Popular FL Seafood Eatery, Sam's St. John's Seafood, Shut Down After State Inspection - 2nd Closure

Photo bypointnshoot, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Often, when I research Florida's restaurants after an inspection shut-down, some only have one closure in their histories and then have zero violations at a follow-up inspection. Some, however, unfortunately, have ongoing issues and, as a result, have closures in quick succession. Such is the case with Jacksonville's Sam's St. John's Seafood, which was temporarily shut down after a state inspection.

About Sam's St. John's Seafood: Founder Sam Bajalia began this seafood chain in 1983 as Sam’s St. Johns Seafood Restaurant in Jacksonville. Eventually, he would expand the chain to include Crystal River Seafood.

The location in question, at 7949 Normandy Boulevard, earns 4.2 out of 5 stars on Google reviews. I'm always on the lookout for reviews that mention cleanliness and I found one, but it mentioned that the restaurant was clean. It came from Michael who wrote:

"It seems like fast food seafood. However, they have a large menu to choose from. My friend had oysters and fries. I had fried clams and buffalo shrimp. Nice portions and the food was good. The place was clean and I would go back."

What Happened At Inspection?: According to data from the Florida Department, an inspection occurred on October 7, 2024. At that time, nine violations were noted.

Examples of basic violations were a missing drain cover, a mold-like substance on the floor, excess grease built up on fryers, and unused equipment being stored in the facility.

An intermediate violation came because the interior of the oven had food debris.

High-priority violations were noted because of the observation of live, flying insects, live roaches, and shrimp that were older than seven days after preparation.

As a result of some of the above violations, the restaurant was temporarily shut down.

A follow-up inspection yielded five violations. Still, the restaurant "met inspection standards" and was free to reopen.

This is not the first closure for the eatery. It was also temporarily shut down in late July of 2024. That inspection yielded 17 violations.

Please note that an inspection is one moment in time and not necessarily how a restaurant conducts itself every day.