The Chicago Restaurants 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 that were ordered closed during the week of Oct. 15, according to the city's Department of Health:

• Triple Crown Restaurant at 2217 S. Wentworth Ave. in the South Loop was ordered closed after the eatery failed to correct a violation from a previous inspection, health inspectors said. Despite being told to contact a pest control service to remove flies in the restaurant, at least 40 small flies were found in the basement, the city said.
• Sky Chop Suey at 8616 S. Kedzie Ave. in the city's Marycrest neighborhood on the South Side was ordered closed after a previous pest control violation wasn't corrected, the city said. More than 100 mouse droppings were found throughout the restaurant's food storage areas and behind coolers, according to health inspectors.

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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