TAMPA, FL. Buddy's Juice Bar on South Howard Avenue walked into its second-ever state inspection this week carrying five high-severity violations, including food pulled from unapproved or unknown sources, food in poor or adulterated condition, toxic substances improperly stored, no employee health policy, and no demonstrated allergen awareness, a combination that inspectors flagged across all five categories in a single visit.
That was the sharpest snapshot from a week in which state inspectors cited 15 Tampa-area restaurants for high-severity violations between September 6 and September 12, 2026.
The Violations
Mi Tierra Latina on West Hillsborough Avenue led the week with seven high-severity violations, the highest count of any facility inspected. Inspectors cited the restaurant for a person in charge not present or not performing duties, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, misuse of time as a public health control, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Checkers on East Fletcher Avenue and Mr and Mrs Crab on Sheldon Road each drew six high-severity violations. The Checkers location was cited for no employee health policy, inadequate shell stock identification records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, misuse of time as a public health control, no consumer advisory, and a missing person in charge. Mr and Mrs Crab added improper handwashing technique and inadequate shell stock records to a similar list.
Steak N Shake on East Hillsborough Avenue produced five high-severity violations, among them toxic chemicals improperly stored and inadequate cooling equipment cited at the intermediate level. An employee not reporting illness symptoms and improper handwashing technique were also on the list.
Bella Brava Midtown on Gramercy Lane drew a citation for food not cooked to required minimum temperature alongside no allergen awareness demonstrated, no employee health policy, misuse of time as a public health control, and no consumer advisory. Improper sewage or waste water disposal appeared as an intermediate violation.
Sweetwater Franchise Group on North Dale Mabry Highway was cited for food from an unapproved or unknown source, improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and an employee not reporting illness symptoms. Improper sewage disposal also appeared at the intermediate level.
Mity Nice Cafe on Benjamin Road drew five high-severity violations including inadequate shell stock identification, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces. The Cuban Sandwich Shop on North Florida Avenue was cited for food from an unapproved source, an employee not reporting illness, improper handwashing, and misuse of time as a public health control.
Curry Leaves at Westshore Plaza drew five high-severity citations including toxic chemicals improperly stored and no employee health policy alongside improperly cleaned food contact surfaces. Copper Indian Restaurant on Countryway Boulevard was cited for inadequate handwashing facilities and improper handwashing technique simultaneously, a pairing inspectors flagged alongside inadequate shell stock records and a missing person in charge.
Wagamama on Water Street drew five high-severity violations including inadequate shell stock records, misuse of time as a public health control, an employee not reporting illness, and a missing person in charge. New York New York Pizza in Westchase added a violation for parasite destruction procedures not followed, one of the more specific citations of the week, alongside inadequate shell stock records and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces.
India's Grill on West Kennedy Boulevard was cited for food from an unapproved source, no employee health policy, improper handwashing, and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces. Gao Restaurant on North Himes Avenue closed out the list with four high-severity violations and four intermediate violations, the heaviest combined intermediate load of the week, including single-use items improperly reused and improper waste disposal.
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 11 of the 15 facilities. That notice is the only mechanism by which a customer with a compromised immune system, a pregnant woman, or an elderly diner knows they are being served something that carries elevated risk. Without it, the choice is made for them.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources, cited at Sweetwater Franchise Group, The Cuban Sandwich Shop, India's Grill, and Buddy's Juice Bar, is a traceability problem as much as a safety one. When food bypasses USDA and FDA inspection, there is no supply chain record to follow if someone gets sick. An outbreak investigation that cannot trace the food back to a source cannot stop additional cases.
The employee illness violations at Mi Tierra Latina, Checkers, Mr and Mrs Crab, Steak N Shake, Sweetwater, The Cuban Sandwich Shop, and Wagamama carry a specific transmission risk. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness in the United States, spreads person-to-person through exactly this route. A sick food worker without a health policy or a reporting obligation is the starting point for a multi-victim outbreak, not a hypothetical one.
Bella Brava Midtown's citation for food not cooked to required minimum temperature is the most direct pathogen-survival violation in the data this week. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. That is not a procedural gap, it is a biological one.
The Longer Record
Steak N Shake on East Hillsborough carries 38 prior inspections on record, the longest history of any facility cited this week. Five high-severity violations on inspection 39 is not a new location finding its footing. The same is true of Mity Nice Cafe, which arrives at this week's inspection with 32 prior visits on record, and India's Grill, also at 32. Both drew five high-severity violations.
Mi Tierra Latina has 29 prior inspections behind it and produced the week's highest violation count. New York New York Pizza in Westchase and Checkers on Fletcher each carry 29 and 30 prior inspections respectively. All three were back this week with five or more high-severity citations.
The contrast at the other end of the record is notable. Buddy's Juice Bar has only two prior inspections on record. This week's visit was effectively the facility's introduction to sustained regulatory scrutiny, and it produced five high-severity violations including unapproved food sources and no allergen awareness. Copper Indian Restaurant has five prior inspections and drew five high-severity violations this week, including the combination of inadequate handwashing facilities and improper handwashing technique.
Mr and Mrs Crab on Sheldon Road has nine prior inspections and six high-severity violations this week. It is a relatively short record for a facility already accumulating citations in shellfish traceability, illness reporting, and food contact surface sanitation.
The Longer Pattern
Shellfish traceability violations appeared at six facilities this week: Checkers, Mr and Mrs Crab, Mity Nice Cafe, Copper Indian Restaurant, Wagamama, and New York New York Pizza. The citation requires that shellfish arrive with identification tags showing harvest location and date, and that those tags be kept on file. Without them, there is no way to connect a sick diner to a specific harvest lot.
New York New York Pizza's parasite destruction citation stands unresolved in the public record. The violation indicates that fish served raw or undercooked was not subjected to the required freezing protocol that kills Anisakis and other parasites. Whether that fish remained on the menu after the inspection is not reflected in the data available this week.
