Japanese steakhouse in Florida closes down after seven customers were poisoned by unidentified DRUGS
- Nikko Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar in Pace closed on July 7, following an investigation into the June poisonings of seven patrons
- Santa Rosa County officials confirmed that samples of the food from the restaurant tested positive for narcotics
- Authorities will not pursue criminal charges against any of the restaurant employees, saying there is a lack of evidence anything intentional occurred
A Japanese steakhouse in Florida was forced to close after seven customers were poisoned by drugs.
Nikko Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar in Pace closed on July 7, following an investigation into the June poisonings of seven patrons at the restaurant.
Santa Rosa County authorities have confirmed to WABI that samples of the food from the restaurant on June 10 tested positive for narcotics, but did not disclose what type of drugs they were.
Authorities will not, however, pursue criminal charges against any of the restaurant employees, saying there is a lack of evidence to suggest anything intentional occurred.
Meanwhile, the owners of the now-shuttered restaurant continue to insist they are not responsible.
Nikko Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar in Pace closed on July 7, following an investigation into the June poisonings of seven patrons at the restaurant
Brandon and Jordan Gray (pictured) and their friend said they started feeling symptoms hours after they ate at the restaurant on June 10
The investigation into 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 said she and her husband did not notice anything out of the ordinary during dinner, except for the chef’s insistence that they try the ‘sweet soy sauce.’
‘We got a little bit of a lecture from the chef on how healthy soy sauce is for you, particularly that you should take it like once a day,’ she recounted at a news conference. ‘Other than that, like I said, everything was fairly normal.’
She said she, her husband and their friend began experiencing symptoms later in the night.
‘None of us slept,’ Jordan said. ‘All of us had racing hearts. It was very scary.’
Eventually, Brandon called a friend who is a police officer to tell them about their symptoms and ask for advice.
The friend then advised them to head to the local hospital because another family had arrived in the emergency room after eating at Nikko with the same symptoms. That family was the same one the Grays sat with that night, the Pensacola News Journal reports.
The restaurant closed for a stretch during the investigation, but later reopened
The restaurant closed for a stretch during the investigation, but later reopened.
Still, management said they were never able to recover from the accusations.
‘It was determined by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office that there was nothing linking the restaurant to the accusations, and after a clear survey by the health department we re-open[ed] our doors,’ a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page says.
It notes that the owners and staff had been repeatedly harassed over the allegations, and said: ‘Today, a family-owned and operated business is closed, 20 employees are out of work, all because of the power of social media.’
