FORT MYERS, FL. A pho restaurant on Metro Parkway accumulated eight high-severity violations in a single inspection this week, the highest count among 15 Fort Myers establishments cited for serious food safety failures between August 18 and August 24, 2026.
The Week's Worst Offenders
Pho Bowl at 12951 Metro Pkwy drew citations for having no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, food from an unapproved source, food in poor condition, inadequate shellfish identification records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no allergen awareness. That is eight distinct high-severity findings in a single visit, touching nearly every category of serious food safety failure.
Viet Kitchen at 4300 Cleveland Ave Suite 120 followed with seven high-severity violations, including food sourced from an unknown supplier, food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, and improper sewage or wastewater disposal. The sewage citation is among the more unusual findings of the week: inspectors documented that waste water was not being disposed of properly, a condition that creates a direct fecal contamination pathway throughout the facility.
Fortune Cookie at 4017 Palm Beach Blvd also drew seven high-severity citations, including no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, no allergen awareness, and failure to follow required procedures for specialized food processes. Inspectors additionally noted inadequate cooling and cold-holding equipment, meaning the facility lacked the physical capacity to keep food out of the temperature danger zone.
Nick and Stellas Pizza Perfecto at 15271 McGregor Blvd Suite 14 drew seven high-severity violations that included inadequate handwashing facilities, food from an unapproved source, and inadequate shellfish identification records. A pizza restaurant serving shellfish it cannot document the origin of is a specific concern: without those records, there is no way to trace a contaminated batch back to a harvest site if a customer becomes ill.
Pascal Restaurant at 2529 Simpson St was cited for food in poor condition, food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, inadequate handwashing facilities, and no allergen awareness, among seven total high-severity findings. Inspectors also noted inadequate cooling equipment, the same infrastructure failure documented at Fortune Cookie.
No Manager, Unknown Food Sources, No Advisory
Sandbar and Grille at 4606 S Cleveland Ave accumulated seven high-severity violations, and the first one documented sets the tone for the rest: no person in charge was present or performing duties during the inspection. CDC data shows establishments without active managerial control have three times more critical violations, and the Sandbar and Grille record this week illustrates why. The remaining six high-severity findings included food from an unapproved source, no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate handwashing facilities, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Jax Diner at 1870 Tamiami Trail N drew five high-severity citations, including inadequate shellfish identification records, failure to follow parasite destruction procedures for fish, and no allergen awareness. The parasite destruction citation is notable: without proper freezing or cooking protocols, parasites including Anisakis and tapeworm can survive in fish served to customers.
Auto Inn Tavern and Restaurant at 4805 S Cleveland Ave Unit A was also cited for no person in charge present, alongside food from an unapproved source, food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, and inadequate handwashing facilities. Five high-severity violations total.
Cibo at 12901 McGregor Blvd drew five high-severity citations with no intermediate violations, including food from an unapproved source, inadequate shellfish records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. That last citation places chemical contamination risk alongside the food safety failures.
Iguana Mia of Ft Myers at 4329 S Cleveland Ave drew four high-severity violations, including toxic substances improperly identified or stored. Inspectors also cited employees for not reporting illness symptoms and for improper handwashing technique.
Saigon Paris Bistro at 12995 S Cleveland Ave Suite 118, the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Myers Airport at 16410 Corporate Commerce Way, Bada Bing Pizza Co at 11600 Gladiolus Dr, Rooster's Barn and Grill at 8700 Gladiolus Dr, and Cold Stone Creamery at 15201 N Cleveland Ave each drew two to three high-severity violations. Cold Stone Creamery's citations included food contaminated by chemical, physical, or biological hazards and failure to follow parasite destruction procedures, two findings that are unusual for an ice cream shop and suggest process failures beyond what the format of the establishment might lead a customer to expect.
What These Violations Mean
The most common high-severity citation this week was the absence of an employee health policy, documented at Pho Bowl, Viet Kitchen, Fortune Cookie, Nick and Stellas Pizza Perfecto, Pascal Restaurant, Sandbar and Grille, Saigon Paris Bistro, and Bada Bing Pizza Co. Without a written policy, there is no mechanism to keep a sick worker out of the kitchen. Norovirus, the most common cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in restaurant settings, spreads person-to-person through contaminated food prepared by infected workers. A single sick employee without a reporting requirement can expose dozens of customers in a single shift.
The food-from-unapproved-source citation, documented at Pho Bowl, Viet Kitchen, Nick and Stellas Pizza Perfecto, Sandbar and Grille, Auto Inn Tavern, and Cibo, carries a specific traceability consequence. When food enters a restaurant through an unverified supplier, it bypasses federal inspection checkpoints designed to catch Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli contamination before product reaches consumers. If a customer becomes ill, there is no paper trail to identify the source.
The shellfish traceability violations at Pho Bowl, Nick and Stellas Pizza Perfecto, Jax Diner, Cibo, and Rooster's Barn and Grill compound that problem specifically for raw and lightly cooked shellfish. Oysters, clams, and mussels filter large volumes of seawater and concentrate whatever pathogens are present in the harvest area. Harvest tags are the only way to link a sick customer back to a specific bed and pull product before more people are exposed.
The no-consumer-advisory citation at Fortune Cookie, Nick and Stellas Pizza Perfecto, Sandbar and Grille, Jax Diner, Iguana Mia, and the Hilton Garden Inn removes the last line of defense for high-risk diners. Elderly customers, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems face substantially higher risk from raw or undercooked proteins. Without a menu advisory, they have no information on which to base that decision.
The Longer Record
The inspection histories at several of this week's flagged facilities make the current findings harder to dismiss as isolated events. Iguana Mia of Ft Myers carries 41 prior inspections on record, the longest history of any facility cited this week, and still drew four high-severity violations including improper chemical storage. Sandbar and Grille has 35 prior inspections and this week produced seven high-severity findings, including the absent manager. Saigon Paris Bistro has 34 prior inspections; Rooster's Barn and Grill has 33.
Pho Bowl and Nick and Stellas Pizza Perfecto each carry 32 prior inspections. Fortune Cookie has 31 and Jax Diner has 30, as does the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Myers Airport. Cibo has 28 prior inspections and this week drew five high-severity violations with no intermediate findings at all, meaning every citation inspectors wrote was at the most serious level.
The newest facilities in this week's data tell a different story. Auto Inn Tavern and Restaurant has only 7 prior inspections and already drew five high-severity violations, including absent management and food from an unapproved source. Cold Stone Creamery has 8 prior inspections and this week was cited for food contamination and parasite destruction failures. Bada Bing Pizza Co has 13 prior inspections.
Viet Kitchen, with 15 prior inspections, drew the week's only improper sewage disposal citation alongside six other high-severity findings. That citation had not been resolved as of the inspection record.
