SANTA ROSA COUNTY, FL. Eight Jacksonville restaurants were ordered closed between July 21 and August 3, 2026, and seven of the eight were shut down for pest activity, including one location that inspectors had already closed twice before.
The Worst of the Eight
Tunis Fresh N Fast on Baymeadows Road was closed on July 27 after inspectors documented rodent, roach, and fly activity at the same address. That combination of three separate pest types in a single inspection is notable on its own. What makes it more significant is that this was the third closure on record for this location.
The restaurant reopened at 8:22 a.m. the following morning, the earliest reopening of any facility in this two-week stretch.
The Rest of the Two Weeks
The period opened on July 21 with Twin Peaks Restaurant at 11892 Atlantic Blvd, a national sports bar chain, closed for rodent and fly activity. The restaurant was allowed to reopen at 9:36 a.m. the next morning.
On July 27, the same day as the Tunis closure, inspectors also shut down Beirut Restaurant and Spirit at 3928 Baymeadows Road for fly activity. That facility reopened at 9:18 a.m.
July 28 brought two more closures on the same day. Hooters at 8938 San Jose Blvd was closed for both rodent and fly activity and cleared to reopen at 10:32 a.m. Captain D's #3380 at 2062 N Main St was closed the same day for rodent activity and reopened at 10:08 a.m.
July 30 produced a different kind of closure. Soul Bowl Bistro at 6132 Merrill Road, Suite 6 was ordered shut for lack of potable water, the only non-pest closure in this entire two-week period. The restaurant was back open by 9:48 a.m. the following morning.
July 31 closed out the stretch with two more. Mod Pizza at 12547 Bartram Park Blvd, Suite 201 was closed for fly activity and cleared to reopen by 9:14 a.m. Cruz Mexican Grille at 13423 Beach Blvd was also closed on July 31 for roach activity. Unlike every other facility in this period, Cruz Mexican Grille has no listed reopening time in state records.
What These Violations Mean
Fly activity may sound like a minor nuisance, but flies are direct vectors for bacterial contamination. A fly that lands on food preparation surfaces, open ingredients, or plated food can transfer pathogens from whatever it last contacted, including garbage, drains, and animal waste. Four of the eight closures in this period involved fly activity, either alone or alongside rodents.
Rodent activity carries a more acute risk. Rodent droppings and urine can contaminate food surfaces and stored ingredients with bacteria including Salmonella and Leptospira. Rodents also gnaw through packaging, which can compromise the integrity of sealed food items without any visible sign of the breach. Captain D's, Hooters, Twin Peaks, and Tunis Fresh N Fast were all cited for rodent presence.
Tunis Fresh N Fast presented all three pest types in a single inspection. Cockroaches, unlike flies or rodents, are particularly difficult to eliminate because they nest inside equipment and wall voids and reproduce rapidly. Their presence alongside rodents and flies at the same location suggests a facility where pest control had not been effectively maintained.
The Soul Bowl Bistro closure for lack of potable water is a separate category of risk. Without a safe water supply, handwashing, equipment sanitation, and food preparation all fail simultaneously. A facility cannot safely operate without it.
The Longer Record
Of the eight facilities closed in this period, Tunis Fresh N Fast is the only one the state records identify as a repeat offender, with two prior closures documented before this month's action. The July 27 closure was its third. The fact that the same location has now been ordered closed three times, and that inspectors found three distinct pest types on the most recent visit, places this facility in a different category than the others.
The remaining seven closures have no prior closure history noted in the available data. For chains like Twin Peaks, Captain D's, Hooters, and Mod Pizza, this week's citations represent the first documented closure at these specific Jacksonville addresses.
Seven of the eight facilities had confirmed reopening times, all before 11 a.m. on the day following closure. That speed reflects the state's emergency closure process, in which a facility must demonstrate it has corrected the triggering violation before it can reopen. It does not mean the underlying conditions that produced the violation have been fully resolved.
Cruz Mexican Grille at 13423 Beach Blvd remains the only facility from this two-week period with no confirmed reopening time in state records.
