MIAMI, FL. Inspectors visiting Vice City Pizza at 2615 SW 147 Ave on May 20, 2026 found toxic chemicals improperly stored and labeled near food, food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, and employees washing their hands incorrectly, if at all. The restaurant was not closed.
State records show the inspection produced nine high-severity violations and three intermediate violations, a count that places it among the more serious single-visit findings in Miami-Dade this year. High-severity violations are the category most directly linked to foodborne illness outbreaks.
What Inspectors Found
The chemical storage violations were cited twice, under two separate code categories, suggesting inspectors found the hazard significant enough to document from multiple angles. Toxic substances found near food, improperly labeled or stored, create an acute poisoning risk with no warning to the customer who receives the meal.
Food not cooked to the required minimum temperature was also cited. For poultry, that threshold is 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Below it, Salmonella survives.
Inspectors also cited two distinct handwashing failures: employees not washing hands adequately, and employees using improper technique when they did wash. The state treats these as separate violations because both failure modes exist independently and both leave pathogens on hands that then contact food.
Food contact surfaces, including cutting boards and preparation surfaces, were found not properly cleaned or sanitized. Food in poor condition or mislabeled was also documented. Inspectors noted no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked items, meaning customers had no way to make an informed choice about their risk.
On the intermediate side, inspectors cited improper sewage or wastewater disposal, single-use items being reused, and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
What These Violations Mean
The chemical storage findings are the most immediately alarming. When cleaning agents, sanitizers, or pesticides are stored near food or mislabeled, a single spill or labeling mix-up can contaminate a meal with no visible sign to the cook or the customer. Chemical poisoning from this pathway can be acute, producing symptoms within minutes.
The handwashing violations compound everything else. Improper handwashing is the most documented single factor in spreading Norovirus, which infects roughly 20 million Americans annually. At Vice City Pizza, inspectors found both that employees were not washing hands when they should have been and that the technique used when they did wash was inadequate. That is not one failure. It is two failures operating simultaneously, across the same staff, in the same kitchen.
Food not cooked to temperature is its own independent pathway. Undercooked poultry carrying Salmonella does not look or smell different to a customer. The only protection is the thermometer, and the thermometer standard was not being met.
The absence of an employee health policy means the facility has no documented mechanism to send sick workers home. Norovirus and Hepatitis A are both transmitted directly from infected food handlers to customers through this gap. A written policy is the baseline control. Vice City Pizza did not have one.
The Longer Record
The May 2026 inspection is not an anomaly. State records show Vice City Pizza has been inspected 21 times and has accumulated 244 total violations over its history, with zero emergency closures.
The pattern of high-severity findings goes back years. In October 2021, inspectors cited eight high-severity violations and three intermediate ones, a nearly identical profile to the May 2026 visit. In April 2025, the restaurant drew five high-severity violations. The facility went through a stretch in early 2024 with low or zero high-severity citations, but that stretch did not hold.
Two inspections in 2024, on March 28 and April 10, produced zero high-severity violations. The following year, April 2025 brought five. This year, nine.
The 244 cumulative violations across 21 inspections average out to more than 11 violations per inspection visit. That average includes the clean visits. The May 2026 count of 12 total violations sits above that average.
Open for Business
Florida's emergency closure authority is triggered when inspectors determine a facility poses an immediate threat to public health. Nine high-severity violations at Vice City Pizza on May 20, 2026, including improperly stored toxic chemicals, undercooked food, and a complete absence of employee health policy, did not meet that threshold.
The restaurant was allowed to remain open.