A Japanese steakhouse in Florida has closed after seven customers were poisoned by unknown drugs
Nikko Japanese Steakhouse and Pace’s Sushi Bar closed on July 7 after seven patrons were investigated by Santa Rosa County officials for the June poisoning, after food samples from the restaurant tested positive for drugs. Because there is a lack of evidence
A Japanese steakhouse in Florida was forced to close after seven customers were poisoned by the drug.
Pace’s Nikko Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar closed on July 7 following an investigation into the poisoning of seven patrons at the restaurant in June.
Santa Rosa County authorities confirmed to WABI that food samples from the restaurant tested positive for narcotics on June 10, but did not disclose what kind of drugs they were.
Authorities, however, will not pursue criminal charges against any of the restaurant’s employees, saying there is a lack of evidence that anything intentional happened.
Meanwhile, the owners of the now-closed restaurants continue to insist they are not responsible.
Following an investigation into the poisoning of seven patrons at the restaurant in June, Nikko Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar in Pace closed on July 7.
Brandon and Jordan Gray (pictured) and their friend said they started experiencing symptoms hours after eating at the restaurant on June 10.
The investigation against Nikko began on June 10, when husband and wife Brandon and Jordan Gray and their friend Matthew Gilley said they were seated at a hibachi table with four other guests who had already been served salads.
Jordan says she and her husband didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary during dinner, except for the chef’s insistence that they try the ‘sweet soy sauce’.
‘We got a bit of a lecture from the chef about how healthy soy sauce is for you, especially if you should have it once a day,’ he noted at a press conference. ‘Other than that, as I said, everything was fairly normal.’
She said she, her husband and their friend started experiencing symptoms later that night.
‘None of us slept,’ said Jordan. ‘We all had a racing heart. It was very scary.’
Finally, Brandon calls a friend who is a police officer to share their symptoms and ask for advice.
The friend then suggested they go to the local hospital because another family had arrived at the emergency room after eating at Nikko with similar symptoms. That family was the same one Gray stayed with that night, the Pensacola News Journal reported.
The restaurant was closed for an extended period of time during the investigation but later reopened
The restaurant was closed for an extended period of time during the investigation but later reopened.
Still, management said they were never able to recover from the allegations.
‘It was determined by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office that there was nothing to connect the restaurant to the complaint and we reopened after a clean sweep by the health department.[ed] Our door,’ said a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
It noted that owners and employees were repeatedly harassed for complaints, and said: ‘Today, a family-owned and operated business is closed, with 20 employees out of work, all because of the power of social media.’
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