COLLIER COUNTY, FL. State inspectors found food from an unapproved or unknown source at Snook Inn on Bald Eagle Drive on Marco Island last week, one of six high-severity violations that made the waterfront restaurant the county's worst performer during the week of July 13 through July 19, 2026.
Across 32 inspections at 30 facilities, inspectors flagged 12 restaurants for two or more high-severity violations. The week's findings stretched from Marco Island to North Naples, touching chain restaurants, sushi bars, a country club, and a neighborhood pizza shop.
The Worst of the Week
Snook Inn's six violations covered nearly every category that inspectors use to assess whether a restaurant's basic safety infrastructure is functioning. The person in charge was not present or not performing duties. Employees were not reporting symptoms of illness. Hand and arm washing technique was improper. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized. And the restaurant had no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods on the menu.
The sixth violation, food from an unapproved or unknown source, is the one that inspectors treat as a structural problem rather than a lapse. Food sourced outside the regulated supply chain carries no traceability if a customer gets sick.
Yard House #8383 on Tamiami Trail North drew five high-severity violations of its own. Inspectors cited the restaurant for inadequate handwashing facilities, improper hand and arm washing technique, failure to report employee illness symptoms, no person in charge performing duties, and inadequate shell stock identification records. The shellfish traceability citation means inspectors could not verify where the restaurant's oysters, clams, or mussels originated, a critical gap when those items are served raw or lightly cooked.
La Sierra Mexican Restaurant and Bar on Golden Gate Parkway matched Yard House at five high-severity violations and added two intermediate citations. The high-severity list at La Sierra included the person in charge absent or not performing duties, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shell stock records, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items. Inspectors also noted multi-use utensils not properly cleaned and inadequate ventilation and lighting.
Roppo Rosati's Pizza on Collier Boulevard recorded four high-severity violations: inadequate handwashing facilities, inadequate shell stock identification records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. The intermediate citation was for improper sewage or wastewater disposal, a finding that carries a direct risk of fecal contamination spreading through a facility.
Don Tequila on Tamiami Trail North was cited for four high-severity violations, all concentrated in handwashing and management: person in charge not present or not performing duties, employee illness not being reported, inadequate handwashing facilities, and improper hand and arm washing technique. No intermediate violations were recorded.
Bamboo Wok on Collier Boulevard, which shares a shopping center address with Roppo Rosati's Pizza, drew a notably different set of violations. Inspectors cited the restaurant for no written employee health policy, parasite destruction procedures not followed, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. Multi-use utensils were also cited as not properly cleaned.
The parasite destruction citation at Bamboo Wok is significant. Without proper freezing or cooking protocols for fish, parasites including Anisakis and tapeworm can survive and infect customers.
Ninja Steak House and Sushi on Vanderbilt Beach Road was cited for four high-severity violations: person in charge not present or not performing duties, improper hand and arm washing technique, food from an unapproved or unknown source, and inadequate shell stock identification records. Inspectors also noted multi-use utensils not properly cleaned.
The Rest of the Top Twelve
Bob Evans Restaurant 392 on Northbrooke Plaza Drive drew three high-severity violations: person in charge not present or not performing duties, improper hand and arm washing technique, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Inadequate ventilation and lighting was the intermediate citation.
19th Hole Glades C C on Teryl Road, the country club dining facility, was cited for three high-severity violations: no written employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Inspectors also noted multi-use utensils not properly cleaned and inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities.
#1 Wok Naples on Thomasson Drive drew three high-severity violations: no written employee health policy, inadequate shell stock identification records, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Inadequate ventilation and lighting was the intermediate citation.
Blueberry's on Tamiami Trail North rounded out the twelve facilities with two high-severity citations: employees not reporting illness symptoms and improper hand and arm washing technique. Multi-use utensils not properly cleaned was the intermediate finding.
Komoon Thai Sushi and Ceviche on Pine Ridge Road recorded one high-severity violation, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, with no intermediate citations.
What These Violations Mean
The single most common high-severity violation across Collier County this week was the combination of no person in charge and employees not reporting illness symptoms. Those two violations appeared together at Snook Inn, Yard House, La Sierra, Don Tequila, Ninja Steak House and Sushi, and Bob Evans. CDC research links the absence of active managerial control to roughly three times the rate of critical violations in a kitchen. When that gap coincides with employees who are not required or reminded to report illness, the risk of a norovirus or salmonella outbreak moving from a single sick worker to dozens of customers rises sharply.
The shellfish traceability citations at Yard House, La Sierra, Roppo Rosati's, Ninja Steak House and Sushi, and #1 Wok represent a different category of risk. Oysters, clams, and mussels are filter feeders that concentrate bacteria and viruses from the water they grow in. Without shell stock identification tags, inspectors cannot trace a shellfish-related illness back to a harvest location or pull a contaminated lot before more people are exposed.
Improper handwashing technique, cited at Snook Inn, Yard House, La Sierra, Don Tequila, Ninja Steak House and Sushi, Bob Evans, and Blueberry's, is not the same as no handwashing at all. It means employees are going through the motion without removing pathogens. Studies show that incorrect technique, such as skipping soap, rinsing too briefly, or not washing between tasks, leaves enough contamination on hands to transfer illness to food surfaces.
The toxic chemical storage violation at Bamboo Wok stands apart from the rest of the week's findings. Improperly stored or unlabeled chemicals near food prep areas create acute poisoning risk, not a gradual one. A mislabeled chemical used in food preparation can cause immediate harm.
The Longer Record
The data provided does not include prior inspection counts for the facilities listed this week, which limits direct comparison of how these restaurants have performed over time. What the week's record does show is a pattern of overlapping failures at the same addresses. Bamboo Wok and Roppo Rosati's Pizza share a Collier Boulevard shopping center and each drew four or more high-severity violations during the same inspection week, with Bamboo Wok's parasite destruction and chemical storage citations suggesting operational gaps that go beyond routine lapses.
The concentration of management and handwashing violations across six separate restaurants in a single week is the more significant pattern. When inspectors document both the absence of a person in charge and employees who are not reporting illness at the same facility, those two findings reinforce each other. A manager present and engaged is the primary mechanism by which illness reporting policies get enforced on a shift.
Snook Inn's food from unapproved source citation is the one finding this week that raises questions beyond the inspection itself. That violation means the restaurant was using ingredients that could not be traced through the regulated supply chain at the time of the visit. Whether that sourcing gap has appeared in prior inspections at the Marco Island address is not reflected in this week's data.
