JACKSONVILLE, FL. Back in April 2026, inspectors walked into Coffee House Cafe at 8206 Philips Highway and found food that had not been cooked to the required minimum temperature, a violation that means live pathogens, including Salmonella in poultry, can survive and reach a customer's plate.
That was one of six high-severity violations documented on April 15. The cafe was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The full April 15 inspection produced ten violations total, six of them high-severity and four intermediate. No person in charge was present or performing duties during the inspection. Inspectors also cited employees for failing to report symptoms of illness, a separate violation from the handwashing citations.
The handwashing problems were documented twice. Inspectors cited both inadequate handwashing by food employees and improper hand and arm washing technique, meaning workers were not washing their hands at all in some instances and were washing them incorrectly in others.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Multi-use utensils were also cited for improper cleaning, and the sanitizing solution in use was either too weak or improperly applied.
Inspectors noted single-use items being reused and flagged inadequate ventilation and lighting.
What These Violations Mean
The undercooking violation is among the most direct risks documented in this inspection. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A customer who ate undercooked food at Coffee House Cafe on April 15 had no way of knowing it, and no warning was posted.
The handwashing violations compound that risk. Improper handwashing is the single most significant factor in spreading foodborne illness from food workers to customers. Two separate citations, one for not washing at all and one for washing incorrectly, mean the problem was both widespread and persistent during the inspection period.
The illness-reporting violation is a different category of concern. Food workers who do not report symptoms are the leading cause of multi-victim outbreaks. Norovirus, in particular, spreads readily from an asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic worker to dozens of customers through food contact.
The absence of a person in charge ties the other violations together. CDC data shows establishments without active managerial control accumulate three times as many critical violations. On April 15 at Coffee House Cafe, there was no one present whose job it was to catch any of this.
The Longer Record
Coffee House Cafe: Inspection Pattern, 2024-2026
The April 15, 2026 inspection was not the worst this cafe has seen. On April 17, 2025, inspectors documented seven high-severity violations and three intermediate ones. That inspection also did not result in an emergency closure.
State records show 12 inspections on file for Coffee House Cafe, with 53 total violations across that history. The pattern is a recognizable one: a cluster of serious violations in April 2025, a follow-up that still showed problems, then several clean inspections through the summer, then a return to serious violations in April 2026.
The cafe has never been emergency-closed. The follow-up inspection the day after the April 15, 2026 visit, on April 16, found one high-severity violation still present.
The Facility Stayed Open
Florida's emergency closure authority applies when an inspector determines a facility poses an immediate threat to public health. Six high-severity violations, including undercooked food, employees not reporting illness, and no manager on duty, did not meet that threshold at Coffee House Cafe on April 15, 2026.
The cafe continued serving customers that day.