JACKSONVILLE, FL. State inspectors cited Pour Taproom on N. Laura Street for nine high-severity violations during the week of April 29, including food not cooked to required minimum temperatures and toxic chemicals stored improperly near food, making it the most-cited facility in Duval County for the week.
The violations at Pour Taproom ran deep. Inspectors documented inadequate shell stock identification records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and no written employee health policy. There was no person in charge present or performing duties, and an employee was observed using improper handwashing technique.
Fifteen Jacksonville restaurants accumulated high-severity violations during the seven-day stretch. Combined, they produced more than 80 high-severity citations.
The Violations
Denny's 8004 on Blanding Boulevard matched Pour Taproom's nine high-severity count. Inspectors there found food from an unapproved or unknown source, an employee not reporting symptoms of illness, parasite destruction procedures not followed, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, and no consumer advisory was posted for raw or undercooked items.
Fancy Sushi on Collins Road drew eight high-severity violations. The facility lacked adequate handwashing infrastructure, had no written employee health policy, and an employee was cited for not reporting illness symptoms. Inspectors also flagged inadequate shell stock identification records and parasite destruction procedures not followed, a particularly pointed citation for a restaurant serving raw fish.
Pig Seafood on Lem Turner Road accumulated seven high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved or unknown source and inadequate handwashing facilities. Inspectors also cited improper handwashing technique, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff. An intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal rounded out the findings.
River Club at 1 Independent Drive also produced seven high-severity violations. The downtown venue had no person in charge present, no employee health policy, and parasite destruction procedures not followed. Inspectors found food contact surfaces not properly cleaned and time as a public health control not properly used, meaning food was left in the temperature danger zone without adequate documentation or safeguards. Two separate chemical storage violations were cited.
Big Crab on Point Meadows Drive logged six high-severity violations, three of them related to handwashing alone: inadequate handwashing by food employees, inadequate handwashing facilities, and improper technique. An employee was also cited for not reporting illness symptoms.
D & G Deli & Grill on E. Bay Street drew six high-severity citations including inadequate shell stock records, food contact surfaces not properly sanitized, and time as a public health control not properly used. Inspectors also noted improper sewage or wastewater disposal as an intermediate violation.
Bay Street Sports Grill on E. Bay Street, just a few blocks from D & G, produced five high-severity violations including food from an unapproved or unknown source and inadequate shell stock identification. The facility also had an intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal and another for single-use items improperly reused.
Fast Eddy's Quick Mideast on Baymeadows Road had five high-severity violations, including no person in charge, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, and inadequate shell stock records. Inspectors cited toxic chemicals improperly stored and noted inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities.
Bassil's on Argyle Forest Boulevard drew five high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved source, parasite destruction procedures not followed, and food contact surfaces not properly sanitized. No intermediate violations were cited, but the high-severity findings stood on their own.
Checkers #3266 on Atlantic Boulevard had four high-severity violations: an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food from an unapproved source, and parasite destruction procedures not followed. No intermediate violations were recorded.
Great Harvest Bread Company on Lake Mead Avenue also produced four high-severity violations, including food not cooked to required minimum temperatures and no employee health policy. An employee was cited for not reporting illness symptoms, and no person in charge was present.
1928 Cuban Bistro 7 on Philips Highway drew four high-severity violations, including inadequate handwashing by food employees and no allergen awareness demonstrated. Inspectors also cited inadequate shell stock records.
New China on Argyle Forest Boulevard had four high-severity violations: an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces not properly sanitized, and toxic chemicals improperly stored.
LongHorn Steaks of Orange Park on Argyle Forest Boulevard had the fewest high-severity violations of the fifteen facilities, with three, but they included parasite destruction procedures not followed and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used.
What These Violations Mean
The most common high-severity citation this week was the failure to have an employee health policy or to require workers to report illness symptoms. Inspectors found this problem at Pour Taproom, Fancy Sushi, Pig Seafood, River Club, Big Crab, Fast Eddy's, Great Harvest Bread Company, Denny's 8004, Bassil's, 1928 Cuban Bistro 7, New China, and Checkers. When a sick food worker handles ready-to-eat food without any reporting requirement in place, there is no mechanism to remove that person from service. Norovirus, which causes the majority of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, spreads through exactly this pathway.
Parasite destruction failures appeared at Denny's 8004, Fancy Sushi, River Club, Bassil's, Checkers, and LongHorn Steaks. The requirement exists because fish, pork, and wild game can carry parasites that survive if food is not frozen to specific temperatures for specific durations before serving. At a sushi restaurant like Fancy Sushi, the citation is direct: without documented freezing protocols, raw fish served to customers may not have been rendered safe.
Shell stock identification failures showed up at Pour Taproom, Fancy Sushi, D & G Deli, Bay Street Sports Grill, Fast Eddy's, and 1928 Cuban Bistro 7. Shellfish tags are not a paperwork formality. They are the only way health officials can trace an illness outbreak back to a specific harvest location and lot. Without them, if a customer gets sick from raw oysters, investigators have no starting point.
Toxic chemical storage violations were among the most widely cited this week, appearing at Pour Taproom, Denny's 8004, Fancy Sushi, River Club, D & G Deli, Bay Street Sports Grill, Fast Eddy's, Bassil's, New China, and LongHorn Steaks. Chemicals stored near or above food, or in unlabeled containers, create a direct route for contamination. The risk is not theoretical: chemical poisoning from cleaning agents in food service settings sends people to emergency rooms.
The Longer Record
Denny's 8004 on Blanding Boulevard carries the longest inspection history of any facility on this week's list, with 45 prior inspections on record. Nine high-severity violations in a single week, across a location that has been inspected that many times, raises a direct question about whether prior findings have resulted in sustained improvement.
Bay Street Sports Grill has 33 prior inspections. Pig Seafood has 31. D & G Deli & Grill has 28, and Big Crab has 27. All five of these facilities have accumulated enough inspection history to suggest that whatever corrections were made after prior visits did not hold, given that high-severity violations are appearing again in the same categories, particularly food sourcing, chemical storage, and handwashing.
Pour Taproom has only three prior inspections on record. That makes its nine high-severity citations this week particularly notable: it is a relatively new location in the inspection database, and it is already leading the city in citations for the week.
Fancy Sushi has 24 prior inspections and produced eight high-severity violations, including both the parasite destruction failure and the missing handwashing infrastructure. The handwashing facilities violation is not a procedural lapse. It means the physical infrastructure required for employees to wash their hands adequately was not present, and that finding appears in a facility that has been inspected two dozen times.
Denny's 8004 remains the facility with the most unresolved questions: 45 inspections on record, nine high-severity violations this week, and a citation for food from an unapproved or unknown source, meaning at least some ingredients on the line this week could not be traced back to a verified supplier.