WEST PALM BEACH, FL. Havana at 6803 S. Dixie Highway drew eight high-severity violations in a single inspection during the week of August 2, the most of any facility among 15 West Palm Beach restaurants cited for serious violations that week. Inspectors documented food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, inadequate cooking temperatures, improperly stored toxic chemicals, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked menu items, all in one visit.
The violations at Havana weren't limited to sourcing and storage. Inspectors also cited the restaurant for employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, no written employee health policy, and inadequate shell stock identification records. That is eight distinct high-severity findings, each carrying its own direct route to customer harm.
The Violations
Sushi Jo at 6200 S. Dixie Highway recorded six high-severity violations, including no person in charge present or performing duties, employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, missing shell stock identification records, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items. The restaurant also had improperly cleaned multi-use utensils.
The absence of a person in charge at Sushi Jo is notable given the menu. A sushi restaurant serving raw fish without active managerial oversight, missing shellfish traceability records, and lacking a consumer advisory for raw items presents a layered set of risks to customers who may not know what they are eating or where it came from.
Rocco's Tacos and Tequila Bar at 224 Clematis St. drew five high-severity violations: no person in charge, no employee health policy, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. Improperly cleaned multi-use utensils added an intermediate violation to the list.
Ell Ideal at 934 Belvedere Road was cited for four high-severity violations, including food from unapproved or unknown sources, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, no employee health policy, and employees not reporting illness symptoms. Inspectors also found single-use items being reused.
West Palm Beach Canopy at 380 Trinity Place and its upstairs operation, West Palm Beach Canopy Rooftop Restaurant at the same address, were both cited during the week. The ground-floor Canopy drew four high-severity violations, including no person in charge, employees not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, and improper handwashing technique. The rooftop restaurant added two high-severity findings of its own: food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Rama V Thai and Sushi at 1900 Okeechobee Blvd. was cited for four high-severity violations: no person in charge, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, and inadequate shell stock identification records. Like Sushi Jo, the combination of missing shellfish records and no active manager at a restaurant serving raw fish carries particular weight.
Jon Smith Subs at 3929 S. Dixie Highway drew four high-severity violations, including no person in charge, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, and no allergen awareness demonstrated. That last citation is significant. Allergen failures at a sandwich shop, where cross-contact between ingredients is routine, can send customers to emergency rooms.
El Tipico Quetzal Cafeteria at 714 Belvedere Road was cited for improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock identification records, and improper use of time as a public health control. When a facility substitutes time for temperature to keep food safe, the tracking has to be exact. Inspectors found it was not.
Nico's Pizza at 340 Clematis St. drew one high-severity violation for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, along with an intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal. Subculture Coffee at 509 Clematis St. was cited for improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals, a finding also shared by Avocado Grill at 125 Datura St., which additionally had improper handwashing technique documented.
Latitude 26 at 1301 Summit Blvd. was cited for no person in charge and employees not reporting illness symptoms. Field of Greens at 250 S. Australian Ave. drew violations for improper handwashing technique and food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated. Subway at 901 Southern Blvd. was cited for employees not reporting illness symptoms and food not cooked to required minimum temperature.
What These Violations Mean
The most common high-severity finding this week was employees not reporting illness symptoms, cited at Havana, Sushi Jo, Ell Ideal, West Palm Beach Canopy, Rama V, Jon Smith Subs, Latitude 26, and Subway. Food workers who are sick and do not report it remain on the line. Norovirus spreads through a single ill employee handling ready-to-eat food, and it takes as few as 18 viral particles to infect a customer. The illness spreads fast, and it spreads from the kitchen outward.
The food-from-unapproved-sources violations at Havana and Ell Ideal carry a different kind of risk. When food enters a restaurant outside the regulated supply chain, there is no inspection record, no traceability, and no path back to the source if customers get sick. If Listeria turns up in a product, regulators can only issue a recall for food they know exists in the system.
Toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, cited at Havana, Rocco's Tacos, Subculture Coffee, and Avocado Grill, are not a housekeeping issue. Cleaning compounds stored near food prep surfaces or mislabeled containers create direct routes to accidental poisoning. The risk is not theoretical: chemical contamination of food is documented in outbreak records nationally.
The shell stock identification failures at Havana, Sushi Jo, Rama V Thai and Sushi, and El Tipico Quetzal Cafeteria are traceability failures specific to raw shellfish. Oysters, clams, and mussels are frequently consumed raw or barely cooked, and they filter and concentrate pathogens from the water where they are harvested. Without proper tags and records, there is no way to know which harvest bed the shellfish came from or whether a recall applies to what a customer just ordered.
The Longer Record
Rama V Thai and Sushi has the deepest inspection history of any facility in this week's data, with 38 prior inspections on record. That number means inspectors have visited this location more than three dozen times before this week's four high-severity findings. Facilities with that volume of inspections have had ample opportunity to establish consistent practices. The continued absence of a person in charge and missing shellfish records at a restaurant with 38 visits on file is a pattern, not a first offense.
Havana has 30 prior inspections on record. Ell Ideal has 29. Latitude 26 has 28. All three facilities have histories long enough that this week's high-severity violations cannot be attributed to inexperience with the inspection process or unfamiliarity with state requirements.
Avocado Grill at 125 Datura St. has 34 prior inspections on record, making it the second most-inspected facility in this week's data. It was cited this week for both improper handwashing technique and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. Subculture Coffee has 24 prior inspections and drew the same chemical storage violation.
At the other end of the history spectrum, Field of Greens at 250 S. Australian Ave. has only three prior inspections on record, making it among the newest licensed operations in this week's data. It was cited for food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated, as well as improper handwashing technique. Three inspections in and the facility is already accumulating high-severity findings.
Sushi Jo has nine prior inspections, making it a relatively young operation in the state's records. Six high-severity violations in a single week, including missing shellfish records and no consumer advisory for raw items at a sushi restaurant, is a significant finding for a facility still early in its inspection history.
The consumer advisory violation was shared by Havana, Sushi Jo, Rocco's Tacos, and the Canopy Rooftop Restaurant. All four serve items that can be ordered raw or undercooked. None posted the disclosure that state rules require. At Sushi Jo, that missing advisory was one of six high-severity citations recorded during the same visit.
