Not saying she's a chronic violator — just the kind of operator who finds a temperature alarm inconvenient for her social calendar: In the Florida picture: the Florida Keys's chronic density is 2352% above the Florida average. the Florida Keys shows 45 recent high-priority hits. Mix: 1 Chinese, 1 Cuban, 1 French, and 1 Gym. 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.
HUNGRY TARPON RESTAURANT in Islamorada, MEAT EATERY AND TAPROOM in Islamorada, and PARTY CAKE BAKERY in Key Largo led the pack of bad news across the Florida Keys. Five emergency orders were issued in the 90-day window. That means inspectors walked in and ordered these kitchens shut down on the spot because the health risk was too immediate to wait for paperwork. My new beat has me so grossed out, I can't even eat. The group of Red Alert shutdowns included one cafe, one gastropub, one hot dog stand, and one seafood spot. Big shock there. The volume of these state-ordered temporary closures is holding steady compared to the last period we looked at. It is a pattern that keeps repeating itself like a bad tourist story on the Overseas Highway.
- 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
- GRAND CAFE KEY WESTKey West4 HP2 INT5 BASScore 425last visit 2025-11-12
- BEA-LICIOUS GRILLMarathon8 INT3 BASScore 83last visit 2025-07-14
Near Miss
45 records this window
Inspections in the last 30 days that posted high-priority violations but were not shut down.
Bouki jumped on the file before I could read it — Papa Legba opened the door, and the inspectors walked in. The gris-gris bag rattled when I read this record for the Florida Keys; there are 45 high-priority citations posted across the area in the last 30 days. Cemetery dirt does not lie about a kitchen: THE BENT PROP in Cudjoe Key was one of the names pulled up. BUTTONWOOD GRILL in Key Largo and EL SIBONEY in Key West also drew the lwa's eye for these failings. These are what we call near-misses; the operation stayed open, but Manman Brigitte keeps a ledger for these places. Bouki jumped on the file before I could read it — none of these 45 cases resulted in an emergency order shutdown, which is when DBPR forces the temporary stop. Those who hit the 'Red Alert' are the ones truly cursed by the state. The lwa already saw this one coming; the recurring violations flagged were HP and INT across these kitchens. That means serious trouble for those operations.
- THE BENT PROPCudjoe Key3 HP3 INT3 BASScore 333last visit 2025-05-22
- BUTTONWOOD GRILLKey Largo3 HP6 INT6 BASScore 366
- 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
+40 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.
Bondye bon, but the cooler is not: 200 restaurants with chronic violation records surface in the Florida Keys on the 11-year pattern view, led by NEW YORK PASTA GARDEN, PARTY CAKE BAKERY. The full repeat-offender record sits below. Gade pi byen: chronic violation record is our shorthand for an 11-year repeat-offender pattern, not a verdict on the operator.
- NEW YORK PASTA GARDENKey West7 HP5 INT28 BASScore 778Historical bad actorCurrently Activelast visit 02/24/2026
- PARTY CAKE BAKERYKey Largo8 HP5 INT16 BASScore 866Active bad actorCurrently Activelast visit 04/08/2026
- SNAPPERS KEY LARGO/TURTLE CLUBKey Largo6 HP4 INT8 BASScore 648Historical bad actorCurrently Activelast visit 03/23/2026
- OASIS MEDITERRANEAN CUISINEKey West5 HP8 INT13 BASScore 593Historical chronic offenderCurrently Activelast visit 10/22/2025
- DOCS ON DUVALKey West5 HP3 INT8 BASScore 538Historical bad actorlast visit 12/10/2025
+195 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.
Reading this rap sheet so you don't have to. Don't all thank me at once: PHO KING AWESOME NOODLE BAR in Key West, PAUL'S BEACH BAR & GRILL in Islamorada and WOODY'S in Islamorada put the sharpest marks on the Florida Keys's list. These are recent closure signals under review, not yet independently confirmed. Filed for the record: a closure signal is evidence a place may have gone dark; only verified tier-4 records are confirmed permanent closures.
- 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
+21 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.
Papa Legba opened the door, and the inspectors walked in: EL COME COME in Key Largo, BEACH CAFE in Islamorada and SHRIMP SHACK in Islamorada sat at the head of the the Florida Keys list. 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
- BEACH CAFEIslamorada
- SHRIMP SHACKIslamorada
Chain Activity
6 records this window
Multi-location chain brands flagged via aggregated signals across all locations.
Six chain brands just resurfaced in a brand rollup across the Florida Keys. That is fancy talk for when one company buys up another to consolidate their footprint, usually right before things get messy. My new beat has me so grossed out, I can't even eat. These 6 brands are playing musical chairs with 11 different locations between them. Of course they did. Out of those 11 spots, 6 have already been confirmed as FSQ closures. That means the food safety inspectors actually verified these kitchens are gone for good. The big names driving this shuffle include Ashford Trs Pier House Llc, Dairy Queen, and Hyatt Corp. Big shock there. It is just another day of watching the Overseas Highway get swallowed up by corporate paperwork.
- 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
15 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.
Fifteen new openings showed up in the Florida Keys ledger recently. Are you really gonna go with 'new business' when half those places are just setting up shop near the marina? Twenty-eight were announced through news or operator chatter, and the state posted 35 new-license records across the area. We're tracking things like CHARLIS SHAVE ICE in Islamorada and HI TIDE SNO-BALLS in Grassy Key right now. These aren't just names; they’re points on a map where you have to wonder who’s paying the health permit fee, guy. Some of these 35 records are fresh filings—that’s DBPR recording a new license application, not saying they passed an inspection, so don't get it twisted. The numbers show 25 openings concentrated in Key West and 12 down in Key Largo. Thirty-seven total opening signals hit the Keys in the last 90 days; twelve in just the last 30. My favorite part: a bunch of these are coming out between March 15, 2024, and June 19, 2026. This beat is 10% logic and 90% being too stubborn to file the case closed. It’s tough trying to keep track when licenses can get reissued or transfers happen outside of what you see in a straight opening headline. I've watched pots before, guy. They always boil.
- CHARLIS SHAVE ICEIslamorada
- HI TIDE SNO-BALLSGrassy Key
- SURF STYLE #170Marathon
- LA CONCHA CUBAN BAKERYKey West
- DANNY'S FOOD TRUCKKey West
+10 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.
The white candle burned out twice on this one: 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.