JACKSONVILLE, FL. Back in April 2026, state inspectors walked into the Texas Roadhouse on City Station Drive and found something that stops a food safety inspection cold: no approved potable water supply.
That single violation, which inspectors classify as high-severity, means the restaurant was operating without a confirmed safe water source. Water that has not been verified as potable can carry E. coli, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, and Legionella. Every dish washed, every surface rinsed, every glass of water poured for a customer depends on that supply being safe.
It was not the only serious problem inspectors found that day.
What Inspectors Found
The April 13 inspection produced 9 high-severity violations and 4 intermediate violations, a total of 13 citations across categories that range from chemical storage to sewage disposal to illness reporting.
Inspectors cited the restaurant twice for chemical hazards, once for toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled and again for toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. Both violations appeared on the same inspection report. Chemicals stored near food, or stored without clear labeling, create a direct route to acute poisoning through cross-contamination or accidental misuse.
Inspectors also found that no person in charge was present or performing supervisory duties. That finding matters beyond the paperwork. CDC data links the absence of active managerial oversight to three times as many critical violations at a given facility.
The sewage and wastewater disposal citation added another layer of concern. Improper sewage handling creates the potential for fecal contamination throughout a facility, including surfaces where food is prepared and plated.
What These Violations Mean
The potable water violation is the kind that food safety regulators treat as immediately dangerous. Water used in a restaurant touches nearly everything: the ice machine, the dish station, produce rinsed before cooking, the hands of employees washing up. A supply that has not been verified as safe can introduce pathogens at every one of those contact points simultaneously.
The illness reporting violation is a different kind of risk, but just as direct. When employees are not required or trained to report symptoms of illness before their shift, a sick worker can transmit norovirus or other pathogens to dozens or hundreds of customers in a single service. Norovirus is the leading cause of multi-victim foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, and it spreads through exactly the failure this violation describes.
The shell stock identification citation at Texas Roadhouse means the restaurant could not demonstrate proper traceability for shellfish on the menu. Oysters, clams, and mussels are high-risk foods because they are often consumed raw or lightly cooked. If a customer became ill after eating shellfish here, investigators would have no reliable record to trace the source.
The consumer advisory violation compounds that problem. Without a posted advisory about the risks of consuming raw or undercooked foods, customers who are elderly, pregnant, or immunocompromised have no way to make an informed choice about what they order.
The Longer Record
The April 2026 inspection was not an outlier. It was the eleventh inspection on record for this location, and the facility has accumulated 75 total violations across those visits.
Of the nine inspections with documented results prior to April 2026, six produced high-severity violations. The August 2025 inspection found 7 high-severity violations. The January 2025 inspection found 8. The September 2023 inspection found 11 high-severity violations, the single highest count in the facility's history before April's 9.
The pattern is consistent and it runs in one direction. The two inspections that produced zero violations, in September 2023 and November 2022, sit between stretches of repeated high-severity citations. The restaurant has never been emergency-closed.
Three inspections in a row, spanning January 2025 through April 2026, produced 8, 7, and then 9 high-severity violations respectively. That is not a facility trending toward compliance.
Still Open
After inspectors documented 9 high-severity violations on April 13, including no approved potable water supply, improper sewage disposal, and two separate chemical storage failures, the Texas Roadhouse on City Station Drive was not ordered to close.
The restaurant remained open to the public.