FORT MYERS, FL. A state inspector walked into Nick & Stellas Pizza Perfecto on McGregor Boulevard on August 19 and found food being served from unapproved or unknown sources, a violation that means the restaurant's ingredients had bypassed USDA and FDA safety inspections entirely, with no way to trace them if a customer got sick.
That was one of seven high-severity violations documented that day. The restaurant was not closed.
What Inspectors Found
The seven high-severity violations covered nearly every critical control point in the kitchen. Food contact surfaces were not properly cleaned or sanitized, meaning cutting boards, prep surfaces, and any equipment touching food were potential transfer points for bacteria. Handwashing facilities were cited as inadequate, which inspectors classify as a hygiene infrastructure failure, not merely a lapse.
The facility also had no written employee health policy. That means there was no formal system in place to keep a sick worker out of the kitchen.
Shell stock identification records were inadequate, a citation that applies to oysters, clams, and mussels. Those records exist specifically so health officials can trace a shellfish-related illness back to a harvest location. Without them, that trail goes cold. There was also no consumer advisory posted for raw or undercooked foods, leaving customers with no notice that certain menu items carry elevated risk.
Multi-use utensils were not properly cleaned, and ventilation and lighting were cited as inadequate, rounding out nine total violations on the day.
What These Violations Mean
Food from an unapproved source is not a paperwork problem. When ingredients enter a kitchen outside the regulated supply chain, there is no record of where they came from, how they were handled, or whether they passed any safety inspection. If a customer gets sick, investigators have nowhere to start. That violation, combined with food not cooked to required minimum temperature, creates a direct path from contaminated ingredient to illness. Salmonella in poultry survives below 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Undercooking is one of the most consistently documented causes of foodborne illness outbreaks nationally.
The handwashing citation compounds every other violation on the list. Proper hand hygiene is the single most effective barrier between a contaminated surface and a customer's food. When the facilities that make handwashing possible are inadequate, that barrier does not exist regardless of what else is posted on the wall.
The shell stock traceability violation carries its own specific danger. Shellfish are consumed raw or lightly cooked and are a well-documented vector for Norovirus and Vibrio infections. Without harvest records, there is no way to issue a targeted recall or alert if an illness cluster emerges. The absence of a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked items means customers at elevated risk, including pregnant women, elderly diners, and people with compromised immune systems, had no warning before ordering.
The Longer Record
The August 19 inspection was not an anomaly. State records show Nick & Stellas Pizza Perfecto has accumulated 270 violations across 33 inspections on record. The facility has never been emergency-closed.
The pattern in recent years is consistent. The November 2025 inspection produced six high-severity and three intermediate violations. The October 2025 inspection produced the same: six high-severity, three intermediate. July 2025 brought four high-severity and one intermediate. November 2024 matched that count exactly. August 2024 logged three high-severity and one intermediate.
Two inspections broke that pattern cleanly: January 2026 and August 26, 2026, both recorded zero high-severity and zero intermediate violations. The August 26 visit came one week after the inspection that generated seven high-severity citations, suggesting the facility addressed violations quickly when a follow-up was imminent.
The seven high-severity violations on August 19 represent the facility's worst single-day count in the period covered by these records. Six of the seven violations from November 2025 overlap with categories cited again in August 2026, including food contact surfaces, handwashing, and the employee health policy. The same violation types appear across multiple inspection cycles without apparent resolution between visits.
Open for Business
State inspectors have the authority to emergency-close a food service establishment when conditions pose an immediate threat to public health. After documenting seven high-severity violations at Nick & Stellas Pizza Perfecto on August 19, including unapproved food sources, undercooked food, and inadequate handwashing facilities, they did not exercise that authority.
The restaurant remained open that day and the days that followed.
