SAINT AUGUSTINE, FL. State inspectors visiting Forgotten Tonic on Aviles Street in August 2026 found food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, toxic chemicals stored improperly near food, and employees failing to report illness symptoms — eight high-severity violations in a single inspection. The bar and restaurant remained open.
The August 26 inspection also turned up two intermediate violations, including improper sewage or wastewater disposal. That finding alone, sewage handled incorrectly inside a food service facility, signals the potential for fecal contamination to reach surfaces and food throughout the building.
What Inspectors Found
The undercooking violation is the most direct threat to anyone who ate there. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A piece of chicken pulled from a grill before it reaches that temperature carries live bacteria to the plate.
Two separate violations involved toxic chemicals. Inspectors cited both improper storage or labeling of toxic chemicals and improper identification, storage, or use of toxic substances. Those are not the same violation listed twice — they represent distinct failures in how hazardous materials were handled inside a facility that also serves food.
The person in charge was either absent or not performing required supervisory duties. That violation is the thread that connects the others. When no one is actively overseeing operations, the remaining failures tend to follow.
What These Violations Mean
The illness-reporting failure is the violation that most directly affects anyone who ate at Forgotten Tonic in the days around this inspection. Food workers who do not report symptoms of illness are the leading cause of multi-victim outbreaks. Norovirus, in particular, spreads easily from a single infected employee to dozens of customers through contaminated food or surfaces. The inspector found no system in place to catch that.
The dual chemical violations compound the risk in a different direction. Mislabeled or improperly stored chemicals near food can cause acute poisoning without any obvious sign that something is wrong. A customer would have no way of knowing a cleaning agent had contaminated a surface or a container.
Improper handwashing technique is a violation that surprises people. The assumption is that any handwashing is adequate. Studies show that washing without proper technique leaves pathogens on hands even after a full attempt. At Forgotten Tonic, inspectors found the technique itself was wrong, meaning the handwashing station provided no actual protection.
The sewage violation ties it together. Improper wastewater disposal creates a pathway for fecal bacteria to reach food contact surfaces throughout a facility. Combined with improperly used wiping cloths, which can spread contamination from one surface to another rather than removing it, the inspection describes a facility where contamination had multiple active routes.
The Longer Record
Forgotten Tonic: Recent Inspection History
State records show Forgotten Tonic has accumulated 161 violations across 37 inspections. The facility has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern in recent years is a familiar one in these records: a clean inspection followed months later by a significant violation count, followed by another clean inspection. March 16, 2026 produced 5 high-severity violations. Two days later, on March 17, inspectors returned and found zero. That sequence suggests violations were corrected quickly under pressure, not prevented in the first place.
August 25, 2025, one year before this inspection, produced 2 high-severity violations. August 26, 2026 produced 8. The same calendar window, a substantially worse result.
The facility has never been closed despite accumulating violations across years of inspections. After the August 26 visit, with 8 high-severity findings on the books including undercooking, unreported illness, and two separate chemical handling failures, Forgotten Tonic on Aviles Street remained open for business.
