Reasonably-Priced Florida Seafood Restaurant Closed After Inspection For Second Time In 2 Months

Photo byKimberly Vardeman, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Because of Florida's proximity to the water, Florida has no shortage of seafood restaurants. However, due to the current high market price of the same, finding reasonably priced seafood in Florida can sometimes be a challenge.

Unfortunately, one Florida restaurant in this genre was recently closed down after a state inspection - for the second time in 2 months.

About Pier 8: The website for this eatery is quite basic, but their gallery photos show a wide variety of seafood options, and their menu has reasonably priced options like a jumbo shrimp and fried oysters for $11.99 and a shrimp po boy for $15.99.

Okeechobee patrons review Pier 8 favorably. Some mentioned the all-you-can-eat brunch. Others mentioned the seafood boils. A reviewer named Opie wrote, in part:

"As promised, (I) came back for just the catfish po boy, and it was still delicious. We also had the plain crab legs - oh my gosh - they were so good...Definitely made our night, and of course, we coming here again and again..."

What Happened At Inspection?: According to information contained in a database maintained by the Tallahassee Democrat, an inspection on March 25, 2024. At that time, 9 violations were found.

The inspection found a "black/green mold-like substance" in an ice bin, and a high-priority violation came for over 70 live flies being observed in various areas around the restaurant and raw shrimp being stored over broccoli.

Additionally, cold foods were not being held at low enough temperatures. As a result of some of the above violations, the restaurant was temporarily closed.

A follow-up visit on the 26th still saw the restaurant closed, as violations remained. However, the restaurant was able to reopen on March 27, although a follow-up is still required.

Unfortunately, this was not the first closure for Pier 8. It also had a closure in late January of 2024. That closure also had issues with flies as well as roaches.

There have been reviews since the March closure and most are good and many are 5 stars. One reviewer left a 1-star review because they saw documentation about the closure.

Please note that a restaurant inspection in Florida is one moment in time and not necessarily indicative of how a restaurant conducts itself every day.

The author is not affiliated with Pier 8 or any other restaurants.