FLAGLER BEACH, FL. Food was not cooked to required minimum temperatures at Coquina Coast Brewing Company on Moody Boulevard when state inspectors visited on May 22, one of six high-severity violations documented at the Flagler Beach brewpub that day. The facility was not emergency-closed.
The six high-severity violations placed it among the more serious single-inspection findings in the county this year. Inspectors also cited the brewery for five intermediate violations, bringing the total to eleven citations from a single visit.
What Inspectors Found
The undercooked food citation was not the only finding that put customers at direct risk. Inspectors also documented that toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled, a violation that can result in chemical contamination of food through mislabeling or proximity to food preparation surfaces.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, meaning cutting boards, prep tables, or similar surfaces customers' food touched had not been adequately treated between uses. There was also no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked menu items.
No person in charge was present or performing duties at the time of inspection. There was also no written employee health policy on site.
The intermediate violations compounded the picture. Inspectors cited improper sewage or wastewater disposal, multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, single-use items being reused, inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities, and equipment in poor repair.
What These Violations Mean
The undercooked food citation carries specific and well-documented consequences. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A customer who ordered a chicken dish from Coquina Coast on May 22 could not rely on the cooking process to have eliminated that risk. The absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items meant customers with compromised immune systems, pregnant women, elderly diners, and young children had no warning that any item on the menu carried elevated risk.
The toxic chemical citation is less visible but no less serious. Chemicals stored near or improperly labeled around food preparation areas can contaminate food directly, or a mislabeled container can be mistaken for a food-safe product. Either scenario can cause acute poisoning.
The lack of an employee health policy is a disease transmission problem. Without a written policy requiring sick workers to stay home or report symptoms, a single employee with Norovirus, Hepatitis A, or Salmonella can infect dozens of customers through food handling alone. Norovirus accounts for roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, and food service workers are a documented transmission route.
The absence of a person in charge at the time of inspection matters because managerial oversight is what catches the other violations before an inspector does. CDC data indicates that establishments without active managerial control accumulate critical violations at three times the rate of those with engaged supervision. The May 22 inspection at Coquina Coast reflects exactly that pattern: six high-severity findings across food safety, chemical storage, sanitation, and staffing policy all documented in a single visit.
The Longer Record
The May 22 inspection was not the first time Coquina Coast Brewing drew high-severity citations. State records show 19 inspections on file for the facility, with 80 total violations documented across that history. The brewery has never been emergency-closed.
The most recent prior inspection, in March 2025, turned up one high-severity and one intermediate violation. The inspection before that, in May 2024, produced three high-severity violations. Going back further, a November 2021 inspection found three high-severity violations and one intermediate, and the facility passed a follow-up three days later with a clean inspection.
The six high-severity violations documented on May 22 represent the single worst inspection in the facility's recorded history. Prior inspections ranged from zero violations to three high-severity citations. This visit more than doubled that previous peak.
The facility has not accumulated violations in a single consistent category across years, but the recurrence of high-severity findings across multiple inspection cycles suggests the corrections made after each visit have not produced lasting compliance. The 2024 inspection found three high-severity violations. Fourteen months later, the number had doubled.
Still Open
State inspectors documented six high-severity violations at Coquina Coast Brewing Company on May 22, including food not cooked to required minimum temperatures and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. The facility was not emergency-closed.
Customers who visited the brewery on Moody Boulevard after that inspection had no way of knowing what inspectors had found.