Not saying she's a chronic violator — just the kind of operator who finds a temperature alarm inconvenient for her social calendar: Set against the state: the Florida Keys's chronic density is 2352% above the Florida average. the Florida Keys carries 43 recent high-priority hits. Mix: 1 Bar, 1 Chinese, 1 Cuban, and 1 French. Filed for the record: a 90-day window means the recent inspection stretch, not a verdict on every kitchen in the county.
Emergency Orders
5 records this window
Restaurants closed by DBPR emergency order in the last 90 days.
Five places got slapped with a state-ordered temporary shutdown in Florida Keys recently. DBPR ordered these kitchens shut right there, faster than any paperwork or corporate shell game. My new beat has me so grossed out, I can't even eat. GRAND CAFE KEY WEST in Key West, BEA-LICIOUS GRILL in Marathon, and HUNGRY TARPON RESTAURANT in Islamorada are among the ones hit. Of course they did. These folks got hit with emergency orders across Cafe, Gastropub, Hot Dogs, and Seafood operations. You know what, sure. It’s a steady stream of these red alert shutdowns across the Keys. Emergency order volume stays constant against the last public cut. Size doesn't really matter when you're writing somebody up. It's just the darkness you have to live with.
- GRAND CAFE KEY WESTKey West4 HP2 INT5 BASScore 425last visit 2025-11-12
- BEA-LICIOUS GRILLMarathon8 INT3 BASScore 83last visit 2025-07-14
- HUNGRY TARPON RESTAURANTIslamorada5 HP4 BASScore 504last visit 2026-04-23
- MEAT EATERY AND TAPROOMIslamorada5 HP2 INT2 BASScore 522last visit 2026-06-09
- PARTY CAKE BAKERYKey Largo4 HP4 INT7 BASScore 447last visit 2026-04-08
Near Miss
43 records this window
Inspections in the last 30 days that posted high-priority violations but were not shut down.
Manman Brigitte counted these: EL SIBONEY in Key West, BENIHANA KEY WEST in Key West and TAKARA JAPANESE RESTAURANT in Marathon led the board in the Florida Keys. 43 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 BAS. Gade pi byen: a high-priority violation is the state saying the risk can touch food safety right now.
- EL SIBONEYKey West3 HP3 INT1 BASPestScore 381last visit 2025-11-12
- BENIHANA KEY WESTKey West3 HP3 BASScore 303last visit 2026-04-08
- TAKARA JAPANESE RESTAURANTMarathon4 HP3 INT17 BASPestScore 497last visit 2025-12-09
- BAGATELLE RESTAURANTKey West3 HP16 BASPestScore 366last visit 2026-06-09
- MAIN KITCHEN AND TROPICADO & PERLAKey West3 HP3 INT15 BASPestScore 395last visit 2026-06-09
+38 more in this section on the live site.
Chronic Violation Record
200 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.
Papa Legba opened the door, and the inspectors walked in: 200 restaurants in the Florida Keys have shown a pattern of chronic violations over an 11-year window. Gade pi byen, this is what we call a bad actor—a kitchen that keeps making the same mistakes time and time again, like a spirit that refuses to cross over. Bouki hissed when I turned to this entry: NEW YORK PASTA GARDEN in Key Largo and PARTY CAKE BAKERY in Key Largo are leading this list of repeat offenders. The lwa already saw this one coming.
- NEW YORK PASTA GARDENKey WestHistorical bad actorCurrently Activelast visit 02/24/2026
- PARTY CAKE BAKERYKey LargoActive bad actorCurrently Activelast visit 04/08/2026
- SNAPPERS KEY LARGO/TURTLE CLUBKey LargoHistorical bad actorCurrently Activelast visit 03/23/2026
- OASIS MEDITERRANEAN CUISINEKey WestHistorical chronic offenderCurrently Activelast visit 10/22/2025
- DOCS ON DUVALKey WestHistorical bad actorlast visit 12/10/2025
+195 more in this section on the live site.
Closures
18 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.
PHO KING AWESOME NOODLE BAR in Key West, PAUL'S BEACH BAR & GRILL in Islamorada and WOODY'S in Islamorada are the names popping up on the recent closure signals list for the Florida Keys. These aren't confirmed permanent shutdowns yet, just red flags that suggest these places might have gone dark recently. My new beat has me so grossed out, I can't even eat. Sometimes you see a business just vanish off the Overseas Highway without a trace and you wonder if they finally ran out of tourist cash or just decided to call it quits. We are looking at potential closure signals here, which is just a fancy way of saying the paperwork says they might be out of business. Big shock there.
- PHO KING AWESOME NOODLE BARKey Westclosure score 2
- PAUL'S BEACH BAR & GRILLIslamoradaclosure score 1
- WOODY'SIslamoradaclosure score 1
- JIMMY BUFFETTS MARGARITAVILLEKey Westclosure score 1
- CAPITANA KEY WESTKey Westclosure score 1
+13 more in this section on the live site.
New Owners
3 records this window
DBPR ownership-change records in the last 30 days — "Approve Change Owner Request" actions.
The white candle burned out twice on this one: EL COME COME in Key Largo, SHRIMP SHACK in Islamorada and BUTTONWOOD GILL in Key Largo carried the front of this the Florida Keys file. 3 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. Gade pi byen: an ownership-change filing means a new operator took over the license; it does not mean the restaurant closed.
- EL COME COMEKey Largo
- SHRIMP SHACKIslamorada
- BUTTONWOOD GILLKey Largo
Chain Activity
6 records this window
Multi-location chain brands flagged via aggregated signals across all locations.
Six different brand rollups surfaced across the Florida Keys in recent weeks. That's a fancy way of saying companies are shuffling their decks and moving ownership around like a shell game on a cruise ship. My new beat has me so grossed out, I can't even eat. This chain activity covers 11 locations between them. Out of those, 6 are confirmed closures, meaning they actually went dark instead of just changing the name on the lease. Stunning. Truly. The names popping up in these filings include Ashford Trs Pier House Llc, Dairy Queen, and Hyatt Corp. I've seen this movie before, guy. It usually ends with a "for lease" sign and a sun-bleached storefront near the Overseas Highway.
- Ashford Trs Pier House LlcFlorida2 flagged locations
- Dairy QueenFlorida2 flagged locations
- Hyatt CorpFlorida2 flagged locations
- Lah Islander Opco LlcFlorida2 flagged locations
- Papa John's PizzaFlorida2 flagged locations
+1 more in this section on the live site.
Openings
13 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.
Thirteen opening signals are floating around the Florida Keys right now. Of course they did. Fifty-two were announced through Facebook or some other operator noise, with 33 actual new license records pulled by the DBPR in that nine-month window. My favorite part: you’ve got a mix of folks here—thirty listed as Unknown, and nine serving up seafood. You know what, sure. Thirty-three are centered in Key West, and twenty-two are stuck out in Key Largo. I've seen this pattern before; the same dead LLCs popping up again down near the marina. This beat is 10% logic and 90% being too stubborn to file the case closed when these places keep shuffling paperwork like deck chairs on a cruise liner. There are names floating around, like SURF STYLE #170 in Marathon, LA CONCHA CUBAN BAKERY in Key West, and DANNY'S FOOD TRUCK in Key West. These 52 announcements plus the 33 new licenses—that’s a lot of mouths trying to feed tourists coming through on that Overseas Highway. Are you really gonna go with 'growth'? That is one of my least favorite cliches. The DBPR logs these openings as license issues or operational evidence, which just means they aren't clean plates yet; it doesn't mean they walked in and everything was pristine. I should be surprised. I'm not. Sixty opening signals in the last 90 days—that velocity is insane for a place where you’re supposed to be catching stone crab, not starting businesses every other month.
- SURF STYLE #170Marathon
- LA CONCHA CUBAN BAKERYKey West
- DANNY'S FOOD TRUCKKey West
- EVERYTHING HIBACHIBig Pine Key
- TWO GENERATIONS KITCHENKey West
+8 more in this section on the live site.
Clean Plates
32 records this window
Restaurants with multiple inspections in the current quarter and zero high-priority or intermediate violations.
Bouki jumped on the file before I could read it — 32 the Florida Keys licensees ran a clean Q2 2026 ledger across multiple inspections — SANDY PELICAN BEACH BAR & GRILL, KRUST LLC, CLOUDS IN MY COFFEE CATERING among them. These are repeat visits with zero high-priority or intermediate violations — the operators rewarded for consistency, not one lucky inspection. SANDY PELICAN BEACH BAR & GRILL stretched a high-priority-free run to 16 inspections covering roughly 4 years. Gade pi byen: a clean plate means the recent inspection record stayed quiet where the state was looking.
- SANDY PELICAN BEACH BAR & GRILLLayton
- KRUST LLCTavernier
- CLOUDS IN MY COFFEE CATERINGMarathon
- DATE AND THYMEKey West
- WESTWINDS HOTELKey West
+27 more in this section on the live site.