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

• Freshii at 1166 W. Madison St. on the Near West Side was ordered closed after health inspectors found no hot running water at the restaurant, the city said. The following notes were listed on the city's data portal:

"OBSERVED NO HOT WATER ON THE PREMISES. INCLUDING 2 HAND SINKS IN PREP AREAS, 3-COMP SINK, OR IN HAND SINKS IN BOTH TOILET ROOMS. EMPLOYEES UNABLE TO WASH HANDS AND UNABLE TO WASH AND RINSE DISHES, PER CITY CODE. HOT WATER TEMPERATURES RANGE FROM 50F TO 60F."

• Chicago Smoke Kitchen, a wholesale food distributor on the Lower West Side, was ordered closed after the city said previous health violations weren't fixed. The city didn't offer any details about the nature of the violations, and the distributor didn't appear on the city's data portal. The kitchen at 2300 S Throop St. distributes food to numerous food trucks and restaurants across the city.

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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