SAINT AUGUSTINE, FL. A food worker at Llama Restaurant showed symptoms of illness and did not report them, state inspectors documented on June 16, and the restaurant kept serving customers.
That single violation, recorded during a June 16 inspection of Llama Restaurant at 415 Anastasia Blvd, was one of six high-severity citations the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation issued that day. The restaurant was not emergency-closed.
What Inspectors Found
The inspection produced nine total violations, six of them high-severity. Inspectors found that the restaurant had no written employee health policy and that at least one worker had not reported illness symptoms, two violations that compound each other directly: without a policy, workers have no formal obligation to report, and without reporting, a sick employee can move through an entire shift handling food.
Inspectors also documented improper handwashing technique, meaning employees were making handwashing attempts that left pathogens on their hands. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. Toxic chemicals were stored improperly, in proximity to food areas.
The restaurant also lacked a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked menu items, a requirement that exists specifically to warn elderly diners, pregnant women, young children, and anyone with a compromised immune system before they order.
On the intermediate tier, inspectors found that sanitizing solution was mixed or applied incorrectly, that single-use items were being reused, and that ventilation and lighting were inadequate.
What These Violations Mean
The pairing of no employee health policy and an employee not reporting illness symptoms is the combination that precedes outbreaks. Norovirus, the leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States, spreads most efficiently through an infected food worker who does not know they are required to stay home, or who does know and has no written policy holding them to that standard. A single symptomatic worker can contaminate food served to dozens of customers in a single shift.
The improper handwashing citation at Llama Restaurant compounds that risk. Even when a worker attempts to wash their hands, incorrect technique, insufficient duration, or skipping steps leaves viable pathogens on the skin. Combined with food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized, there is a direct pathway from a sick worker's hands to a customer's plate.
Improperly stored toxic chemicals represent a separate and acute danger. Cleaning agents and sanitizers stored near food preparation areas can contaminate food through splatter, mislabeling, or accidental use. The symptoms of chemical contamination often appear within minutes of ingestion and can require emergency medical treatment.
The missing consumer advisory is a quieter violation but affects a specific population. Dishes containing raw or undercooked proteins, common on menus that feature ceviche, tartare, or undercooked eggs, carry elevated risk for people whose immune systems cannot fight off Salmonella or E. coli. Without the advisory on the menu, those customers have no way to make an informed choice.
The Longer Record
Llama Restaurant: Recent Inspection History
The June 16 inspection was not a departure from the norm at this restaurant. State records show 34 inspections on file and 169 total violations accumulated across that history. The facility has never been emergency-closed.
March 25, 2025 produced six high-severity violations, the same count as June 16. September 18, 2025 produced five high-severity and two intermediate violations. December 4, 2025 added three more high-severity citations. The restaurant did pass cleanly on April 7, 2025, recording zero violations, which shows the standard is achievable. It did not hold.
The callback inspection on June 17, the day after the nine-violation inspection, found one high-severity violation still present. The most serious violations from the day before had been addressed within 24 hours, records indicate, but the pattern of accumulating high-severity citations and resolving them under pressure has repeated across at least three separate inspection cycles in the past 15 months.
The restaurant at 415 Anastasia Blvd remained open on June 16, 2026, with six high-severity violations on the books and a symptomatic employee who had not reported their illness.