TAMPA, FL. State inspectors emergency-closed the restaurant at the Westin Tampa Bay Aqua on Courtney Campbell Causeway on May 7 after finding no functioning warewashing facilities on the premises, a condition that makes it impossible to sanitize dishes, utensils, or food contact surfaces between uses.
The closure was one of the sharpest findings in a week that produced high-severity violations at 15 Tampa restaurants, with three facilities each accumulating six high-severity citations in a single visit.
The Closures and the Worst Offenders
Pal Campo Restaurant on Anderson Road drew six high-severity citations, the most of any non-closed facility this week. Inspectors cited a missing person in charge, an employee illness reporting failure, improper handwashing technique, food from an unapproved or unknown source, inadequate shellfish traceability records, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Circles Bistro on North Dale Mabry Highway matched that count with six of its own. The citations there included no person in charge, the same employee illness reporting gap, improper handwashing, missing shell stock identification records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and no consumer advisory.
Kang's Garden on West Linebaugh Avenue also reached six high-severity violations. Inspectors flagged food contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards alongside the absent person in charge, the illness reporting failure, improper handwashing, shellfish traceability problems, and unsanitized food contact surfaces.
What Inspectors Found Across the Week
Minano Ramen on Sheldon Road collected five high-severity violations, including toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled and improper sewage or wastewater disposal, a combination that puts both chemical and biological contamination risk inside the same kitchen.
Pei Wei Fresh Kitchen on North Dale Mabry Highway was cited for five high-severity violations as well, including two separate chemical storage findings: toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. The location also had an improper sewage or wastewater disposal citation.
Take 5 Cafe on West Martin Luther King Boulevard drew five high-severity citations including food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated, and missing shellfish traceability records alongside the employee illness reporting failure.
Boozy Pig on West Cypress Street was cited for five high-severity violations with no intermediate violations at all. Inspectors documented food from an unapproved or unknown source, food in poor condition, no consumer advisory, a missing person in charge, and an employee illness reporting failure.
Woods Bar and Grille on Sheldon Road had four high-severity violations including no written employee health policy, improperly stored toxic chemicals, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. The location also had an improper sewage or wastewater disposal citation at the intermediate level.
Mandola's Italian Kitchen on North Dale Mabry Highway was cited for four high-severity violations including a missing person in charge, employee illness reporting failure, improper handwashing, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized.
Compass Group USA Inc on Henderson Road drew four high-severity violations: no written employee health policy, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Bubba's 33 on South Falkenburg Road was cited for four high-severity violations including parasite destruction procedures not followed and missing shellfish traceability records. The parasite destruction finding means fish or other high-risk proteins were not subjected to required freezing or cooking protocols before being served.
Marina's Pizza and Pasta on West Linebaugh Avenue had four high-severity violations including no written employee health policy and missing shellfish traceability records.
Monserrate Rest Bar and Grill on West Hillsborough Avenue was cited for food from an unapproved or unknown source, missing shellfish traceability records, no consumer advisory, and improperly stored toxic chemicals.
China Yuan Restaurant on North Armenia Avenue drew four high-severity violations including food from an unapproved or unknown source and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
What These Violations Mean
The employee illness reporting failures documented at Pal Campo, Circles Bistro, Kang's Garden, Pei Wei Fresh Kitchen, Take 5 Cafe, Boozy Pig, Mandola's Italian Kitchen, and the Westin Tampa Bay Aqua represent one of the most direct transmission routes in food service. A worker with norovirus who handles ready-to-eat food without reporting symptoms can infect dozens of customers before anyone connects the illness to the meal. The absence of a written employee health policy, cited at Woods Bar and Grille, Compass Group, and Marina's Pizza and Pasta, means there is no documented system requiring workers to disclose symptoms in the first place.
The food-from-unapproved-source citations at Pal Campo, Boozy Pig, Monserrate, and China Yuan carry a specific traceability problem. When food enters a kitchen through an uninspected supplier, there is no chain of custody if a customer gets sick. Investigators cannot pull records, cannot trace a contaminated batch, and cannot issue a targeted recall. The food bypasses every federal safety checkpoint designed to catch Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli before it reaches a plate.
Shellfish traceability failures appeared at Pal Campo, Circles Bistro, Kang's Garden, Minano Ramen, Take 5 Cafe, Bubba's 33, Marina's Pizza and Pasta, and Monserrate, making it the single most common high-severity citation this week. Oysters, clams, and mussels are frequently eaten raw or barely cooked, and they filter large volumes of water, concentrating whatever pathogens that water contains. The tag records inspectors require are the only way to identify the harvest location and pull product if a shellfish-linked illness cluster emerges.
The dual chemical storage citations at Pei Wei Fresh Kitchen, where inspectors found both improperly stored chemicals and improperly identified toxic substances, represent an acute poisoning risk distinct from the biological hazards elsewhere on this list. A cleaning solution stored near a prep surface or mislabeled in a food container is not a slow-building bacterial problem. It is a same-meal event.
The Longer Record
China Yuan Restaurant carries 38 prior inspections on record, the longest history of any facility cited this week, and still drew four high-severity violations including food from an unapproved source. Circles Bistro has 34 prior inspections behind it. The Westin Tampa Bay Aqua has 32. None of those histories prevented the findings documented this week.
Monserrate Rest Bar and Grill has 29 prior inspections on record and was cited for food from an unapproved source alongside missing shellfish records and improperly stored chemicals. Woods Bar and Grille has 27 prior inspections and still had no written employee health policy in place. Pei Wei Fresh Kitchen has 25 inspections on record and produced two separate chemical storage violations in the same visit.
Minano Ramen stands out at the other end of the spectrum. With only 7 prior inspections on record, it is among the newest facilities on this list, and it already accumulated five high-severity violations including improper sewage disposal and improperly stored toxic chemicals.
Bubba's 33 has 11 prior inspections on record and was cited for parasite destruction procedures not followed. That violation requires a specific, documented protocol for fish and other high-risk proteins. At 11 inspections in, the protocol was not in place.
The Westin Tampa Bay Aqua, which was emergency-closed May 7, had 32 prior inspections behind it when inspectors arrived and found no functioning warewashing facilities at all.