WINDERMERE, FL. Back in April 2026, a state inspector walked into the Jersey Mike's at 6507 Old Brick Road and documented something that stopped the visit cold: the restaurant was not following parasite destruction procedures for fish it was serving to customers.
That single violation means parasites including Anisakis and tapeworm, which survive in raw or improperly processed fish, could have reached customers' plates intact. It was one of seven high-severity violations the inspector recorded on April 6, 2026. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The cooking temperature violation compounded the parasite failure. State code requires poultry to reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit internally before it is served. Salmonella survives below that threshold. The inspector found food was not being cooked to the required minimum temperature, meaning customers who ordered chicken subs in April 2026 had no assurance the meat on their sandwich was safe.
Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Cutting boards, slicers and prep surfaces that carry bacteria from one food to the next are a documented vehicle for cross-contamination, and the inspector found the surfaces at this location fell short of state standards.
Toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled somewhere in the facility. That violation is not abstract: cleaning agents or sanitizers stored near food or in unlabeled containers can contaminate food directly, and a mislabeled chemical can be mistaken for a food-safe product.
Employees were also observed using improper handwashing technique. Inspectors specifically flag technique failures, not just skipped handwashing, because an inadequate scrub leaves pathogens on hands even when a worker goes through the motion of washing. At a sandwich counter where hands touch bread, meat and vegetables continuously, that gap matters.
The inspector also cited the location for failing to maintain adequate shellfish identification records, and for displaying no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Without a consumer advisory, customers who are elderly, pregnant, immunocompromised, or otherwise vulnerable have no way to know a dish carries elevated risk.
What These Violations Mean
The parasite destruction failure is the kind of violation that typically draws immediate scrutiny at restaurants serving fish. Parasites like Anisakis, a roundworm found in marine fish, and Trichinella, associated with some meats, are killed through verified freezing protocols or thorough cooking. When neither is confirmed, the parasite reaches the customer's digestive tract alive. Symptoms range from abdominal pain and nausea to, in serious cases, intestinal perforation.
The missing consumer advisory compounds that risk directly. A customer who is pregnant, undergoing chemotherapy, or living with diabetes has a medical reason to avoid raw or undercooked proteins, but only if they know to ask. Without a posted advisory, that customer has no information to act on.
The shellfish traceability failure carries a different but equally serious concern. Oysters, clams and mussels are commonly consumed raw or lightly cooked, and shellfish-borne illness, including Vibrio and hepatitis A, can be severe. When a restaurant cannot produce shell stock identification tags, there is no way to trace an illness back to a specific harvest site, batch, or supplier. If someone got sick at this location in April 2026, that trail was already broken.
The chemical storage violation adds a third, separate pathway to harm: not biological, but direct contamination. Improperly stored or unlabeled chemicals near food preparation areas have caused acute poisoning events at restaurants across the country. It is a violation that requires no chain of bacterial growth to cause injury.
The Longer Record
The April 2026 inspection was not the first time this location generated serious concern. State records show the Jersey Mike's at Old Brick Road has been inspected eight times since 2021, accumulating 43 total violations across that span. It has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern of high-severity violations goes back years. The July 2025 inspection produced five high-severity and two intermediate violations. So did the July 2024 inspection, five high and one intermediate. The October 2022 inspection produced five high-severity violations. The only clean inspection on record was May 2022, when the facility received zero high or intermediate citations.
April 2026 was the worst single inspection in the facility's documented history, at seven high-severity violations. That figure is not a one-time spike. It is the peak of a line that has trended upward through four of the last five inspection cycles.
The prior history also shows a recurring annual inspection pattern in the summer months, with the April 2026 visit arriving earlier in the year than most. Three consecutive summer inspections, July 2023, July 2024, and July 2025, all produced high-severity violations. The April 2026 visit arrived before the summer cycle and produced more high-severity citations than any of them.
Open for Business
State inspectors documented seven high-severity violations at this location on April 6, 2026, including failures tied to parasite safety, cooking temperatures, chemical storage, and food contact surface sanitation.
The restaurant was not closed.
Customers who visited the Jersey Mike's on Old Brick Road in Windermere on or around April 6, 2026, ate at a facility where the inspector had found food was not being cooked to required temperatures, surfaces used to prepare their food were not properly sanitized, and the location could not demonstrate it had followed parasite destruction procedures for the fish it served.
The facility remained open through all of it.