FORT MYERS, FL. State inspectors cited Key Lime Bistro at 11000 Terminal Access Road for five high-severity violations during the week of June 9, 2026, the most of any facility inspected in Fort Myers that week, including findings that food was not cooked to required minimum temperatures and that toxic substances were improperly identified, stored, or used.
The airport bistro's inspection also turned up no employee health policy, inadequate handwashing facilities, and no person in charge present or performing duties. An intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal rounded out the record. Key Lime Bistro has only four prior inspections on record, making this week's findings its most significant documented moment since opening.
What Inspectors Found
Metro Cafe at 11215 Metro Parkway drew four high-severity violations of its own. Inspectors cited employees for not reporting symptoms of illness, no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized.
Heritage Palms Country Club at 10420 Washingtonia Palm Way was cited for three high-severity violations: inadequate shellfish identification records, parasite destruction procedures not followed, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. An intermediate violation for improperly cleaned multi-use utensils was also noted.
Marina at Edison Ford and Pinchers Crab Shack Upstairs at 2360 West First Street received two high-severity violations, including parasite destruction procedures not followed and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Inspectors also noted inadequate ventilation and lighting, and inadequate or improperly maintained toilet facilities.
Cowboy Up Saloon at 1609-1611 Hendry Street was cited for food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated, and for no allergen awareness demonstrated. An intermediate violation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal was also documented.
Next door on Hendry Street, Taco Works at 1615-1617 Hendry Street drew two high-severity violations: parasite destruction procedures not followed and required procedures for specialized processes not followed. Inspectors also cited improperly cleaned multi-use utensils.
Chuck Lager Legendary Kitchen at 9980 University Plaza Drive was cited for food not cooked to required minimum temperature and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, along with an intermediate finding for inadequate ventilation.
Capones Coal Fired Pizza at 2225 First Street received two high-severity violations: improper handwashing technique and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Multi-use utensils not properly cleaned was also noted.
10 Twenty Five at 33 Patio de Leon was cited for inadequate handwashing facilities and parasite destruction procedures not followed, with improperly cleaned multi-use utensils as an intermediate finding.
Farmers Market Restaurant at 2736 Edison Avenue drew one high-severity violation for food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and one intermediate violation for inadequate cooling or cold holding equipment.
One Fort Myers restaurant did not make it through the week at all. State inspectors ordered Three Girls at 14655 Tamiami Trail closed on June 9 after finding no potable water on site. A facility without running potable water cannot safely prepare food, wash hands, or sanitize surfaces.
What These Violations Mean
The cluster of parasite destruction violations at Heritage Palms Country Club, Marina at Edison Ford and Pinchers, Taco Works, and 10 Twenty Five points to a specific and underappreciated risk. Parasites including Anisakis in fish and Trichinella in pork are not killed by refrigeration alone. They require either cooking to proper internal temperatures or a documented freezing protocol. When neither is followed and no record exists to show otherwise, there is no way to confirm the food served was safe.
The shellfish traceability failure at Heritage Palms Country Club compounds that concern. Oysters, clams, and mussels are often consumed raw or barely cooked. Without proper shell stock identification records, there is no way to trace a contaminated batch back to its harvest location if customers fall ill. That traceability gap is not a paperwork problem; it is the difference between containing an outbreak and losing track of it entirely.
The combination of no employee health policy and an employee not reporting illness symptoms at Metro Cafe represents one of the most direct transmission routes in food safety. Norovirus, which causes roughly 20 million illnesses in the United States each year, spreads readily from a sick food worker to prepared food. A written health policy is the mechanism that keeps symptomatic workers out of the kitchen. Without one, the decision is left entirely to the individual employee.
The five-violation inspection at Key Lime Bistro illustrates how quickly a facility can deteriorate when management oversight fails. No person in charge performing duties was the first violation listed. CDC data consistently shows that establishments without active managerial control accumulate critical violations at roughly three times the rate of those with engaged supervision. The subsequent findings at Key Lime Bistro, including undercooked food and improperly stored toxic substances, are consistent with that pattern.
The Longer Record
Inspection History: Select Fort Myers Facilities
Farmers Market Restaurant has 36 prior inspections on record, the most of any facility cited this week. That volume of inspections across years of operation makes a high-severity violation for improperly cleaned food contact surfaces harder to dismiss as a first-time oversight. The same is true for Capones Coal Fired Pizza and 10 Twenty Five, each with 29 prior inspections, both cited this week for violations that speak to routine kitchen practice: handwashing technique and the maintenance of handwashing infrastructure.
Heritage Palms Country Club and Marina at Edison Ford and Pinchers each carry 26 prior inspections, and both were cited this week for failing to follow parasite destruction procedures. That both facilities serve seafood and both were flagged for the same category of violation in the same week suggests the issue is not isolated.
Metro Cafe's 25-inspection history and this week's four high-severity findings, including both the absence of a health policy and an employee not reporting illness symptoms, place the facility among the week's most concerning repeat presences in the inspection record.
Key Lime Bistro and Chuck Lager Legendary Kitchen are at the opposite end of the history spectrum, with four and three prior inspections respectively. Chuck Lager was cited for food not cooked to required minimum temperature and for failing to post a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items. It is one of the newer facilities in this week's data, and it is already accumulating findings in categories that experienced operators with dozens of inspections continue to struggle with.