WEST PALM BEACH, FL. Bimini Twist on Okeechobee Boulevard accumulated eight high-severity violations in a single inspection this week, the most of any restaurant in West Palm Beach during the period of October 16 through October 22, 2026 — a stretch in which state inspectors cited 15 facilities for high-severity violations across the city.
The eight violations at Bimini Twist included toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used; no written employee health policy; employees not reporting illness symptoms; inadequate handwashing facilities; improper handwashing technique; missing shellfish traceability records; time used improperly as a public health control; and no person in charge present or performing duties. That last violation is significant: CDC data links the absence of active managerial control to three times the rate of critical violations at a given establishment.
The Violations
El Molino Restaurant on South Military Trail drew seven high-severity violations, second-highest this week. Among them: food from an unapproved or unknown source, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, missing shellfish records, inadequate handwashing facilities, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and improper handwashing technique. Inspectors also cited the restaurant for multi-use utensils not properly cleaned.
Food from an unapproved source is among the most serious citations an inspector can issue. When food enters a kitchen outside of USDA- or FDA-regulated supply chains, there is no traceability if a customer gets sick, and no inspection record confirming the food was safe when it left its point of origin.
Broadway Pizza and Subs on Broadway drew six high-severity violations, including no person in charge, no written employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, missing shellfish traceability records, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Inspectors also noted single-use items being improperly reused.
Got Rice? on Okeechobee Boulevard matched Broadway Pizza with six high-severity violations. The list included toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, missing shellfish records, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and improper handwashing technique. Multi-use utensils not properly cleaned was cited as an intermediate violation.
LaBrasa Roitisserie and Grill on Okeechobee Boulevard was cited for food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, one of the most direct pathogen-survival risks in a kitchen. Salmonella survives in poultry below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. LaBrasa also drew violations for food from an unapproved source, no written employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and missing shellfish records.
Charley's Cheesesteaks and Wings on Belvedere Road accumulated five high-severity violations: employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food from an unapproved source, time used improperly as a public health control, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. No intermediate violations were cited.
Dragon Hot Pot on Okeechobee Boulevard drew five high-severity violations including no person in charge, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, missing shellfish traceability records, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Inadequate toilet facilities and improperly cleaned multi-use utensils rounded out the inspection.
More Facilities, More Flags
Caribbean Reserve Restaurant on Okeechobee Boulevard was cited for four high-severity violations: employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, missing shellfish records, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Inspectors also noted multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, single-use items improperly reused, and inadequate toilet facilities.
Le Petit Cafe on South Olive Avenue drew four high-severity violations: no written employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, food from an unapproved source, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
China Queen on South Military Trail was cited for four high-severity violations: no person in charge, employees not reporting illness symptoms, food from an unapproved source, and missing shellfish traceability records.
Tacos Y Antojitos Emanuel on Okeechobee Boulevard drew three high-severity violations including missing shellfish records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, along with citations for multi-use utensils and inadequate toilet facilities.
Mi Tierra Restaurant on Broadway Avenue was cited for improper handwashing technique, missing shellfish records, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized.
Jersey Mike's Subs on Northlake Boulevard drew three high-severity violations: employees not reporting illness symptoms, time used improperly as a public health control, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Georgia Mae's on Okeechobee Boulevard drew two high-severity violations, employees not reporting illness symptoms and missing shellfish records, along with intermediate citations for multi-use utensils and inadequate toilet facilities.
Grand China on Southern Boulevard was the only facility among the 15 to avoid a high-severity citation, drawing a single intermediate violation for multi-use utensils not properly cleaned.
What These Violations Mean
The single most widespread violation this week was employees not reporting symptoms of illness. It appeared at 12 of the 15 cited facilities, including Bimini Twist, El Molino, Broadway Pizza, Got Rice?, LaBrasa, Charley's Cheesesteaks, Dragon Hot Pot, Caribbean Reserve, Le Petit Cafe, China Queen, Jersey Mike's, and Georgia Mae's. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, spreads through direct hand-to-food contact from an infected worker. A single sick employee who continues working a full shift can expose dozens of customers before any symptom is visible to management.
Closely related is the absence of a written employee health policy, cited at Bimini Twist, Broadway Pizza, LaBrasa, and Le Petit Cafe. Without a written policy, there is no mechanism to tell workers what symptoms require them to stay home, which means the illness-reporting failure is structural, not incidental.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources, cited at El Molino, LaBrasa, Charley's Cheesesteaks, Le Petit Cafe, and China Queen, is a traceability problem with serious consequences. When a customer gets sick and inspectors try to trace the source, there is no supply chain record to follow. The food bypassed USDA and FDA inspection points entirely before it reached those kitchens.
Missing or inadequate shellfish traceability records appeared at 11 of the 15 facilities, a near-universal failure this week. Oysters, clams, and mussels are high-risk foods served raw or lightly cooked. Without shellfish tags on file, there is no way to trace a contaminated batch back to its harvest bed, no way to issue a targeted recall, and no way to warn customers who may have already eaten it.
The Longer Record
Georgia Mae's carries the longest inspection history of any facility cited this week: 36 prior inspections on record. El Molino and Grand China each have 35 prior inspections. Bimini Twist has 29. These are not new restaurants encountering their first regulatory scrutiny. El Molino's seven high-severity violations this week, across 35 prior inspections, raises a direct question about whether prior inspections produced lasting corrections.
Got Rice? has 30 prior inspections on record, as does LaBrasa Roitisserie and Grill. Both drew five or more high-severity violations this week, including toxic chemical storage failures at Got Rice? and an undercooked food violation at LaBrasa.
At the other end of the history spectrum, Caribbean Reserve Restaurant and Le Petit Cafe each have only three prior inspections on record. Both drew four high-severity violations this week. Jersey Mike's Subs on Northlake has only two prior inspections on record and drew three high-severity violations. Dragon Hot Pot, with 11 prior inspections, is among the newer locations in this week's data and already carries five high-severity citations.
The inspection count that stands out most is Jersey Mike's. Two inspections into its regulatory history, the Northlake Boulevard location has already been cited for employees not reporting illness symptoms, time used improperly as a public health control, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Whether those violations were corrected on site or are still outstanding is not reflected in the current inspection record.
