Local sandwich shop shut down due to sewage

Complaint leads to surprise inspection of Stan's Sandwich Shop on Philips Hwy

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A complaint to state inspectors leads to an emergency closure of a local sandwich shop.  The complaint was a sewage problem at Stan's Sandwich Shop on Philips Highway. 

According the report, when inspectors showed up Friday, Sept. 27, to check out the complaint,  they found the sewage problem which was due to a broken septic system.  They decided the place needed to be cleaned up before they could open again for business.

When we visited Stan's on Tuesday, Oct. 1, the sign on the door said "closed."  We spoke with Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation about why the restaurant had to shut down immediately.

"It's considered an eminent health hazard which could lead to food-borne illness so therefore it's a violation that typically results in an emergency closure," explained Beth Frady with DBPR.

According to the report, the day of the closure, inspectors saw inches of water pooled over the septic tank.  Waste water was backing up through floor drains and damaging the interior and exterior of the restaurant. 

Inspectors say the sewage was so bad it was flowing along side of the building into the parking lot to this storm drain and it was completely full of sewage.

When the the inspector went back to the sandwich shop for a follow up inspection, to make sure the violations had been corrected, the owner was there emptying out his restaurant.

"The inspector observed the operator in the process of removing all equipment including coolers, cooking equipment, chairs table counter tops, stuff like that," said Frady.

The State says they follow up on restaurant concerns and if you see something you think it a health violation you can file a complaint and get answers, too

All you have to do is go online to www.myfloridalicense.com, click "File a Complaint" located on the left side of the screen and follow the instructions.

"It is our department's practice to receive the complaint and within 24 to 48 hours after the complaint is received, we will follow up with the complainant and get more details if necessary," explained Frady.

We could not reach the owner of Stan's Sandwich Shop on Philips Highway.  Right now, there is no exact reopen date.  However, inspectors will only allow them to open back up if they can get back up to standard.