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 Oct. 1, according to the city's Department of Health:

• Dong Ky Restaurant & Bakery at 4877 N. Broadway in the city's Uptown neighborhood on the North Side was ordered closed after health inspectors found evidence of live roaches in the restaurant's kitchen prep area, dining area and refrigeration unit, the city said. More than 25 flying insects were found in the dining area, kitchen and on equipment, according to the city.

• Uncle Remus Restaurant Inc. at 5611 W Madison St. in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side was ordered closed after health inspectors found sewage backing up into water pipes in the restaurant, the city said. The city released no further details about the nature of the problem, and the failed inspection wasn't listed on the city's data portal.

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