GATOR JOE'S

Name: GATOR JOE'S
Address: 12431 SE 135 AVE, OCKLAWAHA, FL, 32179, US
Rating: 82.4

12431 SE 135 AVE, OCKLAWAHA, FL 32179

License #5202059

🍽️ American ℹ️ Categories are auto-assigned based on restaurant names and may not be 100% accurate

82.4 Grade C / 100

Mixed Health Record

How is this score calculated? →

Quick take

GATOR JOE'S in OCKLAWAHA currently holds an InspectFL Health Score of 82.4 out of 100 — a C grade — a noticeable pattern of violations across recent inspections. This restaurant has 4 inspections on record from Florida DBPR, with the most recent inspection on March 9, 2026. Across those visits, inspectors documented 29 total violations — 9 critical, 2 major, 18 minor.

How to read this page

Start with the newest inspection, then verify the pattern

The score is the shortcut. The inspection timeline is the real story. Read the latest visit first, open the official DBPR record when you need the source, then compare this restaurant with other options nearby.

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Record snapshot

What stands out in this inspection history

Use this as context before you scroll through every inspection.

Inspections on file

Clean inspections

Callback visits

Latest clean pass

October 20, 2025

The latest inspection on March 9, 2026 shows 13 observation rows: 5 critical, 0 major, and 8 minor.

Inspection data quality

What’s powering this page

Official source: DBPR

Inspection coverage

75%

Inspector notes

Coverage note

Inspector notes linked where available

InspectFL reorganizes public DBPR inspection records into a page you can actually scan. When exact inspector notes are available, they appear inline. Otherwise, the page falls back to violation categories plus the official DBPR record.

What you’ll see here

•Inspector notes appear inline when available.
•The official DBPR inspection timeline still stays visible, even on pages with zero violations or zero inspector notes.

Location + actions

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DBPR

*Scores are calculated by InspectFL based on public DBPR inspection data and are not official state ratings.

Inspection timeline

Inspection History

Read the newest inspection first, then scan for patterns. Repeated high-priority findings matter more than one isolated bad day.

Critical Major Minor

Inspector notes are being added across all restaurants. Some inspections may only show violation codes until notes are available.

Disposition: Administrative complaint recommended
[01B-12-4] Food contaminated by employees/consumers and operator continued to serve food. See stop sale. Female employee scooped ice for customer drink with plastic cup touching the ice, employee did not wash hands prior to scooping ice.
[08A-05-6] Raw animal food stored over/not properly separated from ready-to-eat food. In reach in cooler located in prep room, two raw shell eggs on shelf over case of tomatoes. Moved.
[13-04-4] Employee with no beard guard/restraint while engaging in food preparation. Male employee in kitchen.
[14-01-5] Bowl or other container with no handle used to dispense food. Cup in sugar. Removed.
[21-05-5] Cloth used as a food-contact surface. Male employee wiped knife with towel.
[23-03-4] Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust. Around doors of reach in cooler soiled with black substance.
[33-16-4] Open dumpster lid. One lid open on dumpster.
[40-06-5] Employee personal items stored in or above a food preparation area, food, clean equipment and utensils, or single-service items. Phone and vape on shelf over clean dishes in ware wash area. Moved during this inspection.
[12A-16-4] Employee began working with food, handling clean equipment or utensils, or touching unwrapped single-service items without first washing hands. Female employee scooped ice for customer drink with plastic cup touching the ice, employee did not wash hands prior to scooping ice.
[09-01-4] Employee touching ready-to-eat food with their bare hands - food was not being heated as a sole ingredient to 145 degrees F or immediately added to other ingredients to be cooked/heated to the minimum required temperature to allow bare hand contact. Establishment has no approved Alternative Operating Procedure. Female employee scooped ice for customer drink with plastic cup touching the ice, employee did not wash hands prior to scooping ice.
[02D-01-5] Working containers of food removed from original container not identified by common name. Sugar not labeled at bar. Labeled.
[36-11-4] Floors not maintained smooth and durable. In kitchen area, rivets on floor.
[12A-29-4] Employee touched soiled surface and then engaged in food preparation, handled clean equipment or utensils, or touched unwrapped single-service items without washing hands. Male employee picked up box from floor the added red sauce to portion cup without washing hands.

Disposition: Warning Issued
[01B-02-5] Stop Sale issued on time/temperature control for safety food due to temperature abuse. In reach in make table: shrimp (50F - Cooling); fish dip (50F - Cold Holding); tomatoes (50F - Cold Holding). Operator discarded during this inspection.
[10-17-4] In-use knife/knives stored in cracks between pieces of equipment. Between prep table and make table. Removed during this inspection.
[23-03-4] Nonfood-contact surface soiled with grease, food debris, dirt, slime or dust. Gaskets of reach in cooler gaskets soiled with food debris. Fan on dry storage shelf soiled with dust
[29-49-6] Standing water in bottom of reach-in-cooler. Bottom of reach in make table in kitchen.
[31B-03-4] No soap and/or handwashing sign provided at handwash sink. Sink at outdoor bar. Added during this inspection.
[36-11-4] Floors not maintained smooth and durable. Floor in kitchen
[14-47-4] Nonfood-contact equipment exposed to splash/spillage not constructed of materials that are corrosion resistant, non-absorbent, smooth and easily cleanable. Wood in walk in cooler under fans.
[08B-49-4] Employee personal food not properly identified and segregated from food to be served to the public. Employee lunch box on shelf over vegetables. Moved during this inspection
[06-09-1] Commercially processed reduced oxygen packaged fish bearing a label indicating that it is to remain frozen until time of use no longer frozen and not removed from reduced oxygen package. Tuna steaks in walk in cooler, operator removed from packaging.
[35A-03-4] Dead roaches on premises. One dead roach on floor in liquor room. Four dead roaches on floor in liquor cabinet near office. Discarded during this inspection.
[12B-13-4] Opened employee beverage container in a cold holding unit with food to be served to customers. Employee drink in reach in freezer.
[03A-02-5] Time/temperature control for safety food cold held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit. In reach in make table: shrimp (50F - Cold holding); fish dip (50F - Cold Holding); tomatoes (50F - Cold Holding). Reach in cooler was unplugged. Operator discarded during this inspection.
[14-09-4] Cutting board has cut marks and is no longer cleanable. Green board on clean dish shelf.
[09-01-4] Employee touching ready-to-eat food with their bare hands - food was not being heated as a sole ingredient to 145 degrees F or immediately added to other ingredients to be cooked/heated to the minimum required temperature to allow bare hand contact. Establishment has no approved Alternative Operating Procedure. Male employee cutting celery touching stalk with bare hands. Employee put on gloves.
[22-02-4] Food-contact surface soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime. Keg lines in walk in cooler soiled with slimy substance.

Community reaction

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Community pulse