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 last week, according to the city's Department of Health:

• Aquarius Club & Restaurant at 2459 N. Pulaski Rd. in the Logan Square neighborhood was ordered closed after health inspectors found 60 mouse droppings in the restaurant, the city said. They were found on the restaurant's floor next to a furnace, inside a chest freezer and in the liquor storage room, according to health inspectors.
• BJ's Market & Bakery at 1156 W. 79th St. in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood on the South Side was ordered shuttered after about 80 rodent droppings were found in the rear prep area, dry storage room, around the dishwasher and near the water heater, the city said.
• Keeler Food & Deli at 4150 W. Roosevelt Rd. in the North Lawndale neighborhood was ordered closed after about 50 rodent droppings near a reach-in cooler, 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