JACKSONVILLE, FL. Back in April 2026, state inspectors walked into New Berlin Fish House and Oyster Bar at 604 New Berlin Rd and found that the restaurant had no adequate records identifying where its shellfish came from, no written employee health policy, and no one in charge who was actively performing managerial duties. They documented nine high-severity violations. They left the restaurant open.
What Inspectors Found
The shellfish violations were among the most direct concerns. Inspectors cited the restaurant for both food from an unapproved or unknown source and inadequate shell stock identification records. For an oyster bar, those two findings together are serious: oysters are typically consumed raw or only lightly cooked, meaning any contamination in the supply chain reaches the customer with little barrier.
The employee illness violations compounded the picture. Inspectors found no written employee health policy, documented that employees were not reporting illness symptoms, and cited improper handwashing technique. Those three violations form a direct transmission chain from a sick worker to a customer's plate.
Inspectors also cited the restaurant for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, for improper use of time as a public health control, and for toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. Three intermediate violations rounded out the report: multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, improper sanitizing solution or procedures, and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
What These Violations Mean
The shellfish traceability violation is not a paperwork problem. When a restaurant cannot produce shell stock identification records, there is no way to trace an oyster back to its harvest bed if a customer gets sick. Shellfish harvested from contaminated waters carry Vibrio bacteria and norovirus. Without sourcing records, a foodborne illness investigation hits a dead end before it starts.
The combination of no employee health policy and no illness reporting is what investigators call an outbreak enabler. Norovirus, the leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States, spreads most efficiently through food handlers who are sick and working. A written health policy is the mechanism that keeps symptomatic workers off the line. Without one, the policy is effectively that anyone shows up regardless of symptoms.
Improper handwashing technique matters even when a worker goes through the motions of washing. Studies show that incorrect technique, too brief, skipping steps, not using soap properly, leaves enough pathogen load on hands to contaminate surfaces and food. At a raw shellfish restaurant, where oysters reach the customer without a cooking kill step, that contamination has no second chance to be eliminated.
The time-as-public-health-control violation is one that often goes unexplained. Some foods are held without refrigeration and managed strictly by time, removed from service after a set window. When that system is not properly documented or followed, food sits in the bacterial growth zone with no temperature check and no clock being watched.
The Longer Record
New Berlin Fish House: Inspection Pattern, 2021-2026
The April 2026 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show the restaurant has accumulated 205 violations across 23 inspections on file. It has been cited for nine high-severity violations twice now, in April 2025 and again in April 2026, almost exactly a year apart.
The pattern that emerges from the inspection history is a cycle of high-violation inspections followed by clean reinspections, followed by another high-violation inspection months later. The restaurant was cited for six high-severity violations in November 2024, passed a reinspection the next day, then returned to nine high-severity violations by April 2025. It passed a reinspection in September 2025, then came back to nine high-severity violations in April 2026.
The restaurant was emergency-closed once before, in July 2021, for fly activity. It reopened within 24 hours. The violations documented in April 2026 were more numerous and more varied than the pest activity that triggered that closure.
Open for Business
State inspectors documented all twelve violations on April 7, 2026, and did not issue an emergency closure order. The restaurant, which serves raw oysters and other seafood, continued operating that day with no written employee health policy, no adequate records of where its shellfish originated, and employees whose illness reporting practices inspectors found inadequate.
The inspection record is public. The restaurant remained open.