The density of chronic offenders in Tampa Bay is sitting at 39% below the Florida average, suggesting the local culinary ecosystem is slightly less infested than the rest of the state. However, a recent inspection cycle still caught 255 high-priority hits across the metro area. That tally includes a diverse spread of mishaps involving 1 Buffet, 1 Cuban, 1 Diner, and 1 Fast Food establishment. It turns out even in Tampa Bay, some kitchens struggle to keep their standards from drifting out to sea.
Emergency Orders
51 records this window
Restaurants closed by DBPR emergency order in the last 90 days.
The menu did not mention this part, naturally: DISCOVERY INDIAN CUISINE in Palm Harbor, KEYS JAM-ROCK GRILL in Tarpon Springs and CYPRESS CREEK GOLF CLUB in Sun City Center led the board in Tampa Bay. 51 emergency-order shutdowns in the 90-day window — DBPR ordered the kitchen closed on the spot. These are the most actionable signals: faster than admin actions, faster than license cancellation, faster than corporate dissolution. Across the Red Alert cohort: 1 Cafe, 1 Chinese, 1 Diner, and 1 Golf Course. Trend line: emergency-order volume is steady against the last public cut. The inspectors merely wrote down the punchline.
- DISCOVERY INDIAN CUISINEPalm Harbor2 HP2 BASScore 202last visit 2026-05-13
- KEYS JAM-ROCK GRILLTarpon Springs1 HP1 INT1 BASPestScore 161last visit 2026-05-28
- CYPRESS CREEK GOLF CLUBSun City Center1 HP1 BASScore 101last visit 2026-05-27
- ZAGORA CAFETampa1 HPScore 100last visit 2026-05-26
- HONG KONGSouth Pasadena4 HP3 INT5 BASPestScore 485last visit 2026-05-14
+46 more in this section on the live site.
Near Miss
255 records this window
Inspections in the last 30 days that posted high-priority violations but were not shut down.
Somewhere between the mop sink and the mangroves, the facts arrived: CHINA BUFFET in Tampa, ASTRO SKATING RINK in Tarpon Springs and LA VITANUOVA SPORTS BAR AND GRILL in Tampa carried the front of this Tampa Bay file. 255 high-priority citations posted in the 30-day window — none of these resulted in an emergency-order closure (those are in Red Alert). They are the near-miss watch list: restaurants that drew inspector attention but stayed open. Any of them could receive a follow-up inspection. The recurring violation labels were HP and INT.
- CHINA BUFFETTampa7 HP10 INT18 BASPestScore 868last visit 2026-05-05
- ASTRO SKATING RINKTarpon Springs3 HP1 BASScore 301last visit 2025-06-30
- LA VITANUOVA SPORTS BAR AND GRILLTampa6 HP3 INTPestScore 680last visit 2025-05-21
- CRAFTY CRAB SEAFOODBrandon3 HP10 INT9 BASScore 409last visit 2025-07-15
- FOUNTAIN PLUS ENDLESS HIBACHI AND SUSHI BBQ EATERYBrandon6 HP3 INT7 BASPestScore 687last visit 2025-11-04
+250 more in this section on the live site.
Worst Offenders
232 records this window
Active enforcement targets and repeat offenders: restaurants carrying emergency-order history, chronic 11-year systemic violation patterns, or cross-flag enforcement tiers.
South of the I-4 corridor, the violations get colorful: 232 historical bad actors surface in Tampa Bay on the 11-year pattern view, led by CITRUS SPGS GOLF&COUNTRY CLUB, EL TENAMPA. The full repeat-offender record sits below.
- CITRUS SPGS GOLF&COUNTRY CLUBCitrus SpringsActive bad actorlast visit 12/01/2025
- EL TENAMPASt. PetersburgActive bad actorlast visit 01/13/2026
- ROCKING CRABSt. PetersburgActive bad actorlast visit 10/16/2025
- GREEN TEAPort RicheyActive bad actorlast visit 02/23/2026
- CHILE VERDESt. PetersburgActive bad actorlast visit 12/10/2025
+227 more in this section on the live site.
Closures
71 records this window
The closed-door file: confirmed shutdowns, owner-validated closure posts, DBPR status signals, and external places data that say service has stopped.
Out where the heat melts the rules, here is the count: POMPEY SEAFOOD in Clearwater, OFF THE RIVER in Port Richey and TUTI E PAPI in Tampa put the sharpest marks on Tampa Bay's list. 71 restaurants carry one or more defunct-indicator signals (silent inspector, license inactive, corp dissolved, or third-party verifier confirmation) in the 90-day public window. Across the closure-signal cohort: 13 fast-food spots, 6 bars, 6 sandwiches, and 5 pizza spots. 50 standalone restaurants and 21 chain locations. Trend line: closure-signals volume is steady against the last public cut. These are signals, not all confirmed permanent closures — Closure Score 4/4 = third-party verified; lower scores = likely / probable / DBPR-flagged-inactive. The inspectors merely wrote down the punchline.
- POMPEY SEAFOODClearwaterclosure score 5
- OFF THE RIVERPort Richeyclosure score 5
- TUTI E PAPITampaclosure score 5
- TAQUERIA Y PANEDERIA LA CHIQUITAClearwaterclosure score 5
- PILOT HOUSETarpon Springsclosure score 5
+66 more in this section on the live site.
Distressed
119 records this window
Active status-20 licenses with a 365+ day coalesced DBPR inspection gap and proof-of-life from Google or Sunbiz.
The hurricane shutters are up; the inspections kept going: Distressed means active DBPR-licensed restaurants that still appear open but have not had a coalesced state inspection in 365+ days. 119 Tampa Bay licenses fit that public-health blind spot: Google or Sunbiz still shows proof of life, while DBPR's inspection file has gone quiet.
- EAST SNACK BARBelleair
- JOY LAN SWAP SHOP & DRIVE INDade City
- SPINNATIONSPort Richey
- GROVE SOHOTampa
- OLD NORTHEAST PIZZERIASt. Petersburg
+114 more in this section on the live site.
New Owners
50 records this window
DBPR ownership-change records in the last 30 days — "Approve Change Owner Request" actions.
If you squint past the palm trees, the report is plain: COURTYARD CAFE in Palm Harbor, KINGS CHICKEN AND BISCUITS in St. Petersburg and ASTON GARDENS AT SUN CITY CENTER in Sun City Center drew the loudest scorecard in Tampa Bay. 50 ownership-change filings posted in the 30-day window. Trend line: ownership-change volume is even with the last public cut. These are operator turnovers — a new owner-of-record on an existing license — not closures, cancellations, or revocations. The inspectors merely wrote down the punchline.
- COURTYARD CAFEPalm Harbor
- KINGS CHICKEN AND BISCUITSSt. Petersburg
- ASTON GARDENS AT SUN CITY CENTERSun City Center
- LA TIA NICA RESTAURANTPinellas Park
- TIPSY CLOVER RESTAURANT & IRISH PUBHudson
+45 more in this section on the live site.
Chain Activity
144 records this window
Multi-location chain brands flagged via aggregated signals across all locations.
Even the alligators in the parking lot have seen better: 144 chain brands surface in Tampa Bay’s rollup, covering 556 locations between them: 178 FSQ-confirmed closures, 40 lapsed licenses. Leading brands: Subway, Dunkin', McDonald's. The inspectors merely wrote down the punchline.
- SubwayFlorida95 flagged locations
- Dunkin'Florida108 flagged locations
- McDonald'sFlorida52 flagged locations
- Florida Franchise Partners LlcFlorida7 flagged locations
- Sub Tenn LlcFlorida17 flagged locations
+139 more in this section on the live site.
Most Improved
3 records this window
Restaurants whose recent-window violation count is at least 50% lower than the prior window, with the most recent inspection clean.
Florida files this kind of thing under 'Tuesday': PF CHANG'S CHINA BISTRO in Brandon, TACOS EL CARNAL 2 in Clearwater and CRACKER BARREL #357 in Brooksville led the board in Tampa Bay. 3 restaurants met the sustained-improvement test: at least four inspections in each 12-month window, recent HP+Critical counts cut by 50% or more, and an active license. PF CHANG'S CHINA BISTRO in Brandon dropped HP+Critical counts from 3 to 1 across the two 12-month windows (66.7% better). The swamp, for once, is not the problem.
- PF CHANG'S CHINA BISTROBrandon1 INT12 BASPestScore 72
- TACOS EL CARNAL 2Clearwater1 INT1 BASScore 11
- CRACKER BARREL #357Brooksville
Openings
81 records this window
New DBPR licenses plus confirmed opening signals: the places that just joined the map and still need their first public-record track record.
Before the cocktail hour, the auditors did their rounds: Total for Tampa Bay: 81 opening signals. 3 announced via FB/news/operator signal; 84 DBPR-new license records still awaiting outside confirmation. Current names include COPPER INDIAN RESTAURANT in Tampa, DAIRY RICH in Palm Harbor and ZOEY'S RESTAURANT in Thonotosassa. The swamp, for once, is not the problem.
- COPPER INDIAN RESTAURANTTampaconfirmed open
- DAIRY RICHPalm Harbor
- ZOEY'S RESTAURANTThonotosassa
- TAQUERIA LOS POTRILLOS 2Plant City
- SAZON RODRIGUEZTampa
+76 more in this section on the live site.
Clean Plates
450 records this window
Restaurants with multiple inspections in the current quarter and zero high-priority or intermediate violations.
Down here, the inspector's clipboard reads like fiction: 450 Tampa Bay licensees ran a clean Q2 2026 ledger across multiple inspections — PHO KIEN GIANG, TACOS GONE MOBILE, CAPTAIN JACK'S WATERFRONT GRILLE among them. These are repeat visits with zero high-priority or intermediate violations — the operators rewarded for consistency, not one lucky inspection. PHO KIEN GIANG stretched a high-priority-free run to 33 inspections covering roughly 8.2 years. The swamp, for once, is not the problem.
- PHO KIEN GIANGPinellas Park
- TACOS GONE MOBILETampa
- CAPTAIN JACK'S WATERFRONT GRILLETarpon Springs
- THE REEFMadeira Beach
- CHINA TASTEBrooksville
+445 more in this section on the live site.