The numbers across Tampa Bay tell a story of heavy habits. While the chronic density of failures in this metro area sits 39% below the Florida average, the recent activity is enough to make any line cook sweat. Inspectors have flagged 222 recent high-priority hits across the region. In my world, a high-priority violation is just a fancy way of saying the kitchen has lost its way on basic safety. These latest hits hit five specific spots: 2 bars, 1 Buffet, 1 Seafood, and 1 Sushi establishment. You can taste the lack of discipline when the foundation of a clean station starts to crumble.
Emergency Orders
47 records this window
Restaurants closed by DBPR emergency order in the last 90 days.
THE BOAT CLUB in Tarpon Springs, ROUEN THAI RESTAURANT in Tampa and EL LUNCH LATINO in Clearwater drew the loudest scorecard in Tampa Bay. These aren't just minor slip-ups or a bad night on the line. They are heavy hitters that caught the eye of every regulator watching the floor. Inspectors issued 47 emergency orders in the 90-day window, which means the state ordered the kitchen closed on the spot to protect the public. These serve as high-priority signals that hit faster than a license cancellation or a corporate dissolution filing. The volume of these sudden shutdowns remains steady compared to the last public reporting period. The red alert list is diverse but dirty. It includes 2 diners, 1 Cafe, 1 Pub, and 1 Sushi spot across the metro area. You can taste the panic in a kitchen when the state walks in with an emergency order; it means the foundation of the operation has crumbled.
- THE BOAT CLUBTarpon Springs1 HP2 INT12 BASPestScore 182last visit 2026-06-08
- ROUEN THAI RESTAURANTTampa1 HP1 BASPestScore 151last visit 2026-06-03
- EL LUNCH LATINOClearwater1 HP1 INT4 BASPestScore 164
- CAFE BICH NGAPinellas Park9 HP6 INT11 BASPestScore 1021last visit 2026-06-04
- DISCOVERY INDIAN CUISINEPalm Harbor2 HP2 BASPestScore 252last visit 2026-06-02
+42 more in this section on the live site.
Near Miss
222 records this window
Inspections in the last 30 days that posted high-priority violations but were not shut down.
THAI LANNA 2 in Port Richey, EL CAP INC in St. Petersburg and MOLLY MALONE'S IRISH PUB in Tampa put the sharpest marks on Tampa Bay's list. These spots racked up some heavy heat during a recent inspection window. The line cooks know that when you see high-priority violations on the report, it means the basics of food safety are slipping through the cracks. Inspectors posted 222 high-priority citations in the 30-day window for these locations. None of these resulted in an emergency order closure. In my world, an emergency order is a state-mandated kill switch, a temporary shutdown used when a kitchen becomes an immediate danger to the public. These spots avoided that hammer but landed on the near-miss watch list instead. They drew inspector attention and stayed open, but they are now sitting in the crosshairs for a follow-up visit. The recurring violation labels were HP and INT.
- THAI LANNA 2Port Richey4 HP5 INT8 BASPestScore 508last visit 2026-06-11
- EL CAP INCSt. Petersburg3 HP3 INT2 BASPestScore 382last visit 2026-06-11
- MOLLY MALONE'S IRISH PUBTampa3 HP4 INT3 BASScore 343last visit 2026-06-11
- TROPICSTarpon Springs3 HP3 INTScore 330last visit 2026-06-10
- SEA WORTHY FISH BARTierra Verde4 HP8 INT5 BASPestScore 535last visit 2026-06-09
+217 more in this section on the live site.
Worst Offenders
229 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.
A kitchen is supposed to be a sanctuary of discipline, but for some, it is just a revolving door of excuses. In the Tampa Bay area, 229 historical bad actors have surfaced when looking at an 11-year pattern view. These are the repeat offenders who have treated state standards like mere suggestions for over a decade. CITRUS SPGS GOLF&COUNTRY CLUB and EL TENAMPA lead this list of names that keep showing up on the wrong side of the record. The line cooks in these kitchens might be fighting for their lives, but the management has clearly failed to uphold the basics of food safety. The full repeat-offender record sits below.
- CITRUS SPGS GOLF&COUNTRY CLUBCitrus SpringsActive bad actorlast visit 12/01/2025
- EL TENAMPASt. PetersburgActive bad actorCurrently Activelast visit 01/13/2026
- ROCKING CRABSt. PetersburgActive bad actorlast visit 10/16/2025
- GREEN TEAPort RicheyActive bad actorlast visit 02/23/2026
- KAWA JAPANESE STEAK HOUSE & SUSHINew Port RicheyActive bad actorlast visit 06/05/2026
+224 more in this section on the live site.
Closures
26 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.
GOOD INTENTIONS in St. Petersburg, RED MESA CANTINA in St. Petersburg and TASO ITALIANO in New Port Richey led the board in Tampa Bay. You can taste the panic in a kitchen ten seconds after stepping inside, but these names are now on the list of places that have officially gone dark. Twenty-six restaurants cleared the 90-day public-window closure bar in Tampa Bay. These are what I call closure signals—indicators like inspection silence or cancelled licenses that suggest a business is winding down. Each carries an Evidence Count from 1 to 4, where a 4/4 means it is third-party verified as finished, while lower counts mean the records are just showing us a pattern of neglect or administrative decay. The state holds back additional internal records from the public list. A good cook is a creature of obsessive habit, and when those habits break down to the point of a license cancellation, the story is already over. The line cooks know the truth before the inspector even opens their mouth.
- GOOD INTENTIONSSt. Petersburgclosure score 3
- RED MESA CANTINASt. Petersburgclosure score 3
- TASO ITALIANONew Port Richeyclosure score 3
- GREEK VILLAGE CAFELargoclosure score 2
- SMOKEY BONES BAR & FIRE GRILL #7588Clearwaterclosure score 3
+21 more in this section on the live site.
New Owners
47 records this window
DBPR ownership-change records in the last 30 days — "Approve Change Owner Request" actions.
There is no romance in this part of the meal. HER BAR in Oldsmar, COURTYARD CAFE in Palm Harbor and MLXI RESTAURANT & V.I.P LOUNGE in St. Petersburg put the sharpest marks on Tampa Bay's list. 47 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. Kitchen-English translation: an ownership-change filing means a new operator took over the license; it does not mean the restaurant closed. That is management, not mystery.
- HER BAROldsmar
- COURTYARD CAFEPalm Harbor
- MLXI RESTAURANT & V.I.P LOUNGESt. Petersburg
- WEEKI WACHEE OUTPOSTWeeki Wachee
- FRYER HOUSETampa
+42 more in this section on the live site.
Chain Activity
115 records this window
Multi-location chain brands flagged via aggregated signals across all locations.
Somewhere behind the line, the facts got ugly. and sometimes that machine starts moving in ways the owners didn't plan for. In Tampa Bay, 115 chain brands have surfaced in a rollup covering 466 locations between them. It is a massive footprint of corporate muscle memory over many different plates. The data shows some hard truths behind those big names. This group includes 162 FSQ-confirmed closures and 33 lapsed licenses, with Subway, Dunkin', and Sub Tenn Llc leading the pack. When a license lapses, it means the state's paperwork has stalled, and in my book, that is when the line starts to fray.
- SubwayFlorida96 flagged locations
- Dunkin'Florida116 flagged locations
- Sub Tenn LlcFlorida16 flagged locations
- KfcFlorida26 flagged locations
- Dunkin'Florida14 flagged locations
+110 more in this section on the live site.
Openings
286 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.
The pulse of the Tampa Bay food scene is moving fast. We are tracking 286 opening signals across the metro area right now. This includes 99 announcements picked up through news and social media, along with 619 new-license records from the state ledger. There are also 75 reopening, transfer, or reissue records that sit outside the main headline count. New faces on the line include COPPER INDIAN RESTAURANT in Tampa, 3 HERMANOS BARBACOA & CONSOME in Clearwater, and BRUNCH BROS in Tampa. The data shows a heavy concentration of activity with 236 spots in Tampa and 77 in Clearwater. The mix is wide, featuring 522 unknown venues and 35 fast food joints. We have seen a velocity of 306 opening signals in the last 90 days, with 102 showing up just in the last 30 days. These dated opening signals span from 2025-07-01 to 2026-06-14. In this business, an opening signal means a new license or public announcement is on the books before a state inspector ever sets foot in the kitchen. This does not mean these kitchens have passed a single inspection yet; it just means they are officially open for business. Shows 619 new-license records, 99 announcement-led records, and 46 ownership-transfer openings. A change of owner is just a new set of hands holding the keys to an existing kitchen.
- COPPER INDIAN RESTAURANTTampa
- COURTYARD CAFEPalm Harbor
- 3 HERMANOS BARBACOA & CONSOMEClearwater
- BRUNCH BROSTampa
- CHILE VERDELargo
+281 more in this section on the live site.
Clean Plates
490 records this window
Restaurants with multiple inspections in the current quarter and zero high-priority or intermediate violations.
The kitchen tells on itself. 490 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. Kitchen-English translation: a clean plate means the recent inspection record stayed quiet where the state was looking. The line deserved better.
- PHO KIEN GIANGPinellas Park
- TACOS GONE MOBILETampa
- CAPTAIN JACK'S WATERFRONT GRILLETarpon Springs
- THE REEFMadeira Beach
- CHINA TASTEBrooksville
+485 more in this section on the live site.