FORT MYERS, FL. Le Goute on Fowler Street drew seven high-severity violations in a single inspection during the week of June 8, 2026, the highest count among 11 Fort Myers restaurants cited for serious violations that week. Inspectors found the facility operating without a person in charge performing duties, without a written employee health policy, without employees reporting illness symptoms, and with food described as in poor condition. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, handwashing technique was improper, and the restaurant had posted no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
That is seven distinct high-severity citations in one visit, at a facility with 47 prior inspections on record.
The Closures and the Most Urgent Findings
The week's one emergency closure happened at Three Girls, 14655 Tamiami Trail, shut down June 9 after inspectors found no potable water on the premises. No potable water means no safe food preparation, no handwashing, and no sanitation. The facility cannot legally operate under those conditions.
Key Lime Bistro #1097 on Terminal Access Road collected five high-severity violations. Inspectors cited the facility for having no person in charge performing duties, no written employee health policy, inadequate handwashing facilities, food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, and toxic substances improperly identified, stored, or used. An intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal rounded out the report.
Toxic substances and improperly cooked food in the same inspection is a combination that warrants attention. Chemicals stored or used incorrectly can contaminate food directly; undercooked food allows pathogens to survive and reach the customer.
Metro Cafe on Metro Parkway produced four high-severity violations with no intermediate violations alongside them. Inspectors found no written employee health policy, employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. All four violations involve direct human handling of food and the conditions that allow pathogens to move from workers to surfaces to customers.
Heritage Palms Country Club on Washingtonia Palm Way was cited for three high-severity violations tied specifically to seafood handling. Inspectors found inadequate shell stock identification and records, parasite destruction procedures not followed, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Multi-use utensils were also cited as improperly cleaned.
Shell stock identification and parasite destruction failures at the same facility, on the same visit, represent layered risk for anyone eating raw or lightly cooked shellfish or fish there.
The Marina at Edison Ford and Pinchers Crab Shack Upstairs on West First Street drew two high-severity violations, both tied to seafood: parasite destruction procedures not followed and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Inadequate ventilation and inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities were cited as intermediate violations.
Cowboy Up Saloon on Hendry Street was cited for food in poor condition and no allergen awareness demonstrated, alongside an intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal. One door down, Taco Works at 1615-1617 Hendry Street drew violations for parasite destruction procedures not followed and required procedures for specialized processes not followed.
Two adjacent addresses on the same block, both with high-severity violations in the same week.
Capones Coal Fired Pizza on First Street was cited for improper handwashing technique and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, with multi-use utensils improperly cleaned as an intermediate. 10 Twenty Five on Patio de Leon drew inadequate handwashing facilities and parasite destruction procedures not followed, with multi-use utensils also cited. Chuck Lager Legendary Kitchen on University Plaza Drive was cited for food not cooked to required minimum temperature and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Farmers Market Restaurant on Edison Avenue drew one high-severity violation for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized and one intermediate for inadequate cooling and cold holding equipment.
What These Violations Mean
The cluster of employee illness violations at Le Goute and Metro Cafe deserves plain-language explanation. When a facility has no written employee health policy and no mechanism for workers to report illness symptoms, sick employees prepare and serve food with no system in place to stop them. Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million cases of foodborne illness annually in the United States, spreads primarily through infected food handlers. A single sick worker without reporting requirements can expose dozens of customers before anyone knows there is a problem.
Parasite destruction failures, cited at Heritage Palms Country Club, Marina at Edison Ford and Pinchers Crab Shack, Taco Works, and 10 Twenty Five, mean that fish, shellfish, or other proteins served at those facilities may not have been subjected to the freezing or cooking protocols required to kill parasites including Anisakis and tapeworm. These are not abstract risks. They are the reason state regulations specify exact time and temperature thresholds for fish intended to be served raw or undercooked.
The shell stock identification failure at Heritage Palms Country Club is a traceability problem. Oysters, clams, and mussels consumed raw or lightly cooked carry Vibrio and other pathogens. When the tags identifying where those shellfish came from are absent or inadequate, there is no way to trace an illness back to its source, and no way to pull contaminated product from circulation before more people get sick.
Inadequate handwashing facilities at Key Lime Bistro #1097 and 10 Twenty Five mean the physical infrastructure for hygiene was not in place. Improper handwashing technique at Le Goute, Metro Cafe, and Capones Coal Fired Pizza means that even where sinks exist, employees were not using them correctly. Both failures produce the same result: pathogens that should have been washed away remain on hands that touch food.
The Longer Record
Le Goute has 47 prior inspections on record, the most of any facility cited this week. Seven high-severity violations on inspection 47 or beyond is not the profile of a facility working through early growing pains. It is a facility that has been inspected repeatedly and arrived at this week's visit without a written illness policy, without a manager performing duties, and with food described as in poor condition.
Heritage Palms Country Club and Marina at Edison Ford and Pinchers Crab Shack each carry 26 prior inspections. Both drew parasite destruction failures this week. Capones Coal Fired Pizza and 10 Twenty Five each have 29 prior inspections. Both drew multi-use utensil violations as intermediate citations alongside their high-severity findings. Farmers Market Restaurant has 36 prior inspections and was cited for unsanitized food contact surfaces alongside inadequate cold holding equipment.
Metro Cafe, with 25 prior inspections, drew four high-severity violations this week, all in the category of employee hygiene and illness management. That combination at a facility with that inspection history suggests these are not new oversights.
Key Lime Bistro #1097 has only 4 prior inspections on record, making it among the newest facilities inspected this week. It produced five high-severity violations, including toxic substance handling and food cooked below required temperature. Chuck Lager Legendary Kitchen has 3 prior inspections and drew citations for undercooked food and no consumer advisory. Cowboy Up Saloon has 10 prior inspections and Taco Works has 8.
The two Hendry Street neighbors, Cowboy Up Saloon and Taco Works, both with relatively short inspection histories, were each cited for high-severity violations in the same week. Whether either has addressed its sewage disposal and specialized process failures remains, as of this report, unconfirmed.