TAMPA, FL. Inspectors cited China Buffet on East Fowler Avenue for eight high-severity violations during the week of June 4, the most of any facility in Hillsborough County that week, including toxic chemicals stored or labeled improperly near food and a finding that no person in charge was present or performing duties during the inspection.
The same visit turned up an employee failing to report illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and a failure to use time as a public health control correctly. That is a combination of violations that health officials consider especially dangerous because each one compounds the others.
Fourteen additional Tampa restaurants drew high-severity citations the same week.
The Violations
Coasis on North Nebraska Avenue drew seven high-severity violations, including inadequate handwashing facilities, no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, and missing shell stock identification records for shellfish. Inspectors also cited the restaurant for failing to use time as a public health control properly and for not posting a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
BT on South MacDill Avenue accumulated six high-severity citations, among them a finding that food came from an unapproved or unknown source and that food was not cooked to the required minimum temperature. Inadequate shell stock records and no consumer advisory for undercooked foods rounded out the list.
Al's Finger Licking Good Soul Food on East 7th Avenue was cited for four high-severity violations, including food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, inadequate shell stock identification, and no employee health policy.
Barterhouse on 15th Street drew four high-severity citations as well, including a finding that staff demonstrated no allergen awareness. That violation, combined with improper handwashing and unsanitized food contact surfaces, put the restaurant among the week's more troubling cases.
Pho 813 LLC on Henderson Boulevard was cited for four high-severity violations including toxic chemicals stored or labeled improperly and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized.
Lara on 7th Avenue received a high-severity citation for food contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards, one of the more acute violations in the week's data, alongside inadequate shell stock records.
M&R Cafe Southern Cuisine on East Osborne Avenue drew three high-severity violations, including improper handwashing technique and missing shell stock records.
Rome and Fig on North Rome Avenue was cited for three high-severity violations including no employee health policy and toxic chemicals stored or labeled improperly.
Steak N Shake on East Hillsborough Avenue drew three high-severity violations, including improper handwashing technique and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized.
Shells of Brandon on East Brandon Boulevard was cited for two high-severity violations, one of them for failure to follow parasite destruction procedures for fish. That citation, combined with inadequate shell stock records, is a pairing that inspectors flag as high-risk at seafood-focused establishments.
Stonewood Tavern and Grill on Palm Pointe Drive drew two high-severity violations, including no person in charge present or performing duties and inadequate shell stock identification records.
Ybor City Tap House on East 8th Avenue was cited for food not cooked to the required minimum temperature alongside no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Heights Shuffleboard Society on North Tampa Street drew two high-severity citations, including no person in charge and an employee not reporting symptoms of illness.
Kabob Cafe and Grill on Highwood Preserves Parkway was cited for no employee health policy and improper handwashing technique.
What These Violations Mean
The week's most repeated high-severity category was the consumer advisory failure, cited at more than half the facilities on the list. When a restaurant serves raw or undercooked shellfish, beef, fish, or eggs without a menu warning, customers who are elderly, pregnant, or immunocompromised have no way to make an informed choice. That failure showed up at China Buffet, Coasis, BT, Al's Finger Licking Good Soul Food, Barterhouse, Pho 813, M&R Cafe, Rome and Fig, Steak N Shake, Lara, and Ybor City Tap House.
The shell stock identification failures at Coasis, BT, Al's Finger Licking Good Soul Food, M&R Cafe, Lara, Shells of Brandon, and Stonewood Tavern and Grill carry a specific danger most diners don't consider. Shellfish are filter feeders that concentrate bacteria and viruses from the water they grow in. When a restaurant cannot produce harvest tags showing where and when its oysters or clams were harvested, there is no traceability if a customer gets sick. Health investigators cannot identify the source, cannot issue a recall, and cannot warn others who ate from the same batch.
The no-employee-health-policy citations at China Buffet, Coasis, BT, Al's Finger Licking Good Soul Food, Pho 813, Rome and Fig, and Kabob Cafe represent a structural failure, not a single lapse. A written health policy is what requires workers to tell a manager when they have vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, or a diagnosed illness like norovirus or Salmonella. Without that policy, a sick employee has no formal obligation to report symptoms, and no manager has a documented protocol for sending them home.
The finding at Lara that food was contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards is among the most serious single citations in this week's data. That violation means inspectors observed or documented actual contamination, not merely the conditions that could lead to it. Combined with the toxic chemical storage violations at China Buffet, Pho 813, and Rome and Fig, it points to a recurring problem with how cleaning products and food are kept in proximity across Tampa kitchens this week.
The Longer Record
China Buffet's eight high-severity violations this week come against a backdrop of 52 prior inspections on record, the longest history of any facility cited this week. Fifty-two inspections is not a sign of a new or struggling operation finding its footing. It is a long institutional relationship with state inspectors, and this week's violations, including no manager present, an employee not reporting illness, and improper handwashing, are not the kinds of issues that appear without warning.
Steak N Shake on East Hillsborough has 36 prior inspections on record. Lara on 7th Avenue carries 31. Pho 813 has 29, and Ybor City Tap House has 28. These are not first-time encounters with inspectors, and the violations they drew this week, including food not cooked to temperature at Ybor City Tap House and actual food contamination at Lara, are not technical paperwork gaps.
Coasis, with only nine prior inspections on record, is the newest operation on this list. Seven high-severity violations that early in a facility's inspection history, including no handwashing infrastructure and no shell stock records for what appears to be a shellfish-serving menu, suggests foundational food safety practices were not in place at the start.
Barterhouse, with 19 prior inspections, drew a citation this week that none of the other 14 facilities received: no allergen awareness demonstrated. With 32 million Americans living with food allergies and allergic reactions sending tens of thousands to emergency rooms each year, that gap at a restaurant with a substantial inspection history is the one violation from this week's data that has no administrative explanation.