1 St. Johns County restaurant gets perfect score; 1 temporarily closed; 3 fail inspection

Staff reports
·9 min read

You can use the database to search by county or by restaurant name.

Florida's restaurant owners are not required to post restaurant inspection results where guests can see them. So every week, we provide that information for you.

For a complete list of local restaurant inspections, including violations not requiring warnings or administrative action, visit our St. Johns County restaurant inspections site.

Here's the breakdown for recent health inspections in St. Johns County, Florida, for the week of Dec. 18-24, 2023. Please note that some more recent, follow-up inspections may not be included here.

Disclaimer: The Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation describes an inspection report as a 'snapshot' of conditions present at the time of the inspection. On any given day, an establishment may have fewer or more violations than noted in their most recent inspection. An inspection conducted on any given day may not be representative of the overall, long-term conditions at the establishment.

For full restaurant inspection details, visit our St. Johns County restaurant inspection site.

Which St. Johns County restaurants got perfect scores on their health inspections?

These restaurants met all standards during their Dec. 18-24 inspections and no violations were found.

** Restaurants that failed an inspection and aced a follow-up inspection in the same week

Which St. Johns County restaurants were temporarily closed by inspectors?

These restaurants failed their Dec. 18-24 inspections and were temporarily closed. Follow-upinspections are required.

Libby's Thai Bistro

525 Sr 16 Suite 103, Saint Augustine

Complaint Inspection on Dec. 19

Facility Temporarily Closed: Operations ordered stopped until violations are corrected.

15 total violations, with 7 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - Dishmachine chlorine sanitizer not at proper minimum strength. Discontinue use of dishmachine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dishmachine is repaired and sanitizing properly. Observed dish machine at 0ppm chlorine. Instructed person in charge to set up triple sink. **Warning**

  • High Priority - Food-contact surfaces not sanitized after cleaning, before use. Do not use equipment/utensils not properly sanitized. Observed dishes inside of dish machine not sanitized due to dish machine at 0ppm chlorine. Instructed person in charge to sanitize dishes in triple sink after setting it up. Employee started adding dishes to sanitize water **Corrective Action Taken** **Warning**

  • High Priority - Raw animal food stored in same container as ready-to-eat food. Observed one raw shell egg stored inside washed mushrooms container in flip-top cooler. Cook removed egg. No visible contamination inside mushrooms. **Corrective Action Taken** **Warning**

  • High Priority - Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Observed one live roach crawling on wall under hand washing station at kitchen entrance Observed 3 live roaches crawling on boxes and bags in dry storage room Observed 2 live roaches stuck in glue trap at hand washing station next to dish machine. Observed approximately 6 live roaches at front counter crawling on shelf with clean glasses and reusable cloth napkins. **Warning**

  • High Priority - Roach excrement and/or droppings present. Observed roach excrement in dry storage room on shelves. Observed roach excrement on shelves at front counter. **Warning**

  • High Priority - Sewage/wastewater backing up through floor drains. Observed end cycle of dish machine overflowing onto ground. Standing waste water on ground of dry storage. **Warning**

  • High Priority - Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. reconstituted noodles on ice at cook line (45F - Cold Holding) person in charge stated placed out at 11am. Person in charge placed more ice into container. Discussed with person in charge about using a more shallow container.

Libby's Thai Bistro

525 Sr 16 Suite 103, Saint Augustine

Complaint Inspection on Dec. 20

Facility Temporarily Closed: Operations ordered stopped until violations are corrected.

6 total violations, with 5 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - - From initial inspection : High Priority - Dishmachine chlorine sanitizer not at proper minimum strength. Discontinue use of dishmachine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dishmachine is repaired and sanitizing properly. Observed dish machine at 0ppm chlorine. Instructed person in charge to set up triple sink. **Warning** - From follow-up inspection 2023-12-20: Dishmachine not set up, person in charge has scheduled maintenance on machine and is using triple sink for ware washing. **Time Extended**

  • High Priority - - From initial inspection : High Priority - Food-contact surfaces not sanitized after cleaning, before use. Do not use equipment/utensils not properly sanitized. Observed dishes inside of dish machine not sanitized due to dish machine at 0ppm chlorine. Instructed person in charge to sanitize dishes in triple sink after setting it up. Employee started adding dishes to sanitize water **Corrective Action Taken** **Warning** - From follow-up inspection 2023-12-20: No ware washing set up during call back. Person in charge has scheduled maintenance on dish machine and will set up triple sink for ware washing when open. **Time Extended**

  • High Priority - - From initial inspection : High Priority - Roach activity present as evidenced by live roaches found. Observed one live roach crawling on wall under hand washing station at kitchen entrance Observed 3 live roaches crawling on boxes and bags in dry storage room Observed 2 live roaches stuck in glue trap at hand washing station next to dish machine. Observed approximately 6 live roaches at front counter crawling on shelf with clean glasses and reusable cloth napkins. **Warning** - From follow-up inspection 2023-12-20: Observed approximately two live roaches on wine shelves in hallway leading to kitchen. Person in charge had employees remove wine bottles and clean shelves during inspection. **Admin Complaint**

  • High Priority - - From initial inspection : High Priority - Roach excrement and/or droppings present. Observed roach excrement in dry storage room on shelves. Observed roach excrement on shelves at front counter. **Warning** - From follow-up inspection 2023-12-20: Observed roach excrement and egg like casings on wine shelves in hall way leading to kitchen. Person in charge had employees remove wine bottles and clean shelves during inspection. **Admin Complaint** **Corrective Action Taken**

  • High Priority - - From initial inspection : High Priority - Sewage/wastewater backing up through floor drains. Observed end cycle of dish machine overflowing onto ground. Standing waste water on ground of dry storage. **Warning** - From follow-up inspection 2023-12-20: Dish machine not in use and operator has scheduled maintenance. **Time Extended**

Which St. Johns County restaurants had high-priority violations?

Libby's Thai Bistro

525 Sr 16 Suite 103, Saint Augustine

Complaint Inspection on Dec. 20

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

3 total violations, with 3 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - - From initial inspection : High Priority - Dishmachine chlorine sanitizer not at proper minimum strength. Discontinue use of dishmachine for sanitizing and set up manual sanitization until dishmachine is repaired and sanitizing properly. Observed dish machine at 0ppm chlorine. Instructed person in charge to set up triple sink. **Warning** - From follow-up inspection 2023-12-20: Dishmachine not set up, person in charge has scheduled maintenance on machine and is using triple sink for ware washing. **Time Extended** - From follow-up inspection 2023-12-20: Operator needs more time for maintenance. **Time Extended**

  • High Priority - - From initial inspection : High Priority - Food-contact surfaces not sanitized after cleaning, before use. Do not use equipment/utensils not properly sanitized. Observed dishes inside of dish machine not sanitized due to dish machine at 0ppm chlorine. Instructed person in charge to sanitize dishes in triple sink after setting it up. Employee started adding dishes to sanitize water **Corrective Action Taken** **Warning** - From follow-up inspection 2023-12-20: No ware washing set up during call back. Person in charge has scheduled maintenance on dish machine and will set up triple sink for ware washing when open. **Time Extended** - From follow-up inspection 2023-12-20: No ware washing set up during call back. Person in charge has scheduled maintenance on dish machine and will set up triple sink for ware washing when open. **Time Extended**

  • High Priority - - From initial inspection : High Priority - Sewage/wastewater backing up through floor drains. Observed end cycle of dish machine overflowing onto ground. Standing waste water on ground of dry storage. **Warning** - From follow-up inspection 2023-12-20: Dish machine not in use and operator has scheduled maintenance. **Time Extended** - From follow-up inspection 2023-12-20: Dish machine not in use and operator has scheduled maintenance. **Time Extended**

Tony's Of Ponte Vedra Beach

302 Solano Rd, Ponte Vedra Beach

Routine Inspection on Dec. 19

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

7 total violations, with 2 high-priority violations

  • High Priority - Operating with an expired Division of Hotels and Restaurants license. Expired 6/1/2023 **Repeat Violation** **Admin Complaint**

  • High Priority - Quaternary ammonium sanitizer not at proper minimum strength for manual warewashing. Do not use equipment/utensils not properly sanitized. Triple sink reading 0ppm, employee remade and retest at 200ppm **Corrected On-Site**

Tropical Smoothie Cafe

2375 Fl-16, St. Augustine

Routine Inspection on Dec. 21

Follow-Up Inspection Required: Violations require further review, but are not an immediate threat to the public.

2 total violations, with 1 high-priority violation

  • High Priority - Live, small flying insects in kitchen, food preparation area, food storage area and/or bar area. Observed approximately 10 live flying insects near ice machine and mop sink. Observed approximately 5 live flying insects near produce rack. Discussed with person in charge. **Warning**

What agency inspects restaurants in Florida?

Routine regulation and inspection of restaurants is conducted by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The Department of Health is responsible for investigation and control of food-borne illness outbreaks associated with all food establishments.

How do I report a dirty restaurant in Florida?

If you see abuses of state standards, report them and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation will send inspectors. Call the Florida DBPR at 850-487-1395 or report a restaurant for health violations online.

Get the whole story at our restaurant inspection database.

What does all that terminology in Florida restaurant inspections mean?

Basic violations are those considered against best practices.

A warning is issued after an inspector documents violations that must be corrected by a certain date or within a specified number of days from receipt of the inspection report.

An administrative complaint is a form of legal action taken by the division. Insufficient compliance after a warning, a pattern of repeat violations or existence of serious conditions that warrant immediate action may result in the division initiating an administrative complaint against the establishment. Says the division website: "Correcting the violations is important, but penalties may still result from violations corrected after the warning time was over."

An emergency order — when a restaurant is closed by the inspector — is based on an immediate threat to the public. Here, the Division of Hotels and Restaurants director has determined that the establishment must stop doing business and any division license is suspended to protect health, safety or welfare of the public.

A 24-hour call-back inspection will be performed after an emergency closure or suspension of license.

This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: St. Augustine area restaurant and food truck inspections Dec. 18-24