FORT MYERS, FL. Poke Hawaii on Forum Boulevard served raw fish this week without documentation that the fish had ever been frozen to kill parasites, and inspectors found the restaurant was sourcing food from unapproved or unknown suppliers, one of the most serious procurement violations in the state code.
Those two violations, combined with improper use of time as a public health control, put Poke Hawaii among the most concerning findings in a week when state inspectors flagged 15 Fort Myers restaurants for high-severity violations.
The Violations
The week's single most violation-heavy inspection landed at Saucy Meatball on Commerce Lakes Drive, where inspectors documented seven high-severity violations in one visit. Among them: no person in charge present or performing duties, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, inadequate shell stock identification records, improperly cleaned food contact surfaces, misuse of time as a public health control, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic chemicals stored or labeled improperly.
The shell stock violation is notable on its own. Saucy Meatball serves oysters or other shellfish without the traceability records that allow health officials to trace an outbreak back to a specific harvest bed.
Sip and Sizzle on First Street drew five high-severity citations, including food sourced from an unapproved or unknown supplier, no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, and food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized. Inspectors also noted no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items.
That combination, no health policy and improper handwashing technique, means that even when employees attempt to wash their hands, they are not removing pathogens effectively, and no written policy exists to keep a sick worker out of the kitchen in the first place.
Beef O' Brady's Verandah on Palm Beach Boulevard had four high-severity violations, including no person in charge, inadequate handwashing facilities, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and toxic substances improperly stored or used.
Inadequate handwashing facilities is a structural problem. It means the physical infrastructure for hand hygiene was absent or broken, not just that an employee skipped a step.
Lucky Screw on Hendry Street also drew four high-severity citations: no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods, and toxic substances improperly stored or used.
Fortune Cookie on Palm Beach Boulevard had four high-severity violations, including no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, no consumer advisory, and no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff.
Raw Fish, Parasites, and Unapproved Sources
Poke Hawaii's parasite destruction violation is one of the more acute findings of the week. Raw fish served without verified freezing or cooking protocols can harbor Anisakis roundworms and tapeworm larvae. The restaurant also sourced food from unapproved or unknown suppliers, meaning the fish's origin and safety inspection history cannot be confirmed.
Panda Express at Corporate Commerce Way drew the same parasite destruction citation, alongside improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals and three intermediate violations including improperly reused single-use items and multi-use utensils not properly cleaned.
Shanghai Restaurant on Summerlin Road had four high-severity violations: no employee health policy, improper handwashing technique, misuse of time as a public health control, and no allergen awareness demonstrated. Inspectors also found multi-use utensils not properly cleaned and inadequate ventilation.
Tiki Subs and Mexican Place on San Carlos Boulevard drew three high-severity violations including misuse of time as a public health control, no consumer advisory, and improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals. Inspectors also cited improper sewage or wastewater disposal, a violation that signals fecal contamination risk throughout the facility.
Angel Restaurant and Jerk Center on Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard had the same sewage violation, alongside no person in charge, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, improperly stored chemicals, inadequate cooling equipment, and equipment in poor repair.
Martis Family Dining on San Carlos Boulevard also drew an improper sewage or wastewater disposal citation, combined with an employee not reporting illness symptoms, misuse of time as a public health control, no consumer advisory, and multi-use utensils not properly cleaned.
Matt's Red Hots on South Tamiami Trail had food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, no consumer advisory, and improperly stored or labeled toxic chemicals. El Sabor de Puebla Restaurant on San Carlos Boulevard was cited for food not cooked to the required minimum temperature, a direct pathogen survival risk, alongside improperly stored toxic substances.
Mochi Co. and Tea on Gulf Coast Main Street drew three high-severity violations: an employee not reporting illness symptoms, no consumer advisory, and no allergen awareness demonstrated. BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse on University Plaza Drive had no person in charge and improperly stored or identified toxic substances.
What These Violations Mean
The employee illness reporting failures at Saucy Meatball, Martis Family Dining, Angel Restaurant and Jerk Center, and Mochi Co. and Tea are among the most consequential violations on this week's list. Norovirus, the leading cause of foodborne illness outbreaks in the United States, spreads most efficiently through food handled by a symptomatic worker. A written health policy that requires workers to report symptoms is the primary mechanism for keeping that transmission route closed. Without it, or without enforcement of it, the policy does not exist in practice.
The food from unapproved sources violations at Sip and Sizzle and Poke Hawaii carry a specific traceability risk. When food enters a restaurant from a supplier who has not been approved by state or federal authorities, there is no inspection record and no chain of custody. If a customer becomes ill, investigators cannot trace the food back to a harvest site, a processing facility, or a distribution point.
Toxic chemical storage violations appeared at seven facilities this week: Saucy Meatball, Lucky Screw, Tiki Subs and Mexican Place, Matt's Red Hots, Angel Restaurant and Jerk Center, Panda Express, El Sabor de Puebla, and BJ's Brewhouse. When cleaning chemicals are stored near or above food preparation areas without proper labeling, a single spill or mislabeled container can contaminate food directly. These are not paperwork violations.
The allergen awareness failures at Shanghai Restaurant, Fortune Cookie, and Mochi Co. and Tea matter because 32 million Americans have food allergies, and allergic reactions send roughly 30,000 people to emergency rooms each year. A staff that cannot identify allergens in menu items cannot warn a customer who asks.
The Longer Record
Matt's Red Hots has the longest inspection history of any facility flagged this week, with 36 prior inspections on record, and still drew three high-severity violations in September. Fortune Cookie has 33 prior inspections and drew four high-severity violations, including the same handwashing and health policy failures that appear in its category peers this week.
Beef O' Brady's Verandah, Martis Family Dining, and BJ's Brewhouse each have 31 prior inspections and all drew high-severity violations this week. For facilities with that volume of inspections, the continued presence of high-priority citations, particularly management failures and chemical storage problems, reflects a pattern, not an anomaly.
Mochi Co. and Tea has only two prior inspections on record, making this week's three high-severity violations, including allergen awareness and illness reporting failures, an early and serious signal for a new operation.
Tiki Subs and Mexican Place has nine prior inspections, a relatively short history, and already has a sewage disposal violation alongside chemical storage and time control failures. The sewage citation at Angel Restaurant and Jerk Center, which has 26 prior inspections, appeared alongside broken cooling equipment, a combination that suggests the cold holding problems there are not new.
Poke Hawaii, with 19 prior inspections, still lacks the parasite destruction documentation required for any restaurant serving raw fish. That record has not been corrected across nearly two dozen state visits.
