FORT MYERS, FL. State inspectors who walked into Labadie Bar Restaurant & Bakery at 3580 Evans Ave. on September 24 found food that had not been cooked to the minimum required temperature, a violation that means customers may have been served poultry or other proteins still harboring live pathogens. That was one of seven high-severity violations documented in a single visit. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The seven high-severity violations covered nearly every layer of the kitchen operation. Inspectors cited improper handwashing technique, food contact surfaces that were not properly cleaned or sanitized, and no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff. They also documented that required procedures for specialized processes were not being followed, a category that covers techniques like smoking, curing, or reduced-oxygen packaging that carry heightened contamination risk when done incorrectly.
No person in charge was present or performing supervisory duties during the inspection.
The five intermediate violations added to the picture. Multi-use utensils were not properly cleaned. Sanitizing solution or procedures were improper. Single-use items, such as gloves or foil, were being reused. Ventilation and lighting were inadequate. Toilet facilities were inadequate or improperly maintained, a condition that directly affects whether employees wash their hands after using the restroom.
What These Violations Mean
The cooking temperature violation is the most direct threat to anyone who ate at Labadie on or before September 24. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Serving undercooked protein is not a paperwork issue; it is the mechanism by which pathogens reach a customer's plate.
The employee illness reporting violation compounds that risk sharply. Food workers who do not report symptoms of illness are the leading cause of multi-victim outbreaks. Norovirus, in particular, spreads through food handled by an infected worker before symptoms are recognized or disclosed. At Labadie, inspectors found no system in place to catch that before it became a customer's problem.
The allergen violation is its own category of danger. Food allergies affect 32 million Americans, and allergic reactions send roughly 30,000 people to emergency rooms each year. When staff cannot demonstrate allergen awareness, a customer with a peanut or shellfish allergy has no reliable protection from the kitchen.
The absence of a person in charge during the inspection ties all of these together. CDC data shows that establishments without active managerial control accumulate critical violations at three times the rate of those with engaged supervision. On September 24, inspectors found no one at Labadie filling that role.
The Longer Record
This was not an aberration. State records show 25 inspections on file for Labadie Bar Restaurant & Bakery, with 168 total violations documented across those visits. The facility has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern in recent years is consistent. The April 2026 inspection, five months before this one, produced three high-severity and four intermediate violations. The November 2025 inspection produced four high-severity and two intermediate violations. The inspection before that, in February 2025, produced two high and one intermediate.
Going back further, the November 2023 inspection produced four high-severity violations. The restaurant has not had a clean inspection in the eight most recent visits on record. Every one of them includes at least one high-severity citation.
The September 24 visit, with seven high-severity violations, is the worst single inspection in the recent run. It is also the one with the broadest reach, touching cooking temperatures, illness reporting, handwashing, allergen awareness, food contact surfaces, specialized processes, and supervision simultaneously.
Open for Business
Florida's emergency closure authority is triggered when an inspector determines that conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. The threshold involves factors including the specific nature of violations, whether they are corrected on the spot, and inspector judgment about ongoing risk.
On September 24, inspectors documented seven high-severity violations at Labadie Bar Restaurant & Bakery, including food cooked to unsafe temperatures and no person in charge present to address any of it.
The restaurant was not closed.
