RiskyEats

Florida restaurant inspection journalism — from public DBPR records.

Atmospheric scene for Key West
Portrait of Inspector Clancy, RiskyEats correspondentPortrait of Mama Gracie, RiskyEats correspondent

BY CLANCY & MAMA GRACIE — METRO BRIEFING

Key West — Restaurant Inspection Briefing

Not saying she's a chronic violator — just the kind of operator who finds a temperature alarm inconvenient for her social calendar: Florida baseline first: the Florida Keys's chronic density is 2352% above the Florida average. the Florida Keys counts 1 recent high-priority hit. Filed for the record: a 90-day window means the recent inspection stretch, not a verdict on every kitchen in the county.

Emergency Orders

3 records this window

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

ClancyMy new beat has me so grossed out I can't even eat — and here we go: Hungry Tarpon Restaurant in Islamorada, PARTY CAKE BAKERY in Key Largo and MEAT EATERY AND TAPROOM in Islamorada carried the front of this the Florida Keys file. 3 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 Gastropub, 1 Hot Dogs, and 1 Seafood. Trend line: emergency-order volume is steady against the last public cut. Filed for the record: an emergency order means DBPR ordered service stopped until a callback inspection clears it.

  • Hungry Tarpon RestaurantIslamorada6 HP9 INT26 BASPestScore 766last visit 2026-06-18
  • PARTY CAKE BAKERYKey Largolast visit 2026-04-08
  • MEAT EATERY AND TAPROOMIslamoradalast visit 2026-06-09

Near Miss

1 record this window

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

Mama GracieBouki jumped on the file before I could read it — ISLAMORADA PIZZA COMPANY in Islamorada carried the front of this the Florida Keys file. 1 high-priority citation 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. Gade pi byen: a high-priority violation is the state saying the risk can touch food safety right now.

  • ISLAMORADA PIZZA COMPANYIslamorada3 HP1 BASScore 301last visit 2025-12-04

Chronic Violation Record

186 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.

Mama GracieBondye bon, but the cooler is not: 186 restaurants with chronic violation records surface in the Florida Keys on the 11-year pattern view, led by NEW YORK PASTA GARDEN, OASIS MEDITERRANEAN CUISINE. 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
  • OASIS MEDITERRANEAN CUISINEKey West5 HP8 INT13 BASScore 593Historical chronic offenderlast visit 10/22/2025
  • DOCS ON DUVALKey West5 HP3 INT8 BASScore 538Historical bad actorlast visit 12/10/2025
  • FOUR MARLINSKey West4 HP6 INT7 BASScore 467Active chronic offenderCurrently Activelast visit 01/27/2026
  • CONCHIGLIAKey West6 HP5 INT17 BASScore 667Historical bad actorlast visit 01/21/2026

+181 more in this section on the live site.

Closed/Delinquent

27 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.

ClancyDay drinkers before sundown have a lovely time. Down here, on the inspection beat: BRASS MONKEY in Marathon, MR C'S GOURMET ICE CREAM SORBET AND GELATOS in Islamorada and PIRATE SEAFOOD in Key West owned the top of the the Florida Keys board. 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.

  • BRASS MONKEYMarathonclosure score 2
  • MR C'S GOURMET ICE CREAM SORBET AND GELATOSIslamoradaclosure score 2
  • PIRATE SEAFOODKey Westclosure score 2
  • PAUL'S BEACH BAR & GRILLIslamoradaclosure score 1
  • WOODY'SIslamoradaclosure score 1

+22 more in this section on the live site.

New Owners

4 records this window

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

Mama GraciePapa Legba opened the door, and the inspectors walked in: KREYOL KRAVINGS in Key West, MAROONS SEAFOOD & SMOKEHOUSE LLC in Key West and EL COME COME in Key Largo led the board in the Florida Keys. 4 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.

  • KREYOL KRAVINGSKey West
  • MAROONS SEAFOOD & SMOKEHOUSE LLCKey West
  • EL COME COMEKey Largo
  • SHRIMP SHACKIslamorada

Chain Activity

6 records this window

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

ClancySix chain brands just surfaced in a brand rollup across the Florida Keys. That is just a fancy way for DBPR to say several different companies are absorbing existing restaurant licenses to change who is actually running the show. It covers 11 locations between them, and I have seen this movie before. Of course they did. The shuffle includes Ashford Trs Pier House Llc, Dairy Queen, and Hyatt Corp. Among those 11 spots, 6 are already FSQ-confirmed closures. My new beat has me so grossed out, I can't even eat.

  • 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.

Clean Plates

3 records this window

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

Mama GracieThe white candle burned out twice on this one: 3 the Florida Keys licensees ran a clean Q3 2026 ledger across multiple inspections — DESSERTS BLISS, PAUL'S BEACH BAR & GRILL, OCEAN REEF PIZZA among them. These are repeat visits with zero high-priority or intermediate violations — the operators rewarded for consistency, not one lucky inspection. DESSERTS BLISS stretched a high-priority-free run to 6 inspections covering roughly 1.5 years. Gade pi byen: a clean plate means the recent inspection record stayed quiet where the state was looking.

  • DESSERTS BLISSKey Largo
  • PAUL'S BEACH BAR & GRILLIslamorada
  • OCEAN REEF PIZZAKey Largo