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 Nov.5, according to the city's Department of Health:

• World Famous Dog Joint at 350 W. Armitage Ave. in Lincoln Park was ordered closed after health inspectors found sewage waste water backing up from floor drains in the food storage area, dish washing area, service sink and underneath a toilet in the restaurant's washroom, the city said. Inspectors also found some live flies in the dish washing area, and a black and brown "slime substance" in the self-serve ice machine, the city said.
• New York Food Mart at 122 E. 35th St. in the Douglas neighborhood on the South Side was ordered closed after health inspectors discovered "improper waste water disposal" in the store, the city said. Details about the nature of the health violation were not 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