Besides violations such as in-use knives stored in filthy crevices and food adulterated by temperature abuse, the three Miami-Dade and Broward Key Food Supermarkets that have failed state inspection over the last year share something else: the same owners.
Officially, different companies own those Key Food Supermarkets. A check of state corporate records shows one name, Juan Diaz of Coral Springs, listed as president of those three companies and seven other South Florida Key Food store owners. Eight of the 10 companies list Weston’s Raifiz Vargas as a vice president or secretary.
“I think we run good stores,” Vargas said. “Some of them have had little problems, but we fixed them.”
Vargas said they usually have a former inspector go to their stores to peruse them with an inspector’s eye, and “whatever he finds, we take care of it.”
When actual Florida Department of Agriculture Inspectors Carolyn Dragone and Timothy O’Neil visited the Coconut Creek Key Food, 4301 W. Hillsboro Blvd., they found several things that needed to be taken care of by management. That’s why the store got “Re-Inspection Required,” the lowest rating on Ag Department inspections.