TAMPA, FL. Bern's Steak House on South Howard Avenue, one of Tampa's most celebrated dining institutions, drew five high-severity violations during the week of May 28, including a citation for sourcing food from an unapproved or unknown supplier, a finding that inspectors treat as among the most serious in the food safety code.
The violation means that at least some food served at Bern's during that inspection period bypassed USDA and FDA safety inspections entirely. Inspectors also cited the restaurant for improper handwashing technique, inadequate shellfish traceability records, improper use of time as a public health control, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. An intermediate violation for inadequate ventilation and lighting rounded out the citation list.
Bern's was not alone.
What Inspectors Found
Fifteen Tampa restaurants drew high-severity citations during the seven-day stretch ending June 3. Three of them, Skateworld at 7510 Paula Drive, La Vitanuova Sports Bar and Grill on North Armenia Avenue, and Rice and Spice on Sheldon Road, each tallied six high-severity violations, the highest count of the week.
Skateworld's citation list included no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, food in poor condition or adulterated, inadequate shellfish identification records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items. Inspectors also flagged multi-use utensils that were not properly cleaned and inadequate ventilation and lighting, adding three intermediate violations to the tally.
La Vitanuova, which has only two prior inspections on record, drew an identical shellfish traceability violation alongside citations for an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food in poor condition, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory.
Rice and Spice on Sheldon Road was cited for no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory. The handwashing citations are particularly notable together: the facility lacked adequate infrastructure for proper hand hygiene and employees were observed using improper technique regardless.
Toastique on Raybon Court drew five high-severity violations including no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shellfish identification records, and no consumer advisory. An intermediate citation for improper use of wiping cloths accompanied those findings.
Abella's Cuban Restaurant on North 34th Street was cited for an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shellfish records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory. Inspectors also noted multi-use utensils that were not properly cleaned.
Sweet Krunch Korean Fried Chicken at 1520 East 7th Avenue drew a citation for food contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards, alongside violations for food from an unapproved source, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shellfish records, and no consumer advisory.
El Manjar Sabor Latino on North Armenia Avenue was cited for food from an unapproved source, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. That last violation, chemicals stored near food without proper labeling, creates a direct poisoning risk that is separate from the biological hazards dominating the rest of this week's list.
Splitsville at 615 Channelside Drive drew five high-severity violations including a citation for no person in charge present or performing duties. That finding appeared alongside inadequate handwashing facilities, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory.
Pepper's Island Restaurant on East 4th Avenue accumulated four high-severity and four intermediate violations. The high-severity list included no employee health policy, food in poor condition, inadequate shellfish records, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. Intermediate citations covered improper sewage or wastewater disposal, multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, inadequate ventilation and lighting, and inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities.
Good Taste on North Florida Avenue was cited for no employee health policy, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, and food from an unapproved source. Intermediate violations included improper sewage or wastewater disposal, multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, and improper use of wiping cloths.
3 Guys Caribbean Restaurant on East Hillsborough Avenue drew citations for no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shellfish records, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Yummy House China Bistro on East Hillsborough Avenue was cited for no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shellfish records, and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces.
Copper Shaker at 1502 East 7th Avenue drew four high-severity violations: no employee health policy, inadequate handwashing facilities, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory. An intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal accompanied those findings.
NY NY Pizza at 1512 East 7th Avenue drew a single high-severity citation for failing to follow parasite destruction procedures for fish, a violation that means raw or undercooked fish may be served without the freezing protocols required to kill parasites including Anisakis and tapeworm.
What These Violations Mean
The most widespread high-severity violation this week was the absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, cited at ten of the fifteen facilities. The advisory is not a formality. Pregnant women, elderly diners, and people with compromised immune systems face acute risk from raw shellfish, undercooked beef, and similar items. Without the advisory, those customers have no way to make an informed choice. Bern's Steak House, a restaurant that serves raw preparations and aged beef, was among those cited.
The employee illness violations, cited at Skateworld, La Vitanuova, Rice and Spice, Toastique, Abella's, El Manjar, and Splitsville, represent a direct transmission route for Norovirus and other pathogens. A single sick food worker who continues handling food can infect dozens of customers in one shift. The absence of a health policy, cited alongside illness-reporting failures at Skateworld, Rice and Spice, Toastique, and others, means there is no written framework requiring workers to disclose symptoms at all.
Food from unapproved sources, documented at Bern's, Sweet Krunch, El Manjar, and Good Taste, carries a specific traceability problem. If a customer becomes ill, investigators cannot trace the food back through the supply chain to identify a contaminated batch or recall a product. The violation does not necessarily mean the food is visibly spoiled; it means it arrived outside the inspection systems designed to catch contamination before it reaches a plate.
Improper sewage or wastewater disposal, flagged at Pepper's Island, Good Taste, and Copper Shaker, introduces a contamination risk that can spread across an entire kitchen. Raw sewage contains E. coli, Hepatitis A, and other pathogens. When disposal is improper, that material can reach food preparation surfaces, equipment, and employee hands.
The Longer Record
Yummy House China Bistro has 47 prior inspections on record, the highest count among all facilities cited this week. Four high-severity violations at a location with that many inspections behind it suggests the problems documented this week are not the product of inexperience with the inspection process.
Abella's Cuban Restaurant has 35 prior inspections on record and was still cited this week for improper handwashing technique and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, two violations that appear repeatedly in the inspection histories of facilities that have been reviewed dozens of times. Good Taste on North Florida Avenue has 34 prior inspections and drew a food-from-unapproved-source citation alongside sewage disposal and handwashing failures.
NY NY Pizza has 38 prior inspections on record, the second-highest count this week. Its single citation for parasite destruction failure is notable precisely because of that history: the procedure for freezing fish to kill parasites is not a new or obscure requirement.
At the other end of the spectrum, La Vitanuova Sports Bar and Grill has only two prior inspections on record and already carries six high-severity violations. Sweet Krunch Korean Fried Chicken has four prior inspections and was cited for food contamination and food from an unapproved source in the same visit.
Splitsville at Channelside, with 24 prior inspections, was cited this week for no person in charge present or performing duties. That finding, combined with an employee not reporting illness symptoms and inadequate handwashing facilities, describes a kitchen operating without the supervisory layer that the other violations depend on to be caught and corrected.