JACKSONVILLE, FL. State inspectors cited Dough Show on Bartram Park Boulevard with 13 high-severity violations during the week of May 20, the most of any Jacksonville facility inspected that week, including citations for food from unapproved sources, no employee illness reporting policy, and failure to follow parasite destruction procedures for fish.
The 13 high-severity violations at Dough Show also included an absent or non-functioning person in charge, improper handwashing technique, food in poor condition or mislabeled, and inadequate shell stock identification records. Four intermediate violations accompanied the high-severity count.
No person in charge was documented as present or performing duties during the inspection.
What Inspectors Found Across Jacksonville
Hiro Japanese Restaurant on Baymeadows Road drew six high-severity violations, among them toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and inadequate handwashing facilities. Inspectors also cited improper handwashing technique and missing shell stock identification records.
Hibachi Express on University Boulevard West matched that count with six high-severity violations of its own. Inspectors documented food from unapproved or unknown sources, inadequate handwashing by food employees, improperly stored toxic chemicals, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, missing shell stock records, and time as a public health control not properly used.
Fogo de Chao Churrascaria on Town Center Parkway received five high-severity violations. The upscale Brazilian steakhouse had no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, toxic substances improperly identified or stored, and no person in charge performing duties. Three intermediate violations were also cited, including improper sewage or wastewater disposal and inadequate toilet facilities.
Tulua Bistro on North Main Street also drew five high-severity violations. Those included two separate toxic substance citations, one for improperly stored or labeled chemicals and one for toxic substances improperly identified or stored or used, alongside improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and an employee not reporting illness symptoms.
J Alexander's Restaurant on Bistro Drive was cited for four high-severity violations. Inspectors found parasite destruction procedures not followed, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and time as a public health control not properly used. Three intermediate violations accompanied those findings, including improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
Deercreek Country Club on McLaurin Road North drew four high-severity violations, including food not cooked to required minimum temperature, inadequate handwashing by food employees, inadequate handwashing facilities, and no person in charge performing duties.
Melting Pot on Gate Parkway was cited for four high-severity violations: no employee health policy, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Centurion Cafe and Grill on Centurion Parkway North received three high-severity violations, including no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned.
Sushi Q Japanese Restaurant on Gate Parkway had the lightest inspection result of the week, with one high-severity violation for no person in charge present or performing duties and no intermediate violations.
What These Violations Mean
The food sourcing violations at Dough Show and Hibachi Express are among the most consequential on this week's list. When a facility obtains food from unapproved or unknown sources, that food has bypassed USDA and FDA inspection systems entirely. If someone gets sick after eating there, investigators have no supply chain to trace, no way to identify a contaminated lot, and no way to issue a recall. The absence of that paper trail is not a technicality. It is a concrete barrier to stopping an outbreak.
The parasite destruction failures at both Dough Show and J Alexander's carry a specific and underappreciated risk. Fish served raw or lightly cooked, such as sushi-grade fish or certain preparations at an upscale steakhouse, must first be frozen to kill parasites including Anisakis and tapeworm. When those procedures are skipped or not documented, customers who order raw fish preparations have no assurance the parasite risk was addressed.
The employee illness reporting failures at Dough Show, Fogo de Chao, and Tulua Bistro represent a direct transmission route for Norovirus and Hepatitis A. A sick employee with no policy requiring them to report symptoms or stay home can infect dozens of customers before anyone connects the illnesses to a meal. Norovirus is documented in approximately 20 million U.S. cases annually, and food workers are the most common source in restaurant-linked outbreaks.
The undercooking violations at Deercreek Country Club and Melting Pot are straightforward in their risk. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. At a fondue restaurant like Melting Pot, where customers cook their own food tableside, an inadequate internal temperature citation may reflect problems with how cooking times or temperatures are being communicated or controlled. The citation at a private country club raises a different question: who is monitoring the kitchen when no person in charge is documented as present.
The Longer Record
Hiro Japanese Restaurant carries the longest inspection history of any facility on this week's list, with 33 prior inspections on record before this visit. Six high-severity violations after that many inspections suggests the facility has not resolved structural problems across repeated regulatory contact. The shell stock identification failure in particular, a traceability issue for raw shellfish, is the kind of violation that tends to persist when management does not treat it as a priority.
Deercreek Country Club has 30 prior inspections on record and still drew four high-severity violations this week, including the absence of a functioning person in charge and food not cooked to minimum temperature. Dough Show has 27 inspections in its history. The 13 high-severity violations documented this week, including unapproved food sourcing and no illness reporting policy, are not the record of a facility encountering these standards for the first time.
Melting Pot and Fogo de Chao each have 23 prior inspections. Both drew four or five high-severity violations this week. At Fogo de Chao, the combination of no person in charge, an employee not reporting illness, and improper sewage disposal in a single inspection week is notable given the volume of regulatory contact the location has accumulated.
Tulua Bistro stands out in the opposite direction. With only nine prior inspections on record, it is the newest facility on this week's list, yet it drew five high-severity violations including two separate toxic substance citations. At nine inspections in, those numbers are not what a new facility's trajectory should look like.
The Longer Pattern
Seven of the ten facilities cited this week were flagged for violations involving food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. That is not a coincidence of bad luck across unrelated kitchens. It is a pattern suggesting that surface sanitation, one of the most basic and most frequently inspected practices in food service, is failing consistently across Jacksonville restaurants this week.
J Alexander's, an upscale chain, was cited for both parasite destruction failures and the absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Customers ordering raw preparations at that restaurant had no posted notice that their food carried a parasite risk that had not been addressed through proper freezing protocols.
Hibachi Express was cited for both unapproved food sourcing and the improper use of time as a public health control. That combination means inspectors documented food of unknown origin being held under a time-based safety system that was itself not being applied correctly.