FORT MYERS, FL. XiXi Hibachi and Sushi on Gladiolus Drive drew more high-severity violations than any other restaurant inspected in Fort Myers the week of August 10, accumulating 10 high-severity and 4 intermediate citations in a single visit, including failures in parasite destruction procedures, shellfish traceability, and no consumer advisory warning customers that raw or undercooked fish was on the menu.
Fourteen other Fort Myers restaurants were cited for high-severity violations during the same seven-day stretch.
The Week's Worst
XiXi's parasite destruction failure is among the most direct risks in the entire week's data. Restaurants serving raw or lightly cooked fish are required to freeze product to specific temperatures for specific durations to kill parasites including Anisakis and tapeworm. XiXi also lacked adequate shellfish identification records and failed to post a consumer advisory, meaning customers ordering raw preparations had no written notice that their food carried elevated risk.
The restaurant also had no employee health policy and no mechanism for workers to report illness symptoms, two violations that inspectors flagged in the same visit. XiXi has only three prior inspections on record.
What Inspectors Found Across the City
Tung Hing Chinese Restaurant on Fowler Street drew eight high-severity violations, the second-highest count of the week. Inspectors cited the restaurant for food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized, and improper handwashing technique. Tung Hing also had no allergen awareness demonstrated and toxic substances improperly stored or used.
The restaurant's employee health violations mirrored XiXi's: no adequate health policy and employees not reporting illness symptoms. Both violations appeared together at multiple facilities this week.
Snappers Comedy Club on College Parkway added seven high-severity violations to its record, including inadequate handwashing facilities, shellfish traceability failures, and parasite destruction procedures not followed. The comedy club also drew an intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal, a finding that creates risk of fecal contamination throughout the facility.
Snappers had no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods and no allergen awareness demonstrated. Seven high-severity violations at a venue where food service is secondary to entertainment is a combination inspectors treat as a management attention problem.
Cafe In on Cleveland Avenue was cited for seven high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved or unknown source. Food sourced outside of USDA and FDA-inspected supply chains cannot be traced if a customer becomes ill, and it bypasses the safety checks that licensed distributors are required to maintain. Cafe In also had no person in charge present or performing duties during the inspection.
Le Goute on Fowler Street drew six high-severity violations, including a person in charge absent, food in poor condition, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Inspectors also cited inadequate cooling and cold holding equipment, meaning the physical infrastructure to keep food safe was itself failing.
Clase Azul of Estero on Gulf Coast Main Street was cited for five high-severity violations, among them toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used, and food in poor condition. The restaurant also had no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods and drew intermediate citations for improper sewage disposal and single-use items being reused.
China Dragon at the Shoppes at Plantation Drive had five high-severity violations, including no person in charge, improper handwashing, food contact surfaces not sanitized, and no allergen awareness. The pattern, absent supervision combined with basic hygiene failures, appeared at multiple facilities this week.
Tsaocaa and Hibachi on South Tamiami Trail drew five high-severity violations including toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, a significant gap for a restaurant with hibachi and sushi service. The facility has only six prior inspections on record.
Wicked Good Deli on Metro Parkway was cited for parasite destruction procedures not followed, improper handwashing, unsanitized food contact surfaces, and no allergen awareness. A deli serving fish without parasite destruction protocols and without allergen awareness is a combination that puts customers with fish allergies and immunocompromised diners at simultaneous risk.
Chef Roland's Delight on Beacon Boulevard drew four high-severity violations including food from an unapproved or unknown source, the same sourcing violation cited at Cafe In and Sai Gon Baguette this week. Sai Gon Baguette on South Cleveland Avenue also drew improper handwashing, unsanitized food contact surfaces, and no allergen awareness.
HeadPinz Fort Myers on Global Parkway drew two high-severity violations, food not cooked to minimum temperature and no consumer advisory, alongside intermediate citations for sewage disposal and ventilation. Carrabba's Italian Grill on Cleveland Avenue drew one high-severity violation for food contact surfaces not properly sanitized. Logan's Roadhouse on South Cleveland Avenue had no high-severity violations, drawing only intermediate citations for sewage and ventilation. Leoni's Pizzeria on Fiddlesticks Boulevard drew a single high-severity violation for improper handwashing technique.
What These Violations Mean
The most common high-severity violation this week, appearing at Tung Hing, XiXi, Le Goute, China Dragon, Tsaocaa and Hibachi, Wicked Good Deli, Chef Roland's Delight, Sai Gon Baguette, and Leoni's Pizzeria, was improper handwashing technique. This is not a paperwork violation. Studies show that the majority of foodborne illness outbreaks trace back to food worker hand contamination, and improper technique leaves pathogens on hands even when a worker makes an attempt to wash. At nine facilities in a single week, the failure is systemic, not incidental.
The unapproved food source citations at Cafe In, Chef Roland's Delight, and Sai Gon Baguette carry a specific consequence that goes beyond the food itself. When food enters a kitchen from an unlicensed or unknown supplier, there is no traceability if a customer becomes ill. Health investigators cannot identify a contaminated batch, cannot issue a recall, and cannot notify other customers who ate from the same source.
Parasite destruction failures at XiXi Hibachi and Sushi, Snappers Comedy Club, and Wicked Good Deli are acutely serious at restaurants serving raw or lightly cooked fish. Anisakis and tapeworm survive in untreated fish and can cause severe gastrointestinal illness. The required freezing protocols exist specifically because cooking is not always sufficient, and raw preparations bypass heat entirely.
The absence of allergen awareness at Tung Hing, Snappers, Cafe In, China Dragon, Wicked Good Deli, Chef Roland's Delight, Sai Gon Baguette, and Leoni's Pizzeria means that at eight separate Fort Myers restaurants this week, no demonstrated system existed to prevent a customer with a food allergy from receiving a dish that could send them to an emergency room. Food allergies cause an estimated 30,000 emergency room visits annually in the United States.
The Longer Record
Le Goute on Fowler Street has 48 prior inspections on record, the longest history of any facility cited this week. Six high-severity violations at a restaurant with that many inspections behind it suggests the findings this week are not anomalous. A facility with 48 inspections has had sustained opportunity to address systemic problems.
HeadPinz and Clase Azul of Estero each have 37 prior inspections on record. Both drew high-severity violations this week, and Clase Azul's five-citation haul, including toxic substance mishandling and sewage disposal problems, at a location with that inspection history is a record worth noting.
Tung Hing Chinese Restaurant has 33 prior inspections and drew eight high-severity violations this week, its second-highest facility total for the period. Carrabba's Italian Grill, with 31 prior inspections, drew only one high-severity violation, the lowest count among restaurants with comparable histories.
At the other end of the experience spectrum, XiXi Hibachi and Sushi is on only its third inspection and already leads the week with 10 high-severity violations. Sai Gon Baguette has five inspections on record and drew four high-severity citations including an unapproved food source. Leoni's Pizzeria is also on its third inspection.
Whether XiXi's parasite destruction failure was corrected before any customer ordered raw fish that week is not reflected in the inspection record.
