Nikko Japanese Steakhouse in Pace, FL. has closed after 10+ years of being in the community after METH was found in their Soy sauce.
7 people were sickened on the same night. Employees notified the police after 1 employee was acting "strangely" but police could not find any evidence of wrongdoing. The full statement from the owners below.
After more than ten years of serving the Pace community, we have decided to close Nikko Japanese Steakhouse . On June 10th, we heard, just like many of you did, of people being injured after eating at our restaurant. 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. We are so thankful to our regulars who came back to support us, unfortunately it just wasn’t enough to keep the doors open. Since then, we have been brutally harassed, daily, by various media outlets, who have slandered and defamed every aspect of our business. We have been investigated, searched, and questioned while fully cooperating at all times. That’s all we could do.
Today, a family owned and operated business is closed, 20 employees are out of work, all because of the power of social media. We are heartbroken, but were unable to sustain the cost to stay open, when it seemed that every day, a local news outlet wanted to find something else to report on. We have had the news at our place of business, called on our phones and have been harassed at our personal homes, it’s all just been too much. Thank you for your years of loyal patronage, for letting us celebrate your special occasions at our hibachi tables and for loving us through so many life changes, and even a global pandemic. Please, respect our privacy as we try to recover and figure out what our future holds. We will fondly remember our times together.
OWNERSHIP & MANAGEMENT OF NIKKO JAPANESE STEAK HOUSE
photo: getty images