JACKSONVILLE, FL. Inspectors cited Broadway Deli on Belfort Road for 11 high-severity violations in a single visit during the week of September 9, including food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, no parasite destruction procedures for fish, and food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized. It was the highest single-facility violation count in Duval County that week.
The deli also had no written employee health policy and at least one employee who was not reporting illness symptoms, a combination that inspectors treat as an active disease transmission risk. Improper handwashing technique was documented as well, meaning staff were making handwashing attempts that left pathogens on their hands.
Fourteen other Jacksonville restaurants drew high-severity citations the same week. One was forced to close entirely.
The Closure
Casa Dora Italian Café, at 108 E Forsyth Street in downtown Jacksonville, was ordered closed on September 9 after inspectors documented rodent, roach, and fly activity throughout the facility. The closure came on the first day of the inspection window.
The address sits one block from Spliff's Gastropub on East Forsyth Street, which drew 7 high-severity violations of its own that week, including inadequate handwashing facilities, improper sewage disposal, and improperly stored toxic chemicals.
The Violations
BonChon at Towncenter Parkway accumulated 10 high-severity and 6 intermediate violations, the highest combined count of any facility that week. Inspectors cited the Korean fried chicken chain location for food from an unapproved or unknown source, no employee health policy, inadequate handwashing facilities, and no person in charge present or performing duties. The shellfish traceability violation meant inspectors could not verify where the restaurant's shellfish originated.
98 Forty East Bar and Bistro at Tapestry Park Circle matched BonChon's 10 high-severity count. Among the citations: food in poor condition or adulterated, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and time used as a public health control without proper documentation. That last violation means food was being held in the bacterial growth zone, between 41 and 135 degrees, without a written plan for how long it had been there.
Iso Iso Ramen on San Jose Boulevard also reached 10 high-severity violations. The ramen shop had no person in charge, no employee health policy, food from unapproved sources, and inadequate shell stock identification records. Improper time-as-a-public-health-control was cited here as well.
Thai Green House on Southside Boulevard drew 9 high-severity violations, including both inadequate handwashing by employees and improper handwashing technique, two separate citations that together describe a kitchen where hand hygiene was failing at every step. Food from unapproved sources and food in poor condition were also documented.
Carrabba's Italian Grill on Skymarks Drive reached 9 high-severity violations. The national chain location was cited for food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, inadequate handwashing facilities, improperly stored toxic chemicals, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items. Shellfish traceability records were also absent.
Dough Show on Bartram Park Boulevard was cited for 8 high-severity violations, including one that stood apart from the others: no approved potable water supply. That citation means food and food-contact surfaces may have been exposed to water that could contain E. coli, Cryptosporidium, or Legionella. The bakery-style shop also had food from unapproved sources and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures.
Arepa Please on Riverside Avenue drew 8 high-severity violations, including two separate toxic substance citations: improperly stored or labeled chemicals, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. That pairing means inspectors found chemical hazards that were both physically near food and not correctly identified.
Kingdom Sushi at Town Center Parkway was cited for 7 high-severity violations, including food from unapproved sources and no parasite destruction procedures for fish. A sushi restaurant serving raw fish without documented parasite destruction protocols means customers have no assurance that freezing or cooking steps were taken to eliminate Anisakis or tapeworm larvae. An improper sewage disposal citation was also recorded.
Courtyard Jacksonville on Lantern Street drew 7 high-severity violations, including two toxic substance citations and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures. MVP's Sports Grille on Atlantic Boulevard matched that count with 7 high-severity violations, including no person in charge, no employee health policy, and improper time-as-a-public-health-control. Ramada by Wyndham on Hartley Road drew 2 high-severity violations, one of them for required procedures for specialized processes not being followed, a citation that applies when a facility is smoking, curing, or using reduced-oxygen packaging without proper controls.
La Marsa Grill and Seafood on University Boulevard West had 1 high-severity violation, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, alongside an improper sewage disposal citation. Indulgence Bistro on West Forsyth Street drew a single high-severity citation for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized.
What These Violations Mean
The most common high-severity citation across this week's inspections was the combination of no employee health policy and employees not reporting illness symptoms. Those two violations appeared together at Broadway Deli, BonChon, Iso Iso Ramen, Thai Green House, and several others. They are not paperwork problems. Norovirus, the leading cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, spreads almost exclusively through infected food workers who continue to handle food while symptomatic. A written health policy is the mechanism that requires workers to report and stay home. Without it, a sick employee has no formal obligation to disclose anything.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources, cited at BonChon, Iso Iso Ramen, Thai Green House, Kingdom Sushi, and Dough Show, creates a traceability gap that matters most when someone gets sick. USDA and FDA inspections of approved suppliers are the mechanism that screens for Listeria, Salmonella, and other pathogens before food reaches a kitchen. When a restaurant cannot document where its food came from, investigators cannot trace an outbreak back to its origin.
The parasite destruction citations at Broadway Deli, Kingdom Sushi, Carrabba's, MVP's Sports Grille, and Courtyard Jacksonville carry a specific risk for anyone eating raw or undercooked fish. Anisakis larvae, present in many wild-caught saltwater fish, are killed by freezing to minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit for seven days or by cooking to 145 degrees. Without documented proof that one of those steps occurred, the fish served to customers may still carry viable parasites.
Dough Show's potable water citation is the most acute single violation in this week's data. Every other violation in this roundup describes a failure in how food or employees are managed. A non-potable water supply means the contamination risk is built into the infrastructure itself, touching every surface that water contacts.
The Longer Record
Ramada by Wyndham on Hartley Road has 52 prior inspections on record, the most of any facility in this week's data. That volume means inspectors have visited the hotel's food service operation more than four dozen times. Two high-severity violations this week, including a specialized process failure, add to a long institutional history with state oversight.
Indulgence Bistro on West Forsyth Street has 47 prior inspections on record and drew only one high-severity violation this week. That record suggests a facility that has been operating under scrutiny for years and largely maintains compliance. Broadway Deli, with 22 prior inspections and 11 high-severity violations in a single visit, presents a sharply different picture.
BonChon at Towncenter Parkway has 33 prior inspections on record. Thirty-three visits and this week's inspection still found food from unapproved sources, no employee health policy, and inadequate handwashing facilities. 98 Forty East and Carrabba's on Skymarks Drive each have 31 prior inspections. Both drew 9 or more high-severity violations this week.
Courtyard Jacksonville has only 18 prior inspections on record, the second-lowest count among the flagged facilities, and already accumulated 7 high-severity violations including two separate toxic substance citations. The Ramada by Wyndham, with 52 inspections and a specialized process violation still unresolved, has the longest paper trail of any facility in this week's roundup, and the specialized process procedures it was cited for lacking have not been documented in the inspection record.
