing any of it.