VERO BEACH, FL. Back in February 2026, state inspectors walked into Four Suns Surf +Coffee on Vero Beach and found that the convenience store and café had no documentation for employees to report food-borne illnesses to the person in charge, no written procedures for cleaning up vomit or diarrhea, and a person in charge who could not answer basic questions about employee health policy.
The inspection, conducted February 13, 2026 by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, was a preoperational review, meaning the store was being evaluated before or at the start of operations. It met the threshold to open. But the five violations documented that day, including three in the priority foundation category and one flagged as a repeat from a prior visit, painted a picture of a facility where food safety fundamentals were not yet in place.
What Inspectors Found
The inspector's notes on the illness reporting violation were direct: "No documentation is provided for employees to report to the person in charge about food borne illnesses." The inspector provided the establishment with an employee reporting agreement handout during the visit.
The person in charge fared no better when asked about health policy. The inspector wrote that the person in charge "is unable to answer questions on employee health," and noted that industry documents were provided on site.
On the vomit and diarrhea cleanup question, the inspector found the store had nothing in writing. "Establishment did not have any written procedures for cleanup of vomit and diarrhea," the report states. Documentation was provided during the inspection.
The restroom drew a separate citation. The inspector noted "no self closing door at unisex restroom," a structural issue that also carries implications for food safety in a limited food service setting. That violation was marked repeat.
None of the five violations were corrected on site.
What These Violations Mean
The three priority foundation violations at Four Suns Surf +Coffee all point to the same underlying gap: the store had no formal system for managing the risk that a sick employee could contaminate food or surfaces before anyone in charge knew there was a problem.
Employee illness reporting requirements exist because norovirus, salmonella, and hepatitis A can all be transmitted by a food handler who does not know they are required to stay home or report symptoms. When there is no documentation and the person in charge cannot answer basic questions about the policy, there is no reliable mechanism to catch that risk before it reaches a customer. The inspector's finding that the person in charge was "unable to answer questions on employee health" is not a paperwork technicality. It reflects whether the store's leadership can actually execute a response if an employee shows up sick.
The missing vomit and diarrhea cleanup procedures matter for the same reason. Norovirus in particular survives on surfaces and spreads easily if a contamination event is not handled with specific disinfection steps. A written procedure is how a store ensures that whoever handles the cleanup knows the correct sequence, not just a mop and a bucket.
The repeat restroom violation, a door that does not self-close, connects directly to contamination control. In a food establishment, a restroom that does not fully close and latch creates a pathway for airborne contamination to reach food prep and sales areas. Inspectors flagged this same issue at Four Suns Surf +Coffee before February 2026. It was not fixed.
The Longer Record
Four Suns Surf +Coffee has a short inspection history with FDACS, but what exists is not reassuring. The store's prior inspection, conducted August 19, 2025, documented two violations, one of which was also a repeat at that time.
The restroom door violation now carries a repeat flag across at least two inspections. That means inspectors identified the self-closing door problem before the February 2026 visit, and the store still had not corrected it by the time inspectors returned six months later.
For a facility with only two inspections on record, accumulating a repeat violation this early in its documented history is notable. Most facilities with long inspection records and repeat citations have had years to develop those patterns. Four Suns Surf +Coffee arrived at a repeat citation within its first two inspections.
The February 2026 inspection resulted in the store meeting preoperational requirements and being permitted to proceed. But none of the five violations cited that day, including the three that fell into the priority foundation category, were corrected before inspectors left the premises.