ST. PETERSBURG, FL. Inspectors visiting Umami Endless Sushi and Bar on Tyrone Boulevard on April 27 found food that had not been cooked to the required minimum temperature, a violation that means pathogens capable of causing serious illness were not destroyed before the food reached customers.

That was one of seven high-severity violations documented in a single inspection. The restaurant was not closed.

What Inspectors Found

1HIGHFood not cooked to required minimum temperaturePathogen survival risk
2HIGHInadequate handwashing by food employeesContamination pathway
3HIGHImproper hand and arm washing techniqueTechnique failure
4HIGHInadequate handwashing facilitiesInfrastructure failure
5HIGHFood contact surfaces not properly cleaned/sanitizedCross-contamination risk
6HIGHTime as public health control not properly usedTime-temperature abuse
7HIGHPerson in charge not present or performing dutiesManagement failure
8INTMulti-use utensils not properly cleanedBiofilm risk
9INTSingle-use items improperly reusedContamination risk
10INTImproper use of wiping clothsContamination spread
11INTInadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilitiesHygiene infrastructure

The undercooked food violation was not the only direct threat to customers. Inspectors also cited employees for inadequate handwashing, for using improper hand and arm washing technique, and for having inadequate handwashing facilities on site. Three separate citations, all pointing at the same gap: hands that carried contamination were preparing food.

Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Multi-use utensils were not properly cleaned. Single-use items were being reused. Wiping cloths were being used improperly.

No person in charge was present or performing duties during the inspection.

What These Violations Mean

The undercooked food citation is the one that most directly endangered anyone who ate there that day. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. At a sushi and bar concept that also serves cooked items, food that does not reach required minimum temperatures is food that can send customers to the hospital. There is no visible sign that food has been undercooked.

The three handwashing violations compound that risk in a specific way. Inadequate facilities means the physical infrastructure to wash hands properly did not exist or was not accessible. Inadequate handwashing by employees means the practice was not happening. Improper technique means that even when employees attempted to wash their hands, the method left pathogens behind. All three conditions present at the same time means the contamination pathway from employee hands to food was essentially unbroken.

The time-as-public-health-control violation adds another layer. When a facility uses time rather than temperature to keep food safe, food is permitted to remain in the temperature danger zone for a defined window, after which it must be discarded. Inspectors found that protocol was not being followed correctly at Umami, meaning food that should have been thrown out may not have been.

The absence of a person in charge is not a paperwork problem. CDC data cited in the inspection record shows establishments without active managerial control have three times more critical violations. Every other violation on this list is more likely to occur, and less likely to be caught, when no one is running the kitchen.

The Longer Record

Umami Endless Sushi: Inspection Pattern, 2021-2026

July 2021Emergency closure for fly activity. Reopened the following day.
September 2021Emergency closure for rodent and fly activity. Reopened the following day.
July 2023Emergency closure for roach and fly activity. Reopened two days later.
September 20239 high-severity violations in a single inspection, followed by two more inspections that same month.
February 20259 high-severity violations and 3 intermediate violations.
November 20258 high-severity violations and 1 intermediate violation.
April 20267 high-severity violations and 4 intermediate violations. Facility remained open.

The April 27 inspection was not an outlier. Umami Endless Sushi has 40 inspections on record and 478 total violations accumulated across that history. The restaurant has been emergency-closed three times, in July 2021 for flies, in September 2021 for rodents and flies, and in July 2023 for roaches and flies.

The pattern in the violation data is consistent. The February 2025 inspection produced nine high-severity violations and three intermediate violations. The November 2025 inspection produced eight high-severity violations and one intermediate. The December 2025 inspection showed only one high-severity violation, but two months earlier the count was back in the double digits.

The specific categories repeat. Handwashing failures, food temperature violations, and management absence appear across multiple inspection cycles. These are not the violations of a restaurant catching up on maintenance. They are the same violations, resurfacing.

Still Open

Florida law gives inspectors the authority to order an emergency closure when a facility presents an imminent threat to public health. Umami Endless Sushi has met that threshold three times in five years.

On April 27, 2026, with seven high-severity violations documented, including food cooked to unsafe temperatures and a complete breakdown of handwashing practice, inspectors left the restaurant open.

It was still serving customers.