A sewage backup at the Subway inside Southland Mall in Cutler Bay was serious enough for health inspectors to order the sandwich shop closed, after wastewater spilled into the kitchen and left a strong, lingering odor. Inspectors cited standing sewage by the three-compartment sink and other sanitation issues that, in their view, made an immediate shutdown non-negotiable. The restaurant was later cleared to reopen after a follow-up inspection on Saturday.
What Inspectors Recorded
According to the Miami Herald, the inspection report detailed sewage water bubbling up from a floor drain whenever water ran in a handwash sink. Standing water and what the report called an "objectionable odor" lingered in the kitchen area.
Inspectors also noted an accumulation of a black and green mold-like substance inside the ice machine, the Miami Herald reported. In total, nine violations were recorded, including a single high-priority violation that triggered the immediate closure. A manager was also observed handling food without a hair restraint, which did not help the shop's case with inspectors.
Why Inspectors Can Shut A Kitchen
Under state law, the Division of Hotels and Restaurants and local health authorities are allowed to issue emergency closure orders when a restaurant is deemed a severe and immediate threat to public health. The agency is then required to reinspect within 24 hours before any reopening is allowed.
The rules are outlined in Florida Statutes 509.035, and the state's food safety guidance and inspection resources are published by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The idea is simple enough: shut things down before food-borne illness becomes a headline.
What Happened Next
The Miami Herald reports that the Southland Mall Subway passed its follow-up inspection and reopened on Saturday after remediation steps were completed. The closure came on the heels of another recent problem in the same mall, where a bubble-tea shop, Sweet Bubble, was shut the previous week after losing water service for several days, according to the Herald.
Subway lists the Southland Mall storefront at the Cutler Bay address on its corporate location site.
