RiskyEats

Florida restaurant inspection journalism — from public DBPR records.

Atmospheric scene for Tampa
Portrait of Sal DiBella, RiskyEats correspondent

BY SAL DIBELLA — METRO BRIEFING

Tampa — Restaurant Inspection Briefing

Listen, my friend, the numbers don't stutter: Florida baseline first: the Tampa Bay area's chronic density is 39% below the Florida average. the Tampa Bay area counts 161 recent high-priority hits. Mix: 1 Bar, 1 Buffet, 1 Diner, and 1 Performing Arts. In plain Jersey: a 90-day window means the recent inspection stretch, not a verdict on every kitchen in the county, capisce?

Emergency Orders

129 records this window

Restaurants closed by DBPR emergency order in the last 90 days.

Between you and me, it's a shame: ROTIS INDIAN RESTAURANT in Riverview, TIJUANA FLATS #114 in St. Petersburg and THE BOAT CLUB in Tarpon Springs drew the loudest scorecard in the Tampa Bay area. 129 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 Bar, 1 Burritos, 1 Diner, and 1 Pub. Trend line: emergency-order volume is steady against the last public cut. In plain Jersey: an emergency order means DBPR ordered service stopped until a callback inspection clears it, capisce? What're you gonna do.

  • ROTIS INDIAN RESTAURANTRiverview2 HPScore 200last visit 2026-04-15
  • TIJUANA FLATS #114St. Petersburglast visit 2026-02-23
  • 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

+124 more in this section on the live site.

Near Miss

161 records this window

Inspections in the last 30 days that posted high-priority violations but were not shut down.

Whaddya gonna do, the file speaks for itself: MANGOS SOUTHERN KITCHEN AND BAR in Tampa, GAO RESTAURANT in Tampa and HIBACHI BUFFET LU in Pinellas Park topped the the Tampa Bay area ledger this round. 161 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. In plain Jersey: a high-priority violation is the state saying the risk can touch food safety right now, capisce? Capisce?

  • MANGOS SOUTHERN KITCHEN AND BARTampa3 HP2 INT3 BASScore 323last visit 2026-05-06
  • GAO RESTAURANTTampa4 HP3 INT6 BASPestScore 486last visit 2026-04-27
  • HIBACHI BUFFET LUPinellas Park4 HP1 INT1 BASScore 411last visit 2025-12-08
  • VINTAGE ON 5THCrystal River6 HP2 INT6 BASPestScore 676last visit 2026-06-17
  • K-POT KOREAN BBQ & HOT POTSt. Petersburg3 HP2 INT5 BASPestScore 375last visit 2026-06-17

+156 more in this section on the live site.

Chronic Violation Record

278 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.

Fuhgeddaboudit, the paperwork says it all: look at the Tampa Bay area records over this eleven year pattern view, there are 278 restaurants with chronic violation records. Forget about it. The one leading that whole mess is CITRUS SPGS GOLF&COUNTRY CLUB in El Tenampa. That’s a real jamoke move to keep running these operations when The Law has seen you so many times. Capisce?

  • CITRUS SPGS GOLF&COUNTRY CLUBCitrus Springs8 HP5 INT14 BASScore 864Active bad actorlast visit 12/01/2025
  • EL TENAMPASt. Petersburg9 HP1 INT13 BASScore 923Active bad actorCurrently Activelast visit 01/13/2026
  • ROCKING CRABSt. Petersburg11 HP7 INT16 BASScore 1186Active bad actorlast visit 10/16/2025
  • GREEN TEAPort Richey9 HP3 INT8 BASScore 938Active bad actorlast visit 02/23/2026
  • KAWA JAPANESE STEAK HOUSE & SUSHINew Port Richey6 HP9 INT7 BASScore 697Active bad actorlast visit 06/05/2026

+273 more in this section on the live site.

Closed/Delinquent

586 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.

Lemme tell you somethin' about this joint: LILTHS SUGAR SHACK in Madeira Beach, GOOD INTENTIONS in St. Petersburg and BOB'S FOOD WAGON in The Villages topped the the Tampa Bay area ledger this round. 4 closures confirmed via news, state action, or multiple agreeing social signals. In plain Jersey: a closure signal is evidence a place may have gone dark; only verified tier-4 records are confirmed permanent closures, capisce? Capisce?

  • LILTHS SUGAR SHACKMadeira Beachclosure score 2
  • GOOD INTENTIONSSt. Petersburgclosure score 3
  • BOB'S FOOD WAGONThe Villagesclosure score 2
  • BOB'S FOOD WAGONWildwoodclosure score 2
  • VIKING GROUPThe Villagesclosure score 2

+581 more in this section on the live site.

New Owners

54 records this window

DBPR ownership-change records in the last 30 days — "Approve Change Owner Request" actions.

Madonn', here we go again: HER BAR in Oldsmar, COURTYARD CAFE in Palm Harbor and HOME2 TAMPA USF in Tampa ran away with the the Tampa Bay area count. 54 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. In plain Jersey: an ownership-change filing means a new operator took over the license; it does not mean the restaurant closed, capisce? What're you gonna do.

  • HER BAROldsmar
  • COURTYARD CAFEPalm Harbor
  • HOME2 TAMPA USFTampa
  • WILDWOOD DINERWildwood
  • 1916 IRISH PUBWesley Chapel

+49 more in this section on the live site.

Chain Activity

114 records this window

Multi-location chain brands flagged via aggregated signals across all locations.

Capisce? Then read the citation: 114 chain brands surface in the Tampa Bay area’s rollup, covering 466 locations between them: 162 FSQ-confirmed closures, 27 lapsed licenses. Leading brands: Subway, Dunkin', Sub Tenn Llc. In plain Jersey: a chain rollup groups related brand locations so one sloppy operator cannot hide inside a familiar logo, capisce? What're you gonna do.

  • SubwayFlorida96 flagged locations
  • Dunkin'Florida116 flagged locations
  • Sub Tenn LlcFlorida16 flagged locations
  • KfcFlorida26 flagged locations
  • Dunkin'Florida14 flagged locations

+109 more in this section on the live site.

Openings

279 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.

Look, I seen this movie before: the Tampa Bay area ledger: 279 opening signals. 90 announced via FB/news/operator signal; 660 DBPR/event-ledger new-license records; 77 reopening, transfer, or reissue records tracked outside the new-opening headline. Current names include AREPAS MAITA RESTAURANT & BAKERY in Tampa, TWO FOLD COFFEE KITCHEN BAR in Tampa and UPTOWN CREAMERY in Dade City. Ledger type mix: 660 new-license records and 90 announcement-led records and 47 ownership-transfer openings. Cuisine/venue mix: 562 Unknown and 34 Fast Food. Area concentration: 252 TAMPA and 77 CLEARWATER. Velocity check: 311 opening signals in the last 90 days, 122 in the last 30. Dated opening signals run from 2025-07-01 to 2026-06-24. RiskyEats treats these as opening signals: license issue, announcement, or operational evidence can precede the first routine inspection, so the paragraph does not imply a clean inspection history. In plain Jersey: an opening signal starts with licensing or source-confirmed evidence, not wishful ribbon-cutting, capisce?

  • AREPAS MAITA RESTAURANT & BAKERYTampa
  • TWO FOLD COFFEE KITCHEN BARTampa
  • UPTOWN CREAMERYDade City
  • BARRIO BURRITO BARLutz
  • ELAINES DIGGITY DOGSLutz

+274 more in this section on the live site.

Clean Plates

431 records this window

Restaurants with multiple inspections in the current quarter and zero high-priority or intermediate violations.

Ova here we don't sugarcoat the count: 431 the Tampa Bay area licensees ran a clean Q2 2026 ledger across multiple inspections — ICE & CREAM CREAMERY STORE 1, BOBBY'S BISTRO & WINE BAR, SCOOPLES ICE CREAM PARLOR among them. These are repeat visits with zero high-priority or intermediate violations — the operators rewarded for consistency, not one lucky inspection. ICE & CREAM CREAMERY STORE 1 stretched a high-priority-free run to 11 inspections covering roughly 2.8 years. In plain Jersey: a clean plate means the recent inspection record stayed quiet where the state was looking, capisce?

  • ICE & CREAM CREAMERY STORE 1Clearwater Beach
  • BOBBY'S BISTRO & WINE BARClearwater
  • SCOOPLES ICE CREAM PARLORThe Villages
  • THE TACO LADYSt. Petersburg
  • RIVER HILLS COUNTRY CLUBValrico

+426 more in this section on the live site.