JACKSONVILLE, FL. State inspectors ordered Tunis Wing & Seafood at 1935 N Main St shut down on June 19, 2026, after documenting roach activity inside the restaurant, a finding that under Florida law triggers an immediate emergency closure.
The restaurant had no confirmed reopening date in state records as of the time of this report.
What Inspectors Found
Tunis Wing & Seafood was ordered shut after inspectors documented live roach activity, a violation severe enough under Florida law to close a restaurant on the spot.
Roach activity was the single documented reason for the closure. Florida's Division of Hotels and Restaurants can order an emergency shutdown when inspectors determine that conditions on site pose an immediate threat to public health, and live pest activity clears that bar.
The state did not need to find a minimum number of roaches to act. The presence of live roaches in a food preparation or service environment is, by itself, grounds for shutting the doors.
What This Means
Roaches are not a sanitation nuisance in the way a dirty floor or a mislabeled container might be. They are a direct contamination vector.
A cockroach moving through a kitchen crosses surfaces where food is prepared, equipment where food is stored, and utensils that touch what customers eat. Roaches carry bacteria including Salmonella and E. coli on their bodies and in their droppings. They do not stay in one place, and they are active at night, when no staff is present to observe them.
The risk is not theoretical. A customer who ate at Tunis Wing & Seafood on or before June 19 could have consumed food that had been in contact with roach activity, without any visible sign that anything was wrong with the meal.
That is why Florida treats live pest activity as an emergency rather than a correctable violation to be addressed at the next scheduled inspection. The closure is not a penalty. It is a quarantine.
Before the restaurant can reopen, an inspector must return to the site and confirm that the roach activity has been eliminated. That follow-up inspection has not been confirmed in state records.
The Longer Record
State records show zero prior inspections on file for Tunis Wing & Seafood. There are no documented violations from previous visits, and no prior emergency closures appear in the inspection history.
That absence of history cuts two ways.
On one hand, there is no documented pattern of pest problems at this location. Inspectors had not flagged roach activity in prior visits, issued warnings about sanitation conditions that might attract pests, or cited the facility for related violations that went unaddressed. The June 19 closure was not the endpoint of a visible, escalating record.
On the other hand, a clean record does not mean conditions were clean. A facility with no inspections on file has simply not been inspected, or those records are not yet reflected in the state database. The roach activity inspectors found on June 19 did not appear overnight. Cockroach infestations develop over time, typically beginning in areas behind equipment, inside wall voids, or near drains, places that are not visible during routine service. By the time an inspector observes live activity in a food environment, the infestation is usually established.
The lack of prior inspection data makes it impossible to say whether this was a sudden finding or the first documented moment of a longer-running problem.
Status as of This Report
Tunis Wing & Seafood has been licensed to operate at 1935 N Main St in Jacksonville. As of the date of this article, state records do not confirm that the restaurant has passed a follow-up inspection or been cleared to reopen.
The restaurant may still be closed.
Customers who ate at the location on or shortly before June 19 and experienced symptoms consistent with foodborne illness can file a complaint with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The agency's online complaint portal is available at myfloridalicense.com.