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 BASPestScore 554last visit 2026-06-18
- 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.
Manman Brigitte counted these: 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 2026-06-19
- BUTTONWOOD GRILLKey Largo3 HP6 INT6 BASScore 366last visit 2026-06-19
- EL SIBONEYKey West3 HP3 INT1 BASPestScore 381last visit 2026-06-17
- BENIHANA KEY WESTKey West3 HP3 BASScore 303last visit 2026-06-17
- TAKARA JAPANESE RESTAURANTMarathon4 HP3 INT17 BASPestScore 497last visit 2026-06-16
+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.
Closed/Delinquent
22 records this window
Two tiers: confirmed closures (owner-validated posts, news, and external places data that say service has stopped) and DBPR delinquent/inactive licenses (Primary Status Code 45/46) — a regulatory state, not by itself a confirmed closure.
PHO KING AWESOME NOODLE BAR in Key West, PAUL'S BEACH BAR & GRILL in Islamorada, and WOODY'S in Islamorada are throwing up red flags across the Florida Keys. These places drew what the state calls "closure signals," which just means they’re under a microscope right now—not confirmed yet, naturally. I should be surprised. I'm not. You think these folks can keep it clean out here between the stone crab season and some snowbird crowd? My favorite part: when you look at this list of potential problems, you see the same tired failures popping up again and again. These aren't permanent shut-downs yet; they're just in review. That "closure signal" term means regulators are flagging them for serious issues, but until a third party steps in and says 'done,' it’s all theory out here on the Overseas Highway.
- 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
+17 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: Three names sat at the head of this list in the Florida Keys. EL COME COME in Key Largo, BEACH CAFE in Islamorada, and SHRIMP SHACK in Islamorada all posted ownership-change filings recently. Papa Legba opened the door, and the inspectors walked in: These are operator turnovers; a new owner-of-record on an existing license. The lwa already saw this one coming—it means changes in the kitchen's spirit, not that the place went dark. Bouki hissed when I turned to this entry: This record shows 3 filings posted within the 30-day window for these places across Florida Keys. Bondye bon, but you must know that an ownership-change filing is just a paper shuffle; it’s not the same as a closure signal.
- 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
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.
The Florida Keys is seeing a sudden rush of new blood, with 37 opening signals hitting the radar in the last 90 days. That includes 12 new entries in just the last 30 days. My new beat has me so grossed out, I can't even eat, but at least these places haven't had a chance to fail an inspection yet. We call these opening signals because a fresh license or a Facebook announcement doesn't mean the kitchen is actually clean. The paperwork shows 35 new-license records and 28 announced via news or social media. I also spotted 1 reissue or transfer tucked away in the shuffle. Of course they did. You have CHARLIS SHAVE ICE in Islamorada, HI TIDE SNO-BALLS in Grassy Key, and SURF STYLE #170 in Marathon all trying to get a piece of the pie. The spread is mostly concentrated in Key West with 25 new spots and 12 in Key Largo. Out of the bunch, only 4 are flagged as seafood. The rest? 31 are listed as unknown. Big shock there. 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
+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.