FORT MYERS, FL. Mastello Italian Restaurant and Steak House on Summerlin Lakes Drive drew six high-severity violations during the week of October 5, more than any other facility inspected in Fort Myers, including a citation for sourcing food from unapproved or unknown suppliers and a separate finding that food was not cooked to required minimum temperatures.
Those two violations, appearing together at the same facility, form one of the more serious combinations inspectors can document. Undercooked food from a supplier that has bypassed federal safety inspections removes two of the primary safeguards between a kitchen and a customer's plate.
Mastello also drew citations for failing to follow parasite destruction procedures, not posting a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked menu items, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, and no person in charge present or performing duties during the inspection. All six violations were high-severity. None were intermediate.
What Inspectors Found Across the City
Club at Shell Point-Vue on On Par Boulevard logged five high-severity violations and two intermediate citations. Inspectors cited employees for not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, toxic substances improperly stored or identified, and no allergen awareness demonstrated. The allergen violation is notable at a venue that serves a retirement community population, where compromised immune systems are more common.
Cheesesteaks.com on Gladiolus Drive also drew five high-severity violations. Inspectors documented inadequate shell stock identification records, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, improper handwashing technique, an employee illness reporting failure, and improper use of time as a public health control. A cheesesteak shop is not a typical venue for shellfish traceability concerns, making the shell stock citation stand out.
Grimaldi's Pizzeria on Cleveland Avenue South was cited for food from an unapproved source, failure to follow parasite destruction procedures, unclean food contact surfaces, and no allergen awareness. That combination, unapproved sourcing paired with skipped parasite protocols, mirrors the pattern at Mastello and raises the same traceability problem: if a customer becomes ill, there is no verified supply chain to trace.
Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre on Colonial Boulevard drew three high-severity violations including food from an unapproved source, parasite destruction procedures not followed, and no allergen awareness. Inspectors also cited improperly cleaned multi-use utensils and inadequate toilet facilities as intermediate violations.
Fort Myers Dinner Theatre LLC on Crystal Drive was cited for improper handwashing, unclean food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory, and no allergen awareness. Inspectors also noted inadequate ventilation and lighting.
Perkins Restaurant and Bakery 1140 on North Cleveland Avenue drew four high-severity violations: no person in charge, an employee illness reporting failure, inadequate shell stock identification records, and toxic substances improperly stored or identified. A chain breakfast and bakery operation carrying shellfish traceability gaps is an unusual finding.
Quality Inn Fort Myers Central on South Cleveland Avenue was cited for an employee illness reporting failure, improper handwashing, food in poor condition or mislabeled, and unclean food contact surfaces. Improperly cleaned utensils rounded out the intermediate tier.
European American Bakery Cafe on Metro Parkway drew two high-severity violations, time as a public health control not properly used and no consumer advisory, plus an intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal. A sewage handling failure at a bakery that handles open food products is a direct contamination pathway.
Tres Amigos Taqueria on Gladiolus Drive, sharing a commercial strip with Cheesesteaks.com, was cited for food from an unapproved source, unclean food contact surfaces, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. Inspectors also noted inadequate ventilation.
Lindy's Cafe on Shell Point Plaza drew three high-severity violations: no consumer advisory, toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled, and no allergen awareness demonstrated. Improperly cleaned multi-use utensils added an intermediate citation.
Dunkin on Colonial Boulevard was cited for no employee health policy, food from an unapproved source, and unclean food contact surfaces. Improperly cleaned utensils were also documented.
La Kasita LLC on Fowler Street drew citations for no employee health policy, improper handwashing, and required procedures for specialized processes not followed. The specialized process violation indicates the kitchen is using techniques such as smoking, curing, fermenting, or reduced-oxygen packaging without the required documentation or controls in place.
Los Molcajetes on Cleveland Avenue was cited for no employee health policy, food in poor condition or mislabeled, and unclean food contact surfaces.
Discovery Village at the Forum on Forum Boulevard, a senior living facility, was cited for inadequate shell stock identification records, parasite destruction procedures not followed, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. All three violations were high-severity. The population served there, elderly residents with compromised immune systems, faces elevated risk from exactly the pathogens these protocols are designed to catch.
What These Violations Mean
The food-from-unapproved-sources citation, documented this week at Mastello, Grimaldi's, Broadway Palm, Tres Amigos, and Dunkin, means those kitchens received ingredients that never passed through a USDA or FDA inspection point. It is not a paperwork problem. If a contaminated batch of meat or produce enters through an unverified supplier and a customer becomes ill, there is no tag, no lot number, and no distributor record to trace. Investigators start from nothing.
Parasite destruction failures, flagged at Mastello, Grimaldi's, Broadway Palm, and Discovery Village, are a direct consequence of skipping required freezing or cooking protocols for fish and certain meats. Parasites including Anisakis in fish and Trichinella in pork are not visible to the naked eye and are not killed by refrigeration alone. The procedures exist because the alternative is a customer ingesting a living organism.
The employee illness reporting failures and missing health policy citations, spread across Mastello, Club at Shell Point-Vue, Cheesesteaks.com, Quality Inn, Perkins, Dunkin, La Kasita, and Los Molcajetes, represent a structural gap, not an individual lapse. Without a written policy and active enforcement by management, a sick employee has no formal obligation to stay out of the kitchen. Norovirus, which spreads through food handled by infected workers, causes 20 million illnesses in the United States each year.
No-allergen-awareness citations at Club at Shell Point-Vue, Fort Myers Dinner Theatre, Grimaldi's, Broadway Palm, and Lindy's Cafe mean staff could not demonstrate knowledge of the major food allergens or how to respond to a customer inquiry. Food allergies trigger 30,000 emergency room visits annually in the United States. A staff member who cannot identify allergens in a dish cannot prevent an allergic reaction.
The Longer Record
Grimaldi's Pizzeria has 35 prior inspections on record, the highest count among any facility cited this week. Four high-severity violations in that context, including unapproved sourcing and parasite protocol failures, suggest these are not new problems at a new location finding its footing.
Fort Myers Dinner Theatre carries 34 prior inspections and drew four high-severity violations this week. La Kasita LLC has 32 prior inspections on record. European American Bakery Cafe has 31. All three are well-established in the inspection record and all three drew high-severity citations this week.
At the other end of the history, Dunkin on Colonial Boulevard has only four prior inspections on record, making this week's findings early in its regulatory history. Three high-severity violations, including food from an unapproved source and no employee health policy, at a location this new in the inspection cycle is a different kind of concern. Lindy's Cafe has seven prior inspections and drew three high-severity violations this week.
Mastello Italian Restaurant and Steak House has 23 prior inspections on record. Whether the six high-severity violations documented this week, including undercooking and unapproved sourcing, represent a new pattern or a continuation of prior findings is not answered by this week's inspection report alone.
