FORT MYERS, FL. The kitchen at Kelly Greens Golf and Country Club on Kelly Green Boulevard drew nine high-severity violations during the week of September 30, the highest single-facility count among 15 Fort Myers restaurants cited for serious health code failures that week.
Inspectors documented that no person in charge was present or performing duties, that handwashing facilities were inadequate, and that employees were using improper hand and arm washing technique. Toxic chemicals were improperly stored or labeled. Toxic substances were improperly identified, stored, or used, a separate citation that appeared alongside the chemical storage failure. Shellfish on the premises lacked proper identification records, food was found in poor condition, and time as a public health control was not being used properly. That is nine distinct high-severity findings in a single visit at a facility that has now accumulated 29 inspections on record.
What Inspectors Found
Dona Juana Guatemalan Restaurant 2 on South Tamiami Trail drew seven high-severity violations. Inspectors found no employee health policy in place, that employees were not reporting illness symptoms, and that food was sourced from unapproved or unknown origins. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, and multi-use utensils had not been properly cleaned. This is a facility with only two prior inspections on record, meaning it is accumulating serious citations almost from the start of its regulatory history.
El Cheyo Mariscos, Botanas, y Tacos on McGregor Boulevard also drew seven high-severity violations. The seafood-focused restaurant had no employee health policy, food from unapproved sources, inadequate shellfish identification records, and food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned. Inspectors also cited the kitchen for failing to cook food to required minimum temperatures, a direct pathway for pathogen survival in protein-heavy dishes.
Fiddlesticks Country Club on Canongate Drive collected six high-severity violations. Among them: food from unapproved sources, parasite destruction procedures not followed for fish or other applicable proteins, toxic substances improperly identified or stored, and no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff. That last citation means employees could not adequately inform customers about ingredients that trigger life-threatening allergic reactions.
Cheesesteaks.com on Gladiolus Drive drew five high-severity violations, including employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, inadequate shellfish identification records, unclean food contact surfaces, and time as a public health control not properly used.
Grimaldi's Pizzeria on Cleveland Avenue was cited for food from unapproved sources, parasite destruction procedures not followed, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and no allergen awareness demonstrated. A national pizza brand with 35 prior inspections on record, it shares that inspection count with Busters Sports Tavern and Family Eatery on McGregor Boulevard, which drew one high-severity violation for food in poor condition.
Sensaciones Restaurant on South Cleveland Avenue was cited for food from unapproved sources, unclean food contact surfaces, toxic substances improperly stored, and no allergen awareness. Inspectors also noted single-use items being reused and inadequate toilet facilities, two intermediate violations that compound the hygiene picture.
Fort Myers Dinner Theatre on Crystal Drive drew four high-severity violations: improper handwashing technique, unclean food contact surfaces, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and no allergen awareness demonstrated. The absence of both a consumer advisory and allergen awareness at the same facility means customers ordering anything with raw components or common allergens had no formal mechanism to get accurate information.
Clam Bake on South Tamiami Trail collected three high-severity violations, including employees not reporting illness symptoms, improper handwashing technique, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. The facility also had improper sewage or wastewater disposal and inadequate toilet facilities among its intermediate citations.
Pickle and Pub Restaurant on Old McGregor Boulevard was cited for no employee health policy, time as a public health control not properly used, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Improper sewage disposal was among its intermediate violations.
Haney's Cafe on South Tamiami Trail drew three high-severity violations including toxic substances improperly stored and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, along with improper sewage disposal as an intermediate finding.
Tres Amigos Taqueria on Gladiolus Drive was cited for food from unapproved sources, unclean food contact surfaces, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled.
Dunkin on Colonial Boulevard drew three high-severity violations: no employee health policy, food from unapproved sources, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned. With only four prior inspections on record, it is among the newest facilities on this list.
Jet's Pizza on Reflections Parkway drew one high-severity violation for no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, alongside an intermediate citation for improper sewage or wastewater disposal.
What These Violations Mean
The employee illness violations at Dona Juana Guatemalan Restaurant 2, Cheesesteaks.com, and Clam Bake represent some of the most direct public health risks in this week's inspection data. Norovirus, the leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States, spreads most efficiently when a sick food worker handles ready-to-eat food without reporting symptoms. A facility with no written health policy, as documented at Dona Juana, El Cheyo Mariscos, Fiddlesticks Country Club, Pickle and Pub, and Dunkin, has no formal mechanism to keep an ill employee out of the kitchen in the first place.
The food-from-unapproved-sources citations at Dona Juana, El Cheyo Mariscos, Fiddlesticks, Grimaldi's, Sensaciones, Tres Amigos, and Dunkin carry a specific traceability risk. Food purchased outside licensed and inspected supply chains bypasses USDA and FDA safety checks. If a customer becomes ill, investigators have no supplier records to trace. This week, seven Fort Myers facilities were serving food whose origin inspectors could not verify.
The shellfish identification failures at Kelly Greens and El Cheyo Mariscos compound that traceability gap. Shellfish, including oysters and clams, are frequently consumed raw or lightly cooked. Florida requires shellstock tags to remain on file for 90 days so that, in the event of an illness cluster, health officials can trace contaminated product back to a specific harvest area and date. Without those records, a norovirus or Vibrio outbreak tied to shellfish becomes nearly impossible to trace.
The allergen awareness failures at Fiddlesticks, Grimaldi's, Sensaciones, and Fort Myers Dinner Theatre are not paperwork violations. Food allergies send roughly 30,000 Americans to emergency rooms each year and cause deaths. When inspectors find that staff cannot demonstrate allergen awareness, it means a customer asking whether a dish contains tree nuts, shellfish, or gluten cannot rely on the answer they receive.
The Longer Record
Several facilities on this week's list have extensive inspection histories that make their current violations harder to dismiss as isolated lapses. Grimaldi's Pizzeria and Busters Sports Tavern each have 35 prior inspections on record, the highest counts among facilities cited this week. Sensaciones Restaurant and Fort Myers Dinner Theatre each have 34. Fiddlesticks Country Club has 30, Pickle and Pub has 30, Kelly Greens has 29, and Haney's Cafe has 29. These are not new restaurants encountering inspectors for the first time.
Kelly Greens stands out within that group. Twenty-nine prior inspections and the facility still produced nine high-severity violations in a single visit, including dual chemical storage citations and the absence of any person in charge. That combination, no managerial oversight and improperly stored toxic substances, is precisely the failure mode that CDC data links to cascading violations across a kitchen.
At the other end of the experience spectrum, Dona Juana Guatemalan Restaurant 2 has only two prior inspections on record and already drew seven high-severity violations, including food from unapproved sources and no employee health policy. Dunkin on Colonial Boulevard has four prior inspections and drew three high-severity violations, including an unapproved food source citation that is unusual for a national chain with established supply networks.
Tres Amigos Taqueria on Gladiolus Drive has 14 prior inspections, a mid-range history, and still drew a toxic chemical storage citation alongside food sourcing and sanitation failures. The facility shares a Gladiolus Drive address cluster with Cheesesteaks.com, which has 21 inspections on record and was still cited this week for employees not reporting illness symptoms. Cheesesteaks.com also had no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked shellfish despite serving shellfish without adequate identification records, a combination that leaves customers with neither traceability nor informed-choice protections.
