MERRITT ISLAND, FL. Back in April 2026, state inspectors walked into Yaakuza Japanese Thai Sake Bar at 925 N Courtenay Pkwy and documented food coming from unapproved or unknown sources, a violation that means inspectors could not verify whether the ingredients on that menu had ever passed a federal safety check.
The restaurant was not closed. It stayed open.
What Inspectors Found
The April 7 inspection produced nine total violations: six high-severity and three intermediate. The food sourcing citation was not the only one that raised immediate questions about customer safety.
Inspectors also cited the restaurant for inadequate shell stock identification and records. Yaakuza's menu includes Japanese and Thai seafood preparations, and shellfish, including oysters, clams, and mussels, are among the highest-risk foods a restaurant can serve. Without proper tagging and records, there is no way to trace a contaminated batch back to its harvest site if customers get sick.
Food was also found not cooked to required minimum temperatures. That violation puts Salmonella and other heat-sensitive pathogens on the table, literally.
On top of the cooking and sourcing failures, inspectors found no allergen awareness demonstrated by staff. And the handwashing picture was doubly troubled: facilities were inadequate, and the technique being used was improper. Both were cited as separate high-severity violations on the same inspection.
The three intermediate violations covered multi-use utensils not properly cleaned, improper sanitizing solution or procedures, and improper waste disposal. Together, those findings described a kitchen where surfaces and tools were not being reliably decontaminated between uses.
What These Violations Mean
Food from unapproved sources is not a paperwork violation. When a restaurant sources ingredients outside the USDA and FDA inspection system, there is no chain of custody if someone becomes ill. If a customer contracts Listeria or Salmonella after eating at Yaakuza, investigators tracing the outbreak back to a specific supplier would have nothing to work with. The violation found here in April 2026 means that gap existed on that day.
The shell stock records violation compounds the sourcing problem specifically for seafood. Shellfish are frequently consumed raw or lightly cooked, and they filter-feed in water that can carry Vibrio, norovirus, and hepatitis A. Florida requires harvest tags to be kept on file so a contaminated lot can be pulled before more people are exposed. Without those records at Yaakuza, that safety net was missing.
The cooking temperature violation is straightforward in its danger. Poultry must reach 165 degrees Fahrenheit to kill Salmonella. Pork and ground meat have their own thresholds. When food is pulled from heat before those temperatures are reached, pathogens survive and reach the plate.
The allergen citation is its own category of risk. Food allergies affect an estimated 32 million Americans, and allergic reactions send roughly 30,000 people to emergency rooms each year. A restaurant where staff cannot demonstrate awareness of allergen protocols is a restaurant where a customer with a peanut or shellfish allergy is relying on luck, not procedure.
The Longer Record
The April 2026 inspection did not arrive without context. State records show 35 inspections on file for Yaakuza, with 276 total violations documented across that history.
The pattern in recent years is hard to read as anything other than a cycle. In September 2023, inspectors found seven high-severity violations and three intermediate ones. A follow-up three days later showed zero violations, suggesting a rapid correction. But by May 2023, five high-severity violations had already been on the books. In February 2024, it was seven high-severity violations again. In July 2024, four more high-severity citations.
The most recent prior inspection before April 2026 came in November 2025 and produced nine high-severity violations and one intermediate, the highest single-visit high-severity count in the visible record. A January 2025 inspection showed eight high-severity violations and four intermediate ones, followed three days later by a clean visit with zero violations in either category.
That rhythm, heavy violations followed by a clean follow-up, has repeated across multiple inspection cycles. The April 2026 visit, with six high-severity violations, fit the established shape of the record. Yaakuza has never been emergency-closed in its inspection history.
The Longer Record: Still Open
After 35 inspections, 276 documented violations, and a April 2026 visit that found food from unapproved sources, undercooked food, no allergen awareness, and compromised handwashing infrastructure, the restaurant at 925 N Courtenay Pkwy remained open to customers.
The state did not order an emergency closure. No orange sticker went on the door.
That is the last documented fact in this inspection record.