TAMPA, FL. Riverview Fresh Cuisine at 9005 E Adamo Drive was emergency-closed by state inspectors on October 15 after they documented roach and fly activity inside the facility, one of two Tampa restaurants shut down in a single week for pest infestations.
The second closure came two days earlier. Caribbean Sandwich Shop and Bakery at 8240 W Waters Avenue was ordered shut on October 13 after inspectors found roach activity. Neither closure is a routine citation. Emergency orders are issued when inspectors determine a facility poses an immediate threat to public health.
Across Tampa, 15 restaurants drew high-severity violations between October 13 and October 19, 2026.
The Violations
Four facilities tied for the most high-severity violations this week, each drawing nine. Capriotti's Sandwich Shop at 3817 Northdale Blvd was cited for food from an unapproved or unknown source, food in poor condition, inadequate shellfish identification records, and no parasite destruction procedures, among others. A person in charge was not present or not performing duties, and the facility had no employee health policy.
Jerk Hut Island Grille and Beach Club at 1241 E Fowler Ave drew nine high-severity violations including an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, food from unapproved sources, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Inspectors also cited the facility for improper use of time as a public health control, a violation that means food was held in the temperature danger zone without adequate tracking.
Lameizi Hot Pot and BBQ at 2501 E Fowler Ave was cited for food not cooked to required minimum temperature, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and food contact surfaces not properly sanitized, in addition to sourcing food from unapproved suppliers and lacking adequate shellfish records.
Ricky's Cuban Cafe at 5249 Ehrlich Rd drew nine high-severity violations including both inadequate handwashing and improper handwashing technique cited as separate violations, an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, and no allergen awareness demonstrated. The facility also had no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
What Inspectors Found
Golden Egg Cafe at 10442 N Dale Mabry Hwy drew eight high-severity violations. Inspectors cited food from unapproved sources, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and toxic substances improperly stored. An employee was found not reporting symptoms of illness and no person in charge was present.
Honest Indian Vegetarian Restaurant at 2025 E Fowler Ave also drew eight high-severity violations. The facility was cited for food not cooked to required minimum temperature, time as a public health control not properly used, no consumer advisory, toxic substances improperly stored, and failure to follow required procedures for specialized processes. Three separate violations addressed illness reporting and health policy failures.
China 1 at 2774 E Fowler Ave drew seven high-severity violations including food from unapproved sources, improperly stored toxic chemicals, and improper sewage or wastewater disposal, a violation that creates direct risk of fecal contamination spreading through a kitchen.
Nordstrom Bazille at 2223 N Westshore Blvd, the restaurant inside Tampa's Westshore mall Nordstrom, drew seven high-severity violations. Inspectors cited an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, food from unapproved sources, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and time as a public health control not properly used.
Renee's Bistro at 4010 Boyscout Blvd was cited for parasite destruction procedures not followed, no allergen awareness demonstrated, improper sewage disposal, and an employee not reporting symptoms of illness. Six high-severity violations total.
Klas LA at 10910 N 30th St drew five high-severity violations including food in poor condition, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, improperly stored chemicals, and improper sewage disposal. Inspectors also cited single-use items being improperly reused.
Table 22 at 4924 E Busch Blvd was cited for food from unapproved sources, inadequate shellfish records, food contact surfaces not properly sanitized, improperly stored chemicals, and no consumer advisory. The facility also drew intermediate violations for improper sewage disposal and inadequate ventilation.
Bayamo En Coche Grill at 8206 W Waters Ave drew seven high-severity violations including no employee health policy, an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned. The facility had no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Shanghai Dumpling House at 1120 E Fowler Ave drew five high-severity violations including no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly sanitized, and time as a public health control not properly used.
Yummy House China Bistro at 2620 E Hillsborough Ave drew three high-severity violations: improper handwashing technique, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
What These Violations Mean
The sick-worker violations at Jerk Hut Island Grille, Golden Egg Cafe, Honest Indian Vegetarian Restaurant, Ricky's Cuban Cafe, Bayamo En Coche Grill, Renee's Bistro, and Nordstrom Bazille represent one of the most direct transmission routes in food safety. When an employee with Norovirus, Salmonella, or Hepatitis A continues working without reporting symptoms, every dish that person handles becomes a potential exposure vehicle. The violation is not about paperwork. It is about an infected person touching food that goes directly to a customer's plate.
The food-from-unapproved-sources citations at Capriotti's, Jerk Hut, Lameizi, Golden Egg, China 1, Nordstrom Bazille, and Table 22 carry a specific consequence that most customers don't consider: traceability. When food enters a restaurant through an uninspected supplier, there is no chain of custody. If someone gets sick, investigators cannot trace the contamination back to its origin, which means an outbreak can continue spreading while the source remains unknown.
The shellfish records violations at Capriotti's, Jerk Hut, Lameizi, Ricky's Cuban Cafe, Golden Egg, China 1, Nordstrom Bazille, Bayamo En Coche Grill, and Table 22 compound that traceability problem. Oysters, clams, and mussels are frequently eaten raw or lightly cooked, and they filter pathogens directly from the water they are harvested in. Without harvest tags and dealer records on file, a facility cannot identify where its shellfish came from if a customer reports illness.
Improperly stored toxic chemicals, cited at Lameizi, Golden Egg, Honest Indian Vegetarian, China 1, Klas LA, Riverview Fresh Cuisine, Table 22, and Yummy House, means cleaning agents or pesticides were stored in proximity to food or food-contact surfaces. The risk is not hypothetical. Unlabeled chemical containers have been documented in poisoning incidents across the country when workers mistake them for food-safe products.
The Longer Record
Riverview Fresh Cuisine, one of the two restaurants emergency-closed this week, has 70 prior inspections on record, the highest count of any facility in this week's data. That volume reflects years of regulatory contact. The emergency closure for roach and fly activity on October 15 did not occur at a facility new to inspectors.
Jerk Hut Island Grille has 41 prior inspections on record. Shanghai Dumpling House also shows 41 prior inspections. Both drew high-severity violations this week in categories, including food contact surfaces and time as a public health control, that appear consistently across long-inspected facilities in this data set.
Honest Indian Vegetarian Restaurant has 43 prior inspections on record and drew eight high-severity violations this week. Yummy House China Bistro, with 50 prior inspections, drew three high-severity violations including improperly stored chemicals.
At the other end of the record, Bayamo En Coche Grill has only two prior inspections on record and drew seven high-severity violations this week, including the full cluster of illness-reporting failures: no employee health policy, an employee not reporting symptoms, and no person in charge. A facility that new to the inspection record accumulating that combination of violations in one visit is a pattern inspectors flag as a management culture problem, not an isolated oversight.
Capriotti's Sandwich Shop has nine prior inspections on record and drew nine high-severity violations this week, including food from an unapproved source and no parasite destruction procedures. Whether those procedures have since been corrected is not reflected in the current record.
