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

• Market Creations Cafe at 315 S La Salle St. in the Loop was ordered closed after city health inspectors found more than 50 live cockroaches in the cafe's main prep areas, inside cabinets and in the kitchen, the city said. More than 60 live fruit flies were also found throughout the kitchen, according to the city.
• Nuevo Leon Bakery at 4062 W. 26th St. in the Little Village neighborhood on the West Side was ordered closed after health inspectors found more than 100 rodent droppings around the fish tank, in the front storage area, under a prep table, near plants and statues in the customers' self-serve area and around the bakery's oven, the city said. Two live rodents were also seen crawling on the floor in the prep area and near the back door, health inspectors said. Another dead rodent was found on a glue board under the bakery's oven, the city said.
• Backlot Coffee at 3982 N. Avondale Ave. in the Old Irving Park neighborhood on the city's Northwest Side was ordered closed after health inspectors discovered no hot running water at the coffee shop, the city said.
• Cremeria Santa Maria Inc. at 3424 W. 26 St. in Little Village was ordered shuttered after city health inspectors discovered more than 150 rodent droppings on the floor under the furnace, behind freezers, inside the walk-in cooler, under food storage crates and in the store's basement, the city said.
• Ms. EggRoll at 4513 N. Sheridan Rd. in the Uptown neighborhood on the North Side was closed after health inspectors discovered a cockroach infestation in the restaurant, the city said. More than 100 live cockroaches were found crawling throughout the Chinese restaurant, including on bowls and pans near the rice cooker, under kitchen prep tables, at sinks and inside the refrigeration unit, 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.

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