FORT PIERCE, FL. A Fort Pierce oceanfront bar and restaurant was cited for failing to follow parasite destruction procedures for fish it was serving to customers, one of seven high-severity violations documented by state inspectors on September 21, 2026 at Island Beach Bar and Restaurant at 110 S Ocean Drive.
The facility was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The parasite destruction violation is among the most acute of the ten documented that day. A beach bar serving fresh fish that does not follow proper freezing or cooking protocols is serving customers food that may contain live Anisakis worms or tapeworm larvae. Those organisms cannot be seen on the plate.
Toxic chemicals were found improperly stored or labeled at the facility. Chemicals stored near food preparation surfaces can contaminate food directly, and mislabeled containers create acute poisoning risk when staff mistake a cleaning agent for a food-safe product.
Inspectors also cited the restaurant for failing to follow required procedures for specialized food processes, for not posting a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked menu items, and for food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized. The sewage or wastewater disposal violation rounds out a set of findings that, taken together, describe a facility operating without basic safety controls in place.
No person in charge was present or performing supervisory duties at the time of the inspection.
What These Violations Mean
The parasite destruction failure is not a paperwork problem. When a restaurant serves fish, particularly raw or undercooked preparations, state code requires documented freezing at specific temperatures for specific durations, or cooking to internal temperatures that kill parasites. Without that documentation or those procedures, there is no way to know whether the fish reaching a customer's plate is safe. Anisakis, a parasitic roundworm found in many saltwater fish species, causes severe gastrointestinal illness and in some cases requires surgical removal from the digestive tract.
The absence of a consumer advisory compounds that risk directly. Elderly diners, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems are the most vulnerable to illness from undercooked seafood, and they rely on menu disclosures to make informed choices. Island Beach Bar and Restaurant provided none.
The handwashing infrastructure failure and the improperly cleaned food contact surfaces describe a facility where cross-contamination is structurally difficult to prevent. Cutting boards, prep surfaces, and utensils that are not properly sanitized carry bacteria from one food to the next. Improperly cleaned multi-use utensils develop bacterial biofilms that resist standard cleaning once established.
The sewage and wastewater disposal violation is the most immediately alarming in terms of facility-wide contamination risk. Raw sewage contains pathogens including E. coli, Salmonella, and hepatitis A. Improper disposal means those pathogens can reach food preparation areas, surfaces, and ultimately customers.
The Longer Record
The September 21 inspection was not an outlier. State records show Island Beach Bar and Restaurant has been inspected 47 times and has accumulated 420 total violations across its history.
The most recent prior inspection, on March 11, 2026, produced six high-severity violations and one intermediate. Six months before that, in July 2025, a follow-up inspection on July 17 found two high-severity violations; an inspection six days earlier, on July 11, had found five high-severity violations and two intermediate ones. The February 2026 cycle showed the same pattern: six high-severity violations on February 26, followed by two on February 27.
The restaurant has been emergency-closed twice in its history. On January 6, 2017, inspectors shut it down for roach activity; it reopened the same day. On September 22, 2021, it was closed again, this time for rodent and fly activity, and again reopened the same day.
What the record shows is not a facility having a bad week. Eight of the last eight inspections on file produced high-severity violations. The categories shift slightly from visit to visit, but the volume does not. A facility with 47 inspections on record and 420 total violations, two prior emergency closures, and seven high-severity findings in its most recent inspection is a facility the state has visited repeatedly without the pattern changing.
Still Open
After documenting seven high-severity violations and three intermediate ones, including failures involving parasites in food, improperly stored toxic chemicals, sewage disposal, and the complete absence of supervisory oversight, state inspectors did not order Island Beach Bar and Restaurant closed on September 21, 2026.
The restaurant at 110 S Ocean Drive remained open to the public.
