JACKSONVILLE, FL. Fuji Buffet on Dunn Avenue drew 10 high-severity violations in a single inspection this week, the highest count among 15 Jacksonville restaurants cited for serious food safety failures between April 19 and April 25, 2026.
Inspectors documented that the buffet had no employee health policy, that employees were not reporting illness symptoms, and that food was sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers. They also cited improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock identification, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and a failure to properly use time as a public health control.
The unapproved food source citation is among the most serious in the batch. Without verified sourcing, there is no paper trail if a customer gets sick.
The Violations
JVille Seafood & More on Blanding Boulevard was second with 9 high-severity violations. Inspectors cited the restaurant for food in poor condition, failure to follow parasite destruction procedures for fish, food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, and no employee health policy. Shell stock records were also inadequate.
The parasite destruction citation is particularly notable for a seafood restaurant. Proper freezing protocols exist specifically to kill organisms like Anisakis in raw or undercooked fish before it reaches a plate.
Charleys Wings Cheesesteaks on Dunn Avenue drew 8 high-severity violations, including food not cooked to minimum temperature, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and no allergen awareness demonstrated. Inspectors also found food in poor condition and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces.
Dua Lounge on Baymeadows Road matched that count with 8 high-severity violations of its own. The lounge had no person in charge present or performing duties, inadequate handwashing facilities, food from an unapproved source, food not cooked to minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items.
Sara's of San Marco on Hendricks Avenue also drew 8 high-severity violations. Inspectors found food contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards, food in poor condition, improperly stored toxic chemicals, inadequate shell stock records, and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces.
DoubleTree by Hilton on Riverplace Boulevard was cited for 7 high-severity violations, including no person in charge, inadequate handwashing facilities, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Sahara Cafe on Beach Boulevard also drew 7 high-severity violations, including two separate chemical storage and labeling citations: one for toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and a second for toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Inspectors also found no person in charge and no consumer advisory.
Jimmy John's at 201 N. Laura Street was cited for 6 high-severity violations, including parasite destruction procedures not followed, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and no allergen awareness. Inspectors also documented improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
Hello Lumpia on Atlantic Boulevard drew 6 high-severity violations, including inadequate shell stock identification, parasite destruction procedures not followed, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no allergen awareness.
Cowford Chophouse on East Bay Street was cited for 6 high-severity violations, including food not cooked to minimum temperature, improper use of time as a public health control, two chemical storage violations, and no allergen awareness. Inspectors also documented improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
Chart House on River Place Boulevard drew 6 high-severity violations, among them food from an unapproved or unknown source, toxic substances improperly identified or used, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items.
China Dragon on Baymeadow Road was cited for 6 high-severity violations, including inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and no allergen awareness.
Metro Diner on Hendricks Avenue rounded out the six-violation facilities. Inspectors found no person in charge, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and toxic substances improperly identified or used.
Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse on Rivercoast Drive drew 2 high-severity violations: no person in charge present or performing duties, and employees not reporting illness symptoms.
Chelsea's Bar and Grille on Baymeadows Road was the lone facility with zero high-severity violations, drawing only a single intermediate citation for improperly reused single-use items.
What These Violations Mean
The illness-reporting failures documented this week at Fuji Buffet, JVille Seafood and More, Charleys Wings Cheesesteaks, Dua Lounge, Sara's of San Marco, and eight other facilities are not paperwork problems. When food workers who are sick with norovirus, salmonella, or hepatitis A continue handling food without reporting symptoms, they become a direct transmission route to customers. Norovirus alone causes 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, and a single infected food worker can expose dozens of diners in a single shift.
The unapproved food source citations at Fuji Buffet, Dua Lounge, and Chart House carry a specific consequence: if a customer becomes ill, investigators cannot trace the food back through the supply chain. USDA and FDA inspections exist to catch contamination before product reaches a kitchen. Food that bypasses those inspections arrives with no safety verification and no traceability.
The parasite destruction failures at JVille Seafood and More, Jimmy John's, and Hello Lumpia are a direct food-safety gap for customers who order fish dishes. Proper freezing at specific temperatures for specific durations is the established kill step for organisms like Anisakis. Without it, parasites can survive into a finished dish.
The chemical storage violations documented at seven facilities this week, including Charleys Wings Cheesesteaks, Sara's of San Marco, Sahara Cafe, Cowford Chophouse, Jimmy John's, China Dragon, and the DoubleTree by Hilton, represent a category of violation that causes acute harm rather than cumulative risk. Cleaning products stored near or above food can contaminate an entire prep surface or food item instantly, and mislabeled chemical containers have caused poisoning incidents when workers mistook them for food-safe substances.
The Longer Record
Wasabi Japanese Steakhouse has the longest inspection history of any facility in this week's data, with 51 prior inspections on record. This week's two high-severity violations, both in the management and illness-reporting categories, suggest that basic oversight gaps have persisted across a long inspection history.
Fuji Buffet has 32 prior inspections on record and produced the week's worst single-visit total at 10 high-severity violations. Sahara Cafe and China Dragon each carry 29 prior inspections, and both drew 6 or more high-severity violations this week, including chemical storage failures in both cases.
Sara's of San Marco has 24 prior inspections, the DoubleTree by Hilton has 23, Chart House has 23, and Metro Diner has 23. All four drew 6 or more high-severity violations this week. A facility reaching its 23rd or 24th inspection with citations for unapproved food sources, contaminated food, and improper chemical storage is not a facility encountering these issues for the first time.
The newest facilities in this week's data tell a different story. Hello Lumpia has only 2 prior inspections on record and already drew 6 high-severity violations, including parasite destruction failures and no allergen awareness. Charleys Wings Cheesesteaks has 3 prior inspections and drew 8 high-severity violations, including food not cooked to minimum temperature and no allergen awareness. JVille Seafood and More has 7 prior inspections and drew 9 high-severity violations, including food in poor condition and failure to follow parasite destruction procedures. Dua Lounge also has 7 prior inspections and drew 8 high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved source. These are facilities still early in their inspection histories, and the severity of what inspectors found this week is already substantial.
Cowford Chophouse has 17 prior inspections on record. This week, inspectors found improper sewage or wastewater disposal alongside the six high-severity violations, a combination that has not appeared in the restaurant's record before based on the data available.