11 Marion County restaurants cited for high-priority violations
You can use the database to search by county or by restaurant name.
Florida's restaurant owners are not required to post restaurant inspection results where guests can see them. So every week, we provide that information for you.
For a complete list of local restaurant inspections, including violations not requiring warnings or administrative action, visit our Marion County restaurant inspections site.
Here's the breakdown for recent health inspections in Marion County for the week of Jan. 8-14, 2024. Please note that some more recent, follow-up inspections may not be included here.
Disclaimer: The Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation describes an inspection report as a 'snapshot' of conditions present at the time of the inspection. On any given day, an establishment may have fewer or more violations than noted in their most recent inspection. An inspection conducted on any given day may not be representative of the overall, long-term conditions at the establishment.
For full restaurant inspection details, visit our Marion County restaurant inspection site.
Which Marion County restaurants got perfect scores on their health inspections?
These restaurants met all standards during their Jan. 8-14 inspections and no violations were found.
County Line Smokehouse, 17474 S. County Road 25, Weirsdale**
Fat Boys BBQ, 4132 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala**
Fiore's Cafa, 2327 S. Pine Ave., Ocala**
Holiday Inn & Suites Conference Center, 3600 SW 38th Ave., Ocala**
The Olive Garden Italian Restaurant 1015, 3363 SW College Rd, Ocala
** Restaurants that failed an inspection and aced a follow-up inspection in the same week
Which Marion County restaurants had high priority violations?
Bonefish Grill
4701 SW College Rd, Ocala
Complaint Inspection on Jan. 10
Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.
19 total violations, with 6 high-priority violations
High Priority - Cooked seafood not reaching a minimum internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds. Chilean sea bass 122F after cook determined fish was ready to serve, cook placed fish in oven then 158F before serving to customer. **Corrective Action Taken**
High Priority - Employee touched soiled apron/clothes and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Male employee removed hat then continued to touch plate without washing his hands. **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**
High Priority - Heat strip failed to turn black to indicate the sanitization temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit was achieved on the dish surface and/or high temperature holding thermometer did not reach 160F. Discontinue use of dishmachine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dishmachine is repaired. Dish machine thermostat is reading 178.5F during rinse cycle. Inspector thermometer registering 156F. **Warning**
High Priority - Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. In reach in cooler on cookline: pan of raw fish stored over pan of artichoke hearts. Moved during this inspection. **Corrected On-Site**
High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. In make table on cookline: tomatoes 51F-55F, employee stated product was filled one hour prior. In server station: whipped butter blend 64F in ice bath. Food is not submerged in ice. Manager added ice to the bath. **Corrective Action Taken** **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**
High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food, other than whole meat roast, hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. In pass thru window: lobster butter made with whipped butter blend 127F and 99F. Butter will be reheated then hot held.
China 1 Chinese Food
2703 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala
Routine Inspection on Jan. 10
Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.
9 total violations, with 4 high-priority violations
High Priority - Employee began working with food, handling clean equipment or utensils, or touching unwrapped single-service items without first washing hands Female employee at the front counter area, took money and credit card from multiple customers and immediately after started handling cleaned containers and served ready to eat food. **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**
High Priority - Employee failed to wash hands before putting on gloves to initiate a task working with food. Male employee at the prep area cleaning and working at the triple sink, started wearing gloves to transfer chicken to a different container, Male employee never washed his hands. Operator addressed situation with employee. **Corrective Action Taken**
High Priority - Food-contact surfaces not sanitized after cleaning, before use. Do not use equipment/utensils not properly sanitized. Male employee at the prep area, picked dirty container from sink, rinsed and started using container for cooked chicken, Inspector addressed situation, employee moved back container to sink and placed chicken on a cleaned tray. Inspector explained the sanitization process. **Corrective Action Taken** **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**
High Priority - Wiping cloth sanitizer solution exceeds the maximum concentration allowed. Chlorine above 200ppm, manager diluted to 50-100ppm. **Corrected On-Site**
Chipotle Mexican Grill (Store #4313)
4916 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala
Routine Inspection on Jan. 10
Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.
5 total violations, with 1 high-priority violation
High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food, other than whole meat roast, hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. At the prep area, Hot holding: steak 128F, employee moved to flat top grill and reheated to 172F, also beans 131-137F, manager moved to reheated. **Corrective Action Taken** **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**
County Line Smokehouse
17474 S. County Road 25, Weirsdale
Routine Inspection on Jan. 11
Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.
14 total violations, with 3 high-priority violations
High Priority - Employee began working with food, handling clean equipment or utensils, or touching unwrapped single-service items without first washing hands. Food distributor entered kitchen and moved pan of uncovered brisket without washing hands. Discussed with prep employee. **Corrective Action Taken** **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**
High Priority - Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. Heavy cream 44F in reach in cooler at bar overnight. Bar tender stated cream was not used today.
High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Heavy cream 44F in reach in cooler at bar overnight. Bar tender stated cream was not used today. Stop sale issued. Also, Ham 47F in make table in front kitchen area near bar. Ham was filled 1.5 hours prior and filled over load limit. Manager moved to bottom portion of cooler. **Corrective Action Taken**
Panda Express 2351
3435 SW College Rd, Ocala
Complaint Inspection on Jan. 10
Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.
12 total violations, with 4 high-priority violations
High Priority - Employee switched from working with raw food to ready-to-eat food without washing hands. Female employee on cookline opened bag of raw shrimp, dumped in fryer then changed gloves and continued to scoop sauce without washing hands. **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**
High Priority - Quaternary ammonium sanitizer not at proper minimum strength for manual warewashing. Do not use equipment/utensils not properly sanitized. Sanitizer at triple sink 0 ppm. Manager refreshed then 200 ppm. **Corrected On-Site**
High Priority - Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. One pan of rice in hot case overnight at 99F.
High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food, other than whole meat roast, hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. In reach in hot holding case at end of line: rice 99F in unit overnight. Stop sale issued. **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**
Pasta Faire Of Belleview
10401 U.S. 441, Belleview
Complaint Inspection on Jan. 11
Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.
12 total violations, with 4 high-priority violations
High Priority - Employee failed to wash hands before putting on gloves to initiate a task working with food. Male employee entered pizza make area and picked up gloves to begin work without washing hands. Manager stopped employee and hands were properly washed. **Corrective Action Taken**
High Priority - Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. In reach in pasta cooler: pan of raw beef on shelf over pasta. Moved. **Corrected On-Site**
High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. In reach in cooler on cookline: beef 50F. Sausage 50F. Items were moved to walk in cooler then 15 minutes later beef 45F. **Corrective Action Taken** **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**
High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food identified in the written procedure as a food held using time as a public health control has no time marking. Time not marked on sauce at front counter. Time added. **Corrected On-Site**
Riviera Maya
11352 N. Williams St., Dunnellon
Routine Inspection on Jan. 8
Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.
1 total violation, with 1 high-priority violation
High Priority - - From initial inspection : High Priority - Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. Tubes of raw hamburger meat stored on shelf above open box of corn on the cob inside walk-in freezer. Employee moved corn to the top shelf during this inspection. Large container of raw beef stored uncovered on top of beer kegs inside walk-in cooler. Manager moved beef to a pallet and covered with a lid during this inspection. **Corrected On-Site** **Admin Complaint** - From follow-up inspection 2024-01-08: One open pan containing raw chicken stored on shelf above open cooked pan of beans inside walk-in cooler. Manager moved the raw chicken to the bottom shelf during this inspection. **Admin Complaint** **Corrected On-Site**
Skyzone Ocala
2400 SW College Rd, Ocala
Routine Inspection on Jan. 8
Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.
11 total violations, with 1 high-priority violation
High Priority - Vacuum breaker missing at mop sink faucet or on fitting/splitter added to mop sink faucet. Splitter added, no backflow preventer on any side of the splitter. **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**
Tacos A La Mexicana
Mobile food dispensing vehicle
Routine Inspection on Jan. 11
Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.
2 total violations, with 1 high-priority violation
High Priority - Operating with an expired Division of Hotels and Restaurants license. Observed establishment operating with an expired Division of Hotels and Restaurants license dated 6/1/2023 **Admin Complaint**
The Blue Gator Of Dunnellon
12189 S. Williams St., Dunnellon
Routine Inspection on Jan. 8
Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.
9 total violations, with 2 high-priority violations
High Priority - Stop Sale issued due to food not being in a wholesome, sound condition. Inside reach-in cooler at cookline: Seven packages of salmon thawed inside ROP package that does state to remove it from packaging before thawing. The date on the pan indicates it was thawed on 01/07. **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**
High Priority - Toxic substance/chemical improperly stored. Aerosol air freshener can stored on shelf above condiments in dry storage area near main kitchen. Manager removed air freshener from shelf during this inspection. Metal pan filled with liquid dish soap on prep table in prep room above clean dishes. Employee removed pan of dish soap from area during this inspection. **Corrected On-Site**
The Blue Gator Of Dunnellon 2
12189 S. Williams St., Dunnellon
Routine Inspection on Jan. 8
Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.
9 total violations, with 2 high-priority violations
High Priority - Stop Sale issued due to food not being in a wholesome, sound condition. Inside reach:in cooler at cookline: Seven packages of salmon thawed inside ROP package that does state to remove it from packaging before thawing. The date on the pan indicates it was thawed on 01/07. **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**
High Priority - Toxic substance/chemical improperly stored. Aerosol air freshener can stored on shelf above condiments in dry storage area near main kitchen. Manager removed air freshener from shelf during this inspection. Metal pan filled with liquid dish soap on prep table in prep room above clean dishes. Employee removed pan of dish soap from area during this inspection. **Corrected On-Site**
Wing Station
619 S. Pine Ave., Ocala
Routine Inspection on Jan. 8
Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.
21 total violations, with 5 high-priority violations
High Priority - Employee failed to wash hands before putting on gloves to initiate a task working with food. At arriving time, Observed Multiple employees not wearing gloves and working with food at the cook line and prep area, employees started wearing gloves and no hand washed occurred. **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**
High Priority - Nonfood-grade bags used in direct contact with food. In reach-in freezer, observed raw fish in thank you gray bag. **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**
High Priority - Raw animal foods not properly separated from one another based upon minimum required cooking temperature when stored in a freezer - not all products commercially packaged. In reach-in freezers, observed opened bags of raw chicken stored on top of opened bag of burgers and fish. **Repeat Violation**
High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. At the cook line, observed cooked chicken wings at 52F, per Manager all wings will be served within the next hour. Inspector provided and explained time as a Public Health control form. Manager agreed to discard wings at 2:30pm. **Corrective Action Taken** **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**
High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food, other than whole meat roast, hot held at less than 135 degrees Fahrenheit. At the cook line, observed chicken wings at 126F, per employee wings came out of fryer 30 minutes prior. Per manager wings will be gone within one hour. Inspector explained the use of time as public health control form. Manager will discarded wings at 2:15pm.
What agency inspects restaurants in Florida?
Routine regulation and inspection of restaurants is conducted by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The Department of Health is responsible for investigation and control of food-borne illness outbreaks associated with all food establishments.
How do I report a dirty restaurant in Florida?
If you see abuses of state standards, report them and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation will send inspectors. Call the Florida DBPR at 850-487-1395 or report a restaurant for health violations online.
Get the whole story at our restaurant inspection database.
What does all that terminology in Florida restaurant inspections mean?
Basic violations are those considered against best practices.
A warning is issued after an inspector documents violations that must be corrected by a certain date or within a specified number of days from receipt of the inspection report.
An administrative complaint is a form of legal action taken by the division. Insufficient compliance after a warning, a pattern of repeat violations or existence of serious conditions that warrant immediate action may result in the division initiating an administrative complaint against the establishment. Says the division website: "Correcting the violations is important, but penalties may still result from violations corrected after the warning time was over."
An emergency order — when a restaurant is closed by the inspector — is based on an immediate threat to the public. Here, the Division of Hotels and Restaurants director has determined that the establishment must stop doing business and any division license is suspended to protect health, safety or welfare of the public.
A 24-hour call-back inspection will be performed after an emergency closure or suspension of license.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Ocala area restaurant/food truck inspections Jan. 8-14, 2024
