'It's taken a toll on me ...': Nikko steak house diners say they were poisoned with meth

Husband and wife Brandon and Jordan Gray and their friend Matthew Gilley thought they were lucky when they were able to be seated at a hibachi table at the last minute at Nikko Japanese Steak House on Friday night — joining a party of four who had already been served salads — but they didn't know it was the beginning of possibly the worst night of their lives.

"It wasn't till later that evening that we realized something was wrong and even into the next morning," Jordan Gray said. "None of us slept. All of us had racing hearts. It was very scary."

Pensacola Attorney Aaron Watson, who they've hired, said his clients were poisoned with methamphetamines.

Jordan said she didn't believe she had been drugged at first.

"I just remember telling my husband that's crazy people don't put anything that would keep you up," she said. "That's not how you get drugged."

First report: SRSO Major Crimes investigating after 7 treated at hospital after eating at Pace restaurant

Law enforcement confirms poisoning: SRSO confirms Nikko's Japanese Steak House and Sushi Bar patrons were poisoned by a narcotic

On Saturday morning, Jordan Gray said her husband called a friend who was a police officer in Santa Rosa County to tell them about their strange symptoms and asked for advice.

The friend told them to go to the hospital because a family had arrived in the emergency room after eating at Nikko with the same symptoms — it turned out it was the same family of four that had sat at their table.

"The seven folks don't all know each other. The other four people involved sat at the same table, in the same restaurant, with the same chef and got the same drug results," Watson said.

Watson spoke to the press Wednesday with his clients Jordan Gray and Gilley.

Test results positive for methamphetamines

The Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office announced on Saturday it was investigating the incident at Nikko Japanese Steak House after seven people were treated at a hospital and Monday confirmed that they were poisoned with a narcotic.

While speculation has run rampant on social media, drug test results conducted by the Santa Rosa Medical Center on Saturday shown to the News Journal by Watson show that his clients were positive for methamphetamines and negative for all other drugs tested.

Watson said they are waiting to see the results of the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's investigation, but in the meantime they are sending Nikko Japanese Steak House a letter to preserve all evidence related to the incident.

"We want the video," Watson said. "We want to know who all worked that night. We want to know the personnel files. We want to know if there's been any history of drug use. If anybody was terminated that day and to tried to make a last statement — we don't know — but we're going to get the answers to those questions."

Watson hired: Family poisoned with narcotic at Nikko Japanese Steak House lawyers up

Watson said they are considering filing a lawsuit, but first, they want to get to the bottom of what happened.

"We know that seven folks at that restaurant, seven customers, tested positive for a narcotic. The question is how and why," Watson said.

'Sweet soy sauce' raises questions

Jordan Gray said they had dined at the restaurant regularly before, and the only thing out of the ordinary this time was the hibachi chef talking about "sweet soy sauce" being used for cooking the food.

"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 said. "Other than that, like I said, everything was fairly normal."

Watson said that comment stood out to him.

"They kept mentioning that the chef kept asking them if they want the sweet soy sauce, and that was different from all the other experiences that they've had at this restaurant," Watson said. "The chef asking if they wanted the sweet soy sauce, and so we'll find out what he meant by that. And what is the sweet soy sauce, and why wasn't that offered to them in prior occasions with the restaurant?"

They took home leftovers after eating at the restaurant Friday, and the food was turned over to law enforcement for testing, Watson said.

Nikko Japanese Steakhouse has reopened and issued a statement on their social media page saying they were disheartened by what happen at the restaurant on Friday.

"To think that people were harmed by something on our premises is heartbreaking," the statement said. "We are a family-owned business who serves the families of Pace. We can assure you that this was an isolated incident that in no way reflects our service as a whole. From the moment we were informed of the incident, we closed the doors and cooperated fully with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Health Department, and all inspectors who combed every inch of our restaurant and found us in complete compliance, with no violations."

The restaurant said it would continue cooperating with authorities to find out how this happened and ensure it doesn't happen again.

Gilley, who works in marine construction, said he is worried about what this means for his career and the long-term effects.

"It's taken a toll on me mentally not knowing if I'll ever be back to the way I was," Gilley said.

Jordan Gray, who is a nurse, said she was horrified when she was told that she had tested positive for meth. She said it was only by chance her 5-year-old and 9-year-old children were with their grandparents and not with them at the restaurant that night.

"What if my 5-year-old had been there," Gray said. "She is very petite. I don't think she would have survived that. I'm quite certain she wouldn't have."

She said she is also worried about how this will affect her long-term.

"It's hard to know what you're experiencing and feeling is because you were drugged or what you're experiencing feeling because that's just the new reality," she said. "Where do I take my kids to eat? Do I just cook at home from now on having no trust to take them anywhere?"

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Nikko Japanese Steak House in Pace under fire after meth confirmed