FORT MYERS, FL. Bimini Bait Shack at 17501 Harbour Pointe Drive racked up six high-severity violations during the week of September 15, 2026, including food sourced from unapproved or unknown suppliers, food not cooked to required minimum temperatures, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. It was the highest single-facility high-severity count among the 15 Fort Myers restaurants that drew critical citations during the week.
An employee at Bimini Bait Shack was also cited for not reporting symptoms of illness, inspectors noted improper handwashing technique, and the restaurant lacked a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. That combination of sourcing, cooking, and illness-reporting failures at one location is among the more serious clusters inspectors documented this week.
The Violations
Morning Bloom at 8951 Daniels Parkway also drew six high-severity citations, matching Bimini Bait Shack for the week's highest count. Inspectors cited the restaurant for having no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, food from unapproved sources, food in poor condition or adulterated, inadequate shell stock identification records, and improper use of time as a public health control. That last violation means food was held in the temperature danger zone without the documentation required to justify the practice.
Little Sicily at 5611 Six Mile Commercial Court drew five high-severity violations, including two that go to the basics of kitchen hygiene: inadequate handwashing facilities and improper handwashing technique. Inspectors also found food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, toxic chemicals improperly stored, and inadequate shell stock identification records. Sewage disposal and multi-use utensils rounded out the intermediate citations.
Shell Point Village Palm Grill at 14441 Woodsong Lane received five high-severity violations. The person in charge was cited as not present or not performing duties. Inspectors also found no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, food from unapproved sources, and food not cooked to required minimum temperatures. Shell Point Village is a retirement community, making the population served by this kitchen among the most vulnerable to foodborne illness.
Fancy's Southern Cafe at 8890 Salrose Lane drew three high-severity violations, including no employee health policy, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned or sanitized, and toxic chemicals improperly stored or labeled. Inspectors also flagged improper sewage disposal, improper sanitizing procedures, and inadequate ventilation, totaling six citations across severity levels.
Citrola's Italian Grill at 16740 McGregor Boulevard had no person in charge present or performing duties, no employee health policy, food from unapproved sources, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods. Inspectors also cited multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, single-use items being reused, and inadequate toilet facilities.
Jalapeno's at 2249 Cleveland Avenue was cited for no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness symptoms, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and toxic substances improperly stored. Improper sewage disposal, single-use items reused, and inadequate ventilation were among the intermediate violations.
Taco Vazquez Inc at 16960 S. Tamiami Trail drew four high-severity violations including improper handwashing technique, toxic substances improperly stored, no allergen awareness demonstrated, and required procedures for specialized processes not followed. That last citation means a cooking or preservation method requiring specific safety protocols was not being carried out correctly.
Leeman Holdings Group at 10600 Fowler Street was cited for an employee not reporting illness symptoms, two separate chemical storage violations, and no allergen awareness demonstrated. The dual chemical violations suggest inspectors found problems both with how chemicals were labeled and how they were used or stored in relation to food.
Mellow Mushroom at 6911 Daniels Parkway drew three high-severity violations: an employee not reporting illness symptoms, food not cooked to required minimum temperature, and no consumer advisory for raw or undercooked foods.
Snappers Comedy Club at 8595 College Parkway was cited for inadequate handwashing by food employees, parasite destruction procedures not followed, food contact surfaces not properly cleaned, and toxic chemicals improperly stored. The parasite destruction citation means fish or other high-risk proteins were not being frozen or cooked to the temperatures required to kill parasites such as Anisakis.
Tap 42 at 13499 S. Cleveland Avenue drew one high-severity citation for parasite destruction procedures not followed, the same violation flagged at Snappers this week.
Pao de Minas Bakery at 2215-A Winkler Avenue was cited for no employee health policy and inadequate shell stock identification records. Breakfast Bros NY Cafe at 12541 Metro Parkway drew one high-severity citation for food in poor condition, mislabeled, or adulterated, alongside an improper sewage disposal citation.
The Emergency Closure
On September 17, Nardette Take Out Restaurant at 3082 Fowler Street was emergency-closed by state inspectors for roach activity. The closure is the most immediate public health action taken in Fort Myers during the inspection week. State records do not indicate Nardette had returned to compliance as of the close of the inspection period.
What These Violations Mean
The most consequential pattern this week involves the overlap of illness-reporting failures and food sourcing problems. At Bimini Bait Shack, Morning Bloom, Shell Point Village Palm Grill, Mellow Mushroom, Jalapeno's, and Leeman Holdings Group, inspectors cited employees for not reporting symptoms of illness. Norovirus, which spreads through exactly this route, is responsible for an estimated 20 million illnesses in the United States each year. When a kitchen has no written health policy and employees are not reporting symptoms, the facility has no mechanism to remove a sick worker before they contaminate food or surfaces.
Food from unapproved or unknown sources, cited at Bimini Bait Shack, Morning Bloom, Shell Point Village Palm Grill, and Citrola's Italian Grill, removes the traceability that makes outbreak investigations possible. If a customer becomes ill after eating at one of these restaurants, there is no supply chain record to trace the contaminated ingredient back to its origin. The USDA and FDA inspection systems that approved suppliers go through exist precisely to intercept Listeria, Salmonella, and E. coli before food reaches a kitchen.
The shellfish traceability citations at Morning Bloom, Little Sicily, and Pao de Minas Bakery carry a specific added risk. Oysters, clams, and mussels are frequently consumed raw or lightly cooked, and shellfish harvesting tags are the only mechanism for identifying the harvest bed if a customer develops illness from a pathogen like Vibrio. Without those records, a sick customer has no recourse and public health investigators have no starting point.
The dual undercooking and no-consumer-advisory citations at Mellow Mushroom and Bimini Bait Shack compound each other. If food is not reaching required minimum temperatures and customers are not warned that items may be served undercooked, the risk of Salmonella or Campylobacter exposure is direct and undisclosed.
The Longer Record
Leeman Holdings Group has 44 prior inspections on record, the longest history of any facility cited this week. Four high-severity violations at a location that has been inspected that many times raises a different question than the same violations at a newer establishment. Jalapeno's has 37 prior inspections on record and drew four high-severity and three intermediate citations this week, including food contact surfaces not properly cleaned and sewage disposal problems.
Fancy's Southern Cafe has 34 prior inspections on record. Taco Vazquez Inc has 32. Both drew multiple high-severity violations this week, suggesting that neither location has resolved its most serious compliance issues across years of inspections.
Perkins Restaurant and Bakery at 14801 S. Tamiami Trail has 29 prior inspections on record and drew only a single intermediate violation this week, the cleanest record among the higher-history facilities. Bimini Bait Shack, with 27 prior inspections and six high-severity violations this week, presents a sharper contrast.
At the other end of the history spectrum, Tap 42 has 8 prior inspections on record and Pao de Minas Bakery has 6, making both relatively new to the inspection record. Both drew high-severity violations this week. Shell Point Village Palm Grill, which feeds a retirement community population, has 20 prior inspections on record and this week was cited for having no person in charge present, no employee health policy, an employee not reporting illness, uninspected food sources, and undercooking. Whether those five violations represent a new pattern or a recurring one at that location is not resolved by this week's records alone.
