The Chicago Restaurants, Grocery Stores Ordered Closed Last Week

CHICAGO, IL — Dozens of Chicago restaurants and grocery stores are slapped with fines for health violations each week, but it takes a serious violation for a restaurant to be ordered closed, the city said. Places are ordered shuttered for reasons such as roach and mice infestations, major plumbing problems, food stored at the wrong temperatures and basic food safety rules not being followed, the city said.

Less-serious violations, which don't require closures, often include issues such as poor ventilation, inadequate lighting, worn seal on refrigerators, a few fruit flies and inappropriate materials like cardboard and paper sitting in the wrong places. Restaurants and stores are required to fix those problems immediately.

These were the restaurants and grocery stores that were ordered closed during the week of Aug. 13, according to the city's Department of Health:

• Joe's Carniceria Inc. at 2459 S. Millard Ave. in the Little Village neighborhood: health inspectors said they found five to seven live roaches in the market, as well as evidence of insect activity in the rear food preparation area and fresh meat section. The city also said that no certified food manager was on site with a City of Chicago Sanitation Certificate, which is required for handling hazardous foods (chicken, pork, deli meats, etc).
• Taylor Food Mart at 1059 W. Taylor St. in the Little Italy neighborhood: around 100 rodent droppings were found in various areas throughout the store, including the front service counter, health inspectors said. The city also said no hot water was running in prep area hand sinks or the toilet room.
• Ninveh Cafe at 5801 N. Lincoln Ave. in the West Ridge neighborhood: health inspectors said the cafe did not have adequate refrigeration. There was only one operating refrigeration unit on site found at 52 degrees with foods such as cooked rice stored inside.
• Carnivale Food Truck, based at 2300 S. Throop St. on the Lower West Side: health inspectors found no hot running water in the truck — hand washing sinks must be at least 100 degrees and the truck's water was running at 87 degrees. Mayonnaise was being stored at 75 degrees, rather than the required 41 degrees, inspectors said. The food truck operators complied immediately and threw the mayonnaise out, the city said.

Information on which Chicago restaurants and grocery stores have been ordered closed is not available on the city's data portal. The city's public health department has committed to sending Patch weekly reports, and we will publish those as long as they are made available.

Lead image via Serghei Starus/Shutterstock