JACKSONVILLE, FL. Volcano Sushi House on Hodges Boulevard and Terra Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse on Southside Boulevard each drew ten high-severity violations during state inspections the week of October 6, 2026, the highest tallies among 15 Jacksonville restaurants cited for serious food safety failures during that stretch.
Inspectors flagged Volcano Sushi House for food from unapproved or unknown sources, food in poor condition, and failure to follow parasite destruction procedures, a critical gap at a restaurant serving raw fish. The facility also drew citations for food contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards, inadequate shellfish traceability records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, and improper handwashing technique.
Terra Gaucha's ten high-severity violations covered much of the same ground: unapproved food sources, food in poor condition, shellfish traceability failures, parasite destruction violations, and food contaminated by hazards. Inspectors also cited the steakhouse for no written employee health policy, inadequate handwashing facilities, and improper handwashing technique.
The Violations
The week's only emergency closure came on October 7, when inspectors ordered Thai Cuisine and Noodle House on San Jose Boulevard shut down for roach and rodent activity. The closure was notable for what inspectors did not find alongside it: the facility drew zero high-severity violations on its inspection record, with only a single intermediate citation for reusing single-use items.
Hot Wok on University Boulevard North drew nine high-severity violations. Inspectors cited the restaurant for no written employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, shellfish traceability failures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
China Moon on West Beaver Street and China Kitchen on Collins Road each drew eight high-severity violations. China Moon's citations included no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness, inadequate handwashing facilities, improper handwashing technique, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, improper use of time as a public health control, no consumer advisory, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. China Kitchen was cited for no person in charge present, an employee not reporting illness, improper handwashing technique, food in poor condition, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, improperly stored toxic substances, and no allergen awareness demonstrated.
Tru by Hilton on Perimeter Industrial Parkway West drew seven high-severity violations, including food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, no allergen awareness, improperly stored toxic substances, no consumer advisory, improper handwashing technique, an employee not reporting illness, and no person in charge present. Inspectors also cited an intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
904 Deli on Shad Road matched that count with seven high-severity violations: no person in charge, no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness, improper handwashing technique, shellfish traceability failures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory.
The Rest of the Week
Subway on Wilson Boulevard drew six high-severity violations, including food in poor condition, parasite destruction procedures not followed, toxic chemicals improperly stored, required procedures for specialized processes not followed, no person in charge, and improper handwashing technique. The location also drew five intermediate violations, the highest intermediate count among all facilities inspected this week.
JL Trents Seafood and Grill on 120th Street drew six high-severity violations, among them shellfish traceability failures, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and two separate chemical storage citations: toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used.
Celestia's on Dunn Avenue also drew six high-severity violations, including no person in charge, an employee not reporting illness, food in poor condition, no consumer advisory, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and no allergen awareness demonstrated.
DoubleTree by Hilton on Riverplace Boulevard drew two high-severity violations: no person in charge present, and inadequate handwashing facilities.
Fast Eddy's Quick Mideast on Baymeadows Road drew two high-severity violations, an employee not reporting illness and improperly cleaned food contact surfaces.
La Michoacana Al Natural on Beach Boulevard drew one high-severity violation for food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated. Umami on San Jose Boulevard drew one high-severity violation for no written employee health policy. Thai Cuisine and Noodle House drew one intermediate violation.
What These Violations Mean
The most dangerous cluster this week involved employee illness reporting and handwashing failures. Six facilities, Volcano Sushi House, Hot Wok, China Moon, China Kitchen, 904 Deli, and Celestia's, were all cited for employees not reporting illness symptoms. This is not a paperwork problem. Norovirus, which causes the majority of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, spreads directly from infected food workers to customers through contaminated food. A worker who does not know to report symptoms, or works through them, can infect dozens of people before a single customer complains.
Improper handwashing technique was cited at eight facilities this week. The distinction matters: an employee who washes hands incorrectly is not the same as one who skips handwashing entirely, but the outcome can be identical. Pathogens survive on hands that were technically washed if the technique, duration, or soap contact was inadequate.
Shellfish traceability failures appeared at four facilities: Volcano Sushi House, Terra Gaucha, Hot Wok, and 904 Deli. Shellfish, specifically oysters, clams, and mussels, are frequently consumed raw or only lightly cooked. Without harvest tags and chain-of-custody records, there is no way to trace a contaminated batch if customers get sick. Vibrio bacteria, which thrive in raw shellfish, can cause severe illness and is fatal in people with liver disease or compromised immune systems.
Parasite destruction procedures were not followed at Volcano Sushi House, Terra Gaucha, and Subway. For a sushi restaurant, this is among the most direct risks on the inspection sheet. Fish served raw must be frozen to specific temperatures for specific durations to kill parasites including Anisakis, which embeds in human stomach tissue and causes intense pain requiring surgical removal. The failure at a Subway location, which serves cured and processed fish products, points to a different but equally documented process gap.
The Longer Record
The two facilities with the highest violation counts this week are not new to inspectors. Volcano Sushi House has 25 prior inspections on record. Terra Gaucha has 25 as well. Ten high-severity violations at a location with that many prior inspections means the record does not show a facility encountering scrutiny for the first time.
China Moon, with 30 prior inspections on record, and Umami, also with 30, are among the most-inspected facilities in this week's data. Umami drew only one high-severity violation this week. China Moon drew eight. Thirty inspections and eight high-severity violations in a single week is a different kind of story than a new location still finding its footing.
Tru by Hilton has only five prior inspections on record, making it one of the newest facilities in this week's roundup. Seven high-severity violations on what is effectively an early inspection, including a sewage disposal citation and food not cooked to minimum temperature, is a significant start to its inspection history.
Thai Cuisine and Noodle House, which was emergency-closed for roach and rodent activity on October 7, has 37 prior inspections on record, the most of any facility in this week's data. It is also the only facility that was closed. Its inspection record going into this week was longer than every other location cited, and the pest activity that triggered the closure was not reflected in a high-severity violation count on the inspection form.
