FORT PIERCE, FL. Food at Eckles Lounge Restaurant on Orange Avenue was not cooked to required minimum temperatures during a state inspection on July 14, a violation that inspectors classify as a leading cause of foodborne illness. The restaurant also had toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled on the same visit. Despite nine separate high-severity violations documented that day, the lounge was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The nine high-severity violations documented on July 14 covered nearly every layer of food safety. Inspectors cited inadequate handwashing and improper handwashing technique as separate violations, meaning employees were observed both skipping hand washing and performing it incorrectly when they did attempt it.
No person in charge was present or performing duties during the inspection. There was no written employee health policy, and employees were not reporting symptoms of illness. Those three violations together describe a kitchen operating without any of the management controls the state requires.
Inspectors also cited food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated, along with a violation for required procedures for specialized processes not being followed. Three intermediate violations accompanied the nine high-severity findings: improper sewage or wastewater disposal, improper sanitizing solutions or procedures, and inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities.
What These Violations Mean
The combination of no person in charge, no employee health policy, and employees not reporting illness is not a paperwork problem. CDC data cited in the inspection record shows establishments without active managerial control have three times more critical violations. Without a written health policy, there is no mechanism to keep a sick worker out of the kitchen. Without a reporting requirement, that worker has no obligation to say anything.
Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, spreads most efficiently through food workers who handle food while symptomatic. The inspection record describes exactly the conditions that allow that transmission to occur.
The undercooked food violation carries a separate and direct risk. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. A single undercooked serving can cause illness. Paired with the finding that toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled near food, the July 14 inspection documented two distinct pathways for customers to become sick: biological and chemical.
Improper sewage or wastewater disposal adds a third. Raw sewage contains pathogens including E. coli and Hepatitis A. When wastewater is not properly contained or removed, fecal contamination can reach food preparation surfaces.
The Longer Record
Eckles Lounge: Inspection History, Selected Dates
The July 14 inspection was not the first time Eckles Lounge accumulated a serious list of violations in a single visit. State records show 28 inspections on file and 246 total violations across that history. The facility was emergency-closed once before, in May 2023, for roach activity. It reopened the next day.
The November 2024 inspection produced seven high-severity and five intermediate violations. The January 31, 2024 inspection produced six high-severity violations. The pattern across those records is not a single bad day. It is a facility that has cycled through serious violations repeatedly, addressed enough to stay open, and returned to similar findings on subsequent visits.
The day after the July 14 inspection, a follow-up visit on July 15 found two high-severity and two intermediate violations remaining. The nine-violation inspection was not the end of the story, but it was not the beginning of one either.
Eckles Lounge Restaurant on Orange Avenue remained open after the July 14 inspection, with nine high-severity violations on record and customers still walking through the door.
