TAMPA, FL. World of Beer at 5311 Avion Park Drive drew the most serious inspection findings of any Tampa facility this week, with seven high-severity violations that included food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, toxic chemicals stored improperly near food, and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, all documented in a single visit.
The bar near Tampa International Airport also had no written employee health policy, an employee who failed to report illness symptoms, food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized, and no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked menu items. That is every category of critical food safety failure short of an active pest infestation or sewage problem.
Emergency Closures First
Before the week's routine inspections produced their findings, state inspectors shut down two Tampa restaurants on emergency orders.
Oasis Los Cuatro Vientos Corp at 4908 E Broadway Avenue was closed September 17 after inspectors documented a sewage backup inside the facility. Outside BBQ LLC at 1613 E Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard was ordered closed September 16 after inspectors found active roach and fly activity on the premises.
Both closures are the most severe action available to state inspectors, reserved for conditions that present an immediate threat to public health.
The Violations
Shindig Irish Pub and Eatery at 9540 West Linebaugh Avenue accumulated six high-severity violations, including no person in charge present or performing duties during the inspection, no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock identification records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items.
The shell stock traceability violation is particularly notable at an Irish pub that serves shellfish. Without proper identification tags, there is no way to trace oysters, clams, or mussels back to a certified harvesting source if a customer becomes ill.
Dead Bobs Too at 3681 S Westshore Boulevard also drew six high-severity violations: no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, time not properly used as a public health control, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals stored improperly.
The time-as-public-health-control violation means food was allowed to remain in the temperature danger zone, between 41 and 135 degrees Fahrenheit, without the tracking documentation required when a facility opts out of continuous refrigeration.
Pabellon Restaurant and Bar at 7530 W Waters Avenue matched that count with six high-severity violations and had zero intermediate violations, meaning every citation was at the most serious level. Inspectors found no person in charge, no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, unclean food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory.
Siam Thai Restaurant at 9546 W Linebaugh Avenue drew five high-severity violations including an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock records, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory. A Thai restaurant with both a temperature violation and shell stock identification problems represents two of the most direct pathogen pathways in a single inspection.
Jazzys BBQ at 5703 W Waters Avenue also drew five high-severity violations: no person in charge, no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, unclean food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory.
Havana 86 at 3434 W Columbus Drive was cited for four high-severity violations including food from an unapproved or unknown source and inadequate shell stock identification records, two violations that both concern the origin of ingredients. Inspectors also cited improper handwashing technique and unclean food contact surfaces.
Taco Bell number 6132 at 16020 Mapledale Boulevard drew four high-severity violations including an employee not reporting illness symptoms, toxic chemicals stored improperly, and unclean food contact surfaces, along with three intermediate violations that included improper sewage or wastewater disposal and inadequate cooling equipment.
Big John's Alabama Bar-B-Que at 5707 N 40th Street was cited for four high-severity violations: an employee not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate shell stock records, unclean food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory. Inspectors also noted inadequate cooling equipment, a serious concern at a barbecue operation where holding temperatures are critical.
Sal Rosa at 601 N Florida Avenue drew four high-severity violations focused almost entirely on hand hygiene: no person in charge, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, and improper handwashing technique. All four violations point to the same breakdown in basic sanitation practice.
Blasy's Pizzeria at 7018 W Hillsborough Avenue was cited for four high-severity violations including no person in charge, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock records, and no consumer advisory. Shell stock traceability violations at a pizzeria are unusual and suggest shellfish toppings without proper sourcing documentation.
Bar 700 at 700 N Westshore Boulevard had four high-severity violations, two of them chemical-related: toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Inspectors also cited improper handwashing technique and no consumer advisory.
Ana Coffee Shop Corp at 905 E 20th Avenue drew three high-severity violations including no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, and no consumer advisory, plus inadequate cooling equipment as an intermediate violation.
Tampeno Fish and Meat Market at 3413 W Tampa Bay Boulevard drew one high-severity violation for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. At a fish and meat market, that single violation carries significant weight given the volume of raw protein moving across those surfaces.
Nana Middle Eastern Street Food at 802 N Franklin Street drew one high-severity violation for no employee health policy and one intermediate violation for improperly cleaned multi-use utensils.
What These Violations Mean
The most common high-severity violation across this week's inspections was no written employee health policy, cited at World of Beer, Shindig Irish Pub, Dead Bobs Too, Pabellon, Jazzys BBQ, Havana 86, Ana Coffee Shop, Taco Bell, and Nana Middle Eastern Street Food. Without that written policy, there is no formal mechanism requiring sick food workers to stay home. Norovirus, the leading cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, spreads primarily through infected food handlers and can sicken dozens of customers from a single shift.
Closely related, and equally dangerous, is the failure to report illness symptoms, cited at World of Beer, Pabellon, Siam Thai, Big John's Alabama Bar-B-Que, Sal Rosa, and Taco Bell. These two violations often appear together and together they describe a workplace where sick workers have no policy telling them to report illness and no documented consequence for working through it.
The food from unapproved or unknown source violations at World of Beer and Havana 86 represent a different category of risk entirely. Approved food sources are inspected by state and federal agencies. When a restaurant purchases from an unapproved supplier, inspectors have no way to trace that food if a customer becomes ill, and no way to verify it was handled safely before it arrived.
The chemical storage violations at World of Beer, Dead Bobs Too, Taco Bell, and Bar 700 are acutely dangerous. Cleaning chemicals stored near or above food surfaces can contaminate food directly, and mislabeled chemical containers have caused poisonings when workers mistook them for food-safe substances.
The Longer Record
The facilities cited this week are not newcomers to state inspectors. Havana 86 has 34 prior inspections on record, the longest history of any facility in this week's data, and still drew four high-severity violations including food from unapproved sources. Siam Thai Restaurant has 33 prior inspections and drew five high-severity violations. Jazzys BBQ has 31 prior inspections and drew five. Ana Coffee Shop Corp has 30 prior inspections and still lacks a written employee health policy.
Pabellon Restaurant and Bar has 29 prior inspections and drew six high-severity violations this week, every one of them at the most serious level. Big John's Alabama Bar-B-Que has 28 prior inspections, as does Bar 700. Shindig Irish Pub has 27, Sal Rosa has 26, World of Beer has 25.
Against that backdrop, Blasy's Pizzeria stands out for a different reason. It has only two prior inspections on record and already drew four high-severity violations, including no person in charge and shell stock identification problems. That is a serious start for a facility with almost no inspection history.
Tampeno Fish and Meat Market has seven prior inspections and drew only one high-severity violation this week. It is the shortest record among facilities in this roundup, and its single citation for unclean food contact surfaces at a raw protein market is the one finding from that location that inspectors have not yet seen resolved across multiple visits.
