Following a law enforcement investigation into methamphetamine contamination, a longtime Japanese restaurant near Pensacola, Fla., shuttered its doors this month.
“After more than ten years of serving the Pace community, we have decided to close Nikko Japanese Steakhouse,” said a July 7 Facebook post from the restaurant.
Last month, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office announced that its Major Crimes Unit was investigating an incident at the restaurant, located in Pace, Fla. It also said the Department of Business and Professional Regulations was helping with the investigation and that the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco is also conducting an independent investigation.
“We have been able to confirm seven victims at this time,” said the sheriff’s office in the June 10 announcement. “All are currently receiving treatment at local hospitals. This is an active and ongoing investigation.”
This week, FOX 5 reported that a family of four and separate a group of three friends sat together at a communal-style hibachi table around 7 or 8 p.m. June 9.
“The chef cooked the meal in front of them, they ate the meal, and both groups went home,” the outlet said, citing a law enforcement report.
When they arrived home, the family of four – which included a 41-year-old mom, 41-year-old dad, 18-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son – soon experienced several symptoms, per information they provided to deputies. For example, the mother and her children had a six-hour conversation until 4:30 a.m., an unusual occurrence for them. Her son was up until 7 a.m. and at one point cleaned his room. He also complained of jaw pain and excessive lip biting.
At the same time, the father spent six hours awake watching TV. He also reported feeling hot, sweaty, chest-pounding, confusion, teeth pain, jaw pain, and seeing shadows.
“Once the family realized they had been up all night and were acting ‘weird,’ they went to a local pharmacy to buy an at-home drug test. They took the test, which was positive for meth, the report said,” said FOX 5. They then went to a hospital, where they tested positive for meth again. Their leftovers also tested positive.
The three friends who were also at the table, two 32-year-olds and a 21-year-old, and their leftovers tested positive for meth.
Through the investigation, authorities tested two soy sauce bottles and two soy sauce packets, and all tested presumptive positive for meth. However, FOX 5 said the report noted that these could have been false positives. Fresh rice that was in a dumpster behind the restaurant tested negative.
Another interesting fact that was revealed during the investigation was that a manager told deputies that the day before the incident “someone arrived at the restaurant in a chef’s outfit and was witnessed in the kitchen.”
That person claimed to have been hired as a chef and did fill out an application, though management said they had not hired any new staff. The mystery person went to the parking lot for several hours, while waiting to be picked up. No employees had been recently fired from Nikko.
“We heard, just like many of you did, of people being injured after eating at our restaurant,” said the restaurant’s recent Facebook post. “From the moment the story broke, we cooperated with authorities and all licensing agencies. 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 our doors.”
However, they said the damage done by the news of the incident had already impacted the business, and that support from regulars wasn’t enough to keep it open.
“We have been brutally harassed, daily, by various media outlets, who have slandered and defamed every aspect of our business,” management said. “We have been investigated, searched, and questioned while fully cooperating at all times. That’s all we could do.”
Management also said the closure will leave the establishment’s 20 staffers out of jobs “all because of the power of social media.”
“Please, respect our privacy as we try to recover and figure out what our future holds,” they asked. “We will fondly remember our times together.”
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