Surprise Order: Florida Restaurant Served Meth Met to Guests

A Japanese steakhouse/hibachi in Florida has permanently closed its doors after seven customers said they tested positive for methamphetamine in their bodies hours after dining at their restaurant. Writes about it Fox 35 Orlando.

Photo: IStock

The management of Nikko Japanese Steak House, a hibachi restaurant in Peise, wrote in a Facebook post on July 7 that they would permanently close the restaurant after 10 years of operation.

The Santa Rosa Sheriff's Office launched an investigation on July 10 after two groups of people who sat together and ate at a restaurant reported feeling "high on drugs" and had strange sensations after the meal.

Members of both groups went to the hospital, where at least seven people tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the sheriff's office report. The report states that a container of takeaway food from a restaurant was tested and found to be suspected positive for methamphetamine.

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“We have been cooperating with authorities and all licensing agencies since this story broke. The Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office has determined there is nothing linking the restaurant to the charges. And after a thorough investigation by the health department, we have reopened our doors,” restaurant officials said in a statement. “We are very grateful to our regular customers who returned to support us, but, unfortunately, this was not enough to continue working. Since then, we have been subjected to severe harassment on a daily basis by various media outlets that slander every aspect of our business.”

No arrests were made, no criminal charges were filed.

Police said they were unable to determine whether someone intentionally or unintentionally contaminated the food served at the restaurant, and without any witnesses, no criminal charges were filed.

What happened

According to the sheriff's office report, the two groups - one a family of four and the other a group of friends - sat together at a table on June 9. The chef prepared food in front of them, they ate it, and both groups went home.

According to the report, the family of four - a 41-year-old mom, a 41-year-old dad, an 18-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son - said they developed several symptoms shortly after eating at the restaurant.

Mom said that then they started a six-hour conversation with their son and daughter until 04:30, which was unusual for them. She repeatedly said that she needed to check on her father, but "could not tear herself away from the conversation."

According to her, the son did not sleep until 07:00 and began to clean his room. Although he said he was tired, he could not sleep. His jaw hurt and he bit his lip excessively.

The father said he felt strange and spent six hours in his shed watching TV. He experienced symptoms such as feeling hot, sweating, pounding in his chest, confusion, pain in his teeth, and seeing shadows.

Once everyone in the family realized they had been up all night and were acting "weird," they went to the local pharmacy to buy a home drug test. It turned out to be positive.

Then all four went to the hospital, where the doctor tested them for methamphetamine, the test was also positive. The officers tested leftover food from the restaurant (fried rice and chicken), which tested positive for methamphetamine.

While the officer was talking to the family in the hospital, he heard from a group of friends talking about the worsening condition after eating food in a restaurant. Three of them - two 32-year-olds and a 21-year-old - went to the hospital.

The report states that all three tested positive for methamphetamine. According to the report, their takeaway food package filled with fried rice, steak and vegetables also tested positive.

More questions than answers

Officers during the investigation spoke with several people - the owners of the restaurant, its employees, staff and management, as well as customers.

They tested two bottles of soy sauce and two packages of soy sauce, which tested positive for methamphetamine. However, the report said that they could be false positives.

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The report says the rice found in a dumpster behind the restaurant was tested and found negative.

Unknown employee

When the police questioned the officers, the manager assured them that they would never hire a person who uses drugs, but it is possible that "an outsider could have done it."

The manager said that the day before someone came to the restaurant dressed as a chef and was seen in the kitchen. The man claimed to have been hired as a chef at a restaurant, but the manager said no new chefs were being hired and told him to leave, which he did.

The man then went to the back parking lot, where he spent several hours waiting for someone to pick him up.

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