TAMPA, FL. Two Tampa restaurants were emergency-closed for roach activity within 24 hours of each other last week, while inspectors cited 15 facilities across the city for high-severity violations that included undercooking food, employees working sick without reporting symptoms, and toxic chemicals stored near food prep areas.
The Closures
Pepo's Cafe on Northdale Boulevard was ordered closed on October 1 after inspectors documented roach activity at the restaurant. Perry's BBQ Asian Grill, operating inside Citrus Park Town Center Mall, had been shut down the day before, on September 30, for the same reason.
Both closures were triggered by roach activity alone. Pepo's also drew three high-severity violations during the inspection that preceded its closure, including improperly stored toxic chemicals and food contact surfaces that had not been properly cleaned or sanitized.
The Week's Worst Violations
El Jefe Cafe on Gunn Highway and Senor Tequila Mexican Grill on Race Track Road each drew eight high-severity violations, the highest tally among any facility inspected this week. El Jefe's citations included no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shellfish traceability records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, time as a public health control not properly used, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored near food.
Senor Tequila's eight violations included one that El Jefe avoided: food not cooked to the required minimum temperature. Inspectors also cited the restaurant for no person in charge present or performing duties, food contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items.
Jerk Pit on East Fletcher Avenue drew seven high-severity violations, among them a citation that appeared at no other facility this week: no approved potable water supply. Inspectors also found food in poor condition or adulterated, inadequate shellfish traceability records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and time as a public health control not properly used. Multi-use utensils were not properly cleaned, an intermediate violation that compounds the food contact surface problem.
Charann's Tavern on Memorial Highway collected six high-severity violations, including toxic chemicals improperly stored, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and time as a public health control not properly used. Inspectors also noted inadequate ventilation and improperly maintained toilet facilities, the latter a detail that affects whether employees can maintain basic hygiene between tasks.
Pipo's Restaurant on West Hillsborough Avenue matched Charann's tally with six high-severity violations. An employee was cited for not reporting illness symptoms. Inspectors also found improperly cleaned food contact surfaces and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Restaurant Milena Honduras on East Fletcher Avenue was cited for five high-severity violations, including food not cooked to the required minimum temperature and inadequate handwashing facilities. Without functional handwashing infrastructure, proper hand hygiene is structurally impossible regardless of employee intent.
Elev8 Fun at Citrus Park Mall, an entertainment venue with a food operation, drew five high-severity violations including toxic chemicals improperly stored, improper handwashing technique, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items. Improperly maintained toilet facilities were also cited.
Minerva Indian Restaurant on Bruce B Downs Boulevard drew five high-severity violations: no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Antojitos Latin Cravings on West Columbus Drive was cited for five high-severity violations including an employee not reporting illness symptoms and inadequate shellfish traceability records. Multi-use utensils were also found improperly cleaned.
New York New York Pizza on North Dale Mabry Highway drew a violation that appeared at only one other facility this week: parasite destruction procedures not followed. The restaurant also failed on food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and no consumer advisory. Inspectors additionally cited inadequate cooling and cold holding equipment, a structural deficiency that makes temperature compliance difficult to sustain.
Boozy Pig on West Cypress Street drew four high-severity violations including an employee not reporting illness symptoms and toxic chemicals improperly stored. Grain and Berry on East Fowler Avenue was cited for no person in charge present, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned.
Burger 21 Carrollwood on North Dale Mabry Highway drew four high-severity violations including food not cooked to the required minimum temperature and toxic chemicals improperly stored. Improper waste disposal was also cited, a condition that attracts the same pests that triggered the two emergency closures elsewhere in the city this week.
Kikiriki on East Fletcher Avenue drew the fewest high-severity violations of any facility in this roundup, with two, including food in poor condition or adulterated and improper handwashing technique. Inspectors also cited improper sewage or wastewater disposal, an intermediate violation with direct fecal contamination implications.
What These Violations Mean
The most pervasive high-severity violation this week was improper handwashing technique, cited at ten of the fifteen facilities. A handwashing attempt that uses the wrong technique, skips soap, or lasts fewer than twenty seconds can leave the same pathogens on a worker's hands as no handwashing at all. At Restaurant Milena Honduras, the problem was more fundamental: inspectors found inadequate handwashing facilities, meaning the infrastructure to wash hands properly did not exist in the first place.
Four facilities, including Senor Tequila Mexican Grill, Restaurant Milena Honduras, New York New York Pizza, and Burger 21 Carrollwood, were cited for food not cooked to the required minimum temperature. Undercooking is among the most direct pathways to foodborne illness. Salmonella survives in poultry cooked below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Parasites in fish require specific freezing or cooking protocols to destroy, which is why New York New York Pizza's separate citation for parasite destruction procedures not followed is particularly significant when paired with an undercooking violation.
Five facilities, including El Jefe Cafe, Charann's Tavern, Elev8 Fun, Minerva Indian Restaurant, and Boozy Pig, were cited for toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled near food preparation areas. Mislabeled or misplaced cleaning chemicals can contaminate food directly or be mistaken for food-safe products by staff. The risk is acute poisoning, not a delayed illness.
Employee illness reporting failures appeared at six facilities: El Jefe Cafe, Senor Tequila, Pipo's Restaurant, Antojitos Latin Cravings, Boozy Pig, and Grain and Berry. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurants, spreads through a single infected food worker who continues to handle food. Without a written health policy requiring employees to report symptoms, and without a person in charge enforcing that policy, the reporting chain breaks entirely.
The Longer Record
Minerva Indian Restaurant has the longest inspection history of any facility cited this week, with 46 prior inspections on record. Five high-severity violations in a single visit, across a facility that has been inspected that many times, raises a straightforward question about whether the pattern has changed. Jerk Pit and Antojitos Latin Cravings each have 39 prior inspections. Pipo's Restaurant and Restaurant Milena Honduras each have 37.
Senor Tequila Mexican Grill has 32 prior inspections and drew eight high-severity violations this week, the joint-highest count in the roundup. Pepo's Cafe, which was emergency-closed, has 31 prior inspections on record before this week's visit.
On the other end of the history spectrum, Kikiriki on East Fletcher Avenue has only four prior inspections, making it one of the newer operations in this roundup. It still drew a sewage disposal violation alongside its two high-severity citations. Elev8 Fun has 11 prior inspections and five high-severity violations this week, including improperly stored chemicals in an entertainment venue that serves families with children.
Grain and Berry has 21 prior inspections. The facility was cited this week for no person in charge present, a violation that CDC data links to three times as many critical violations at the establishments where it occurs. Whether a manager was present at any point during the inspection that produced that citation is not reflected in the record.
