Nikko received 31 health violations the week that its patrons were poisoned. See why:
What started as a fun Friday night around the hibachi table at Nikko Japanese Steak House and Sushi Bar in Pace turned into a sleepless, anxiety-ridden night and trip to the ER for seven people who were poisoned on June 9.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office later confirmed that seven diners were poisoned by a narcotic. Three of the diners presented drug tests to the News Journal through their attorney verifying they tested positive for methamphetamines after eating at Nikko.
It turns out that the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation had sounded some alarms of its own and found 31 violations spanning two visits to the steak house and sushi bar. On their first visit that took place the day after the poisoning, the restaurant was cited with eight violations. Some of these included the food being stored improperly, fly sticky tape hanging over the cook line and hibachi carts, and the employees lacking proof of training. The restaurant was issued a warning but allowed to stay open.
But when the DBPR returned for a follow-up visit on June 13 — the day after the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to the News Journal that the seven people hospitalized and poisoned by a narcotic after eating there — they seemed to have taken a closer look. Instead of clearing up the restaurant's initial eight violations, they found 23 in the second visit.
The second report included the inspector witnessing employees drying their hands on their aprons, cross contaminating the food by touching raw seafood then vegetables without washing hands, chemicals being stored on the cookline and flying insects in the food prep area.
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Here is the full list of what the inspector found during the two visits. Some violations are repeated as they were present at both visits.
A bowl was being used to scoop vegetables in the walk-in cooler
Ceiling tiles were soiled with dust
Employees were tasting the rice while cooking in the kitchen
An employee left their cell phone on the prep table
There was a hole in the bottom of the back kitchen door
Ice was built-up in the walk-in freezer
A flour scoop was being stored improperly
Multiple lights in kitchen were missing a shield
A cobweb was on the outside of the Hibachi hood grill
Standing water was found in the bottom of the reach-in cooler on the cookline
Chopped onions were left uncovered in the walk-in cooler
The wall and floor behind the cookline were soiled with grease
The wet mop was being stored improperly
Rice was being stored at an improper temperature
Rice not properly cooled
Employee dried their hands on their aprons after washing them
Employee switched from preparing raw to ready-to-eat food without washing their hands
Raw beef was stored above prepped onions in the walk-in cooler
A spray bottle storing chemicals was found on the bottom shelf of the prep table on the cookline
The hand washing sink was being blocked by a cutting board
A container of rice was left unmarked in the walk-in cooler without a date
An employee rinsed a knife to clean it without sanitizing it
Two live, small flying insects were observed in the dining area and two in the kitchen prep area
Bowls were being used to scoop dry ingredients on the shelf beside the cook line
Fly sticky tape was hanging over the cook line and above the hibachi carts
Ice was built-up in the walk-in freezer
Scoops were being stored improperly
The restaurant was reporting with an expired Division of Hotels and Restaurants license
Raw shell eggs were being stored over prepped vegetables in walk in cooler
Raw chicken was being stored over raw beef in the walk-in cooler
The restaurant lacked proof of any required employee training
The restaurant complied with two follow-up inspections on June 14 and is now back to business.
Where does the Nikko's case stand now?
Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office records indicate the department will not pursue criminal charges in the case of the poisoned diners, as of June 20.
In a report obtained by the News Journal, multiple Nikko Japanese Steak House employees named an employee they suspected of contaminating the food, but a lack of evidence left the investigation at a standstill.
"Due to the lack of eyewitness and surveillance footage, I am unable to determine who if any person associated with the restaurant contaminated the food consumed by the patrons," the reporting officer said. "It is believed based on the statements from the workers that (the employee) possibly unknowingly contaminated the food, but this cannot be confirmed."
Why did Nikko Japanese Steak House employees say they knew who poisoned the food?
A former Nikko Japanese Steak House chef who says he lives with the employee thought to have tainted the patrons' food reached out to the SRSO about having information on who poisoned the families.
The ex-Nikko chef said he still speaks with current employees who told him they knew who put the methamphetamine in the food.
The former chef also said his friends still employed at the restaurant told him the suspect "laughed about this incident happening" and said "'they deserved it' and didn't care about what happened because he was leaving the state."
One employee alleged the suspect put the drugs in teriyaki sauce and another said the drugs accidentally fell out of the suspect's pockets into the food. The former chef said he did not have an answer as to how the drugs entered the food.
The report also states deputies and investigators field-tested soy sauce bottles at the hibachi tables and they tested "presumptive positive" for methamphetamine. However, the deputy then tested unopened soy sauce packets used for to-go orders which also tested presumptive positive for methamphetamine; the deputy says his readings must be false positives.
Ben Johnson contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Nikko Japanese Steak House and Sushi Bar health violations found
