Below is some news from our friends at the Chicago Department of Public Health. In retrospect, it appears that this contrarian, CAPS-FILLED rant on Citysearch was prescient.
No Hot Water, Food at Unsafe Temperatures
A fast food restaurant in the Lincoln Park neighborhood was shut down today after Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) inspectors discovered critical food safety violations.
Wiener’s Circle, 2622 N. Clark, was shut down after inspectors found no hot running water on the premises—-meaning that food handlers were unable to wash their hands in an acceptable fashion and that food utensils and equipment could not be washed safely.
The restaurant also was cited for food found at unsafe temperatures—two pounds of cooked onions were found at 104 degrees Fahrenheit, well below the required 140 degrees. Restaurant management was ordered to discard the onions.
Today’s inspection was a re-inspection of December 12, when CDPH inspectors ticketed Wiener’s Circle for an overflowing outside garbage container.
The December 12 inspection was triggered by a customer who called 311 to claim that the restaurant had a rodent infestation. No evidence of rodent activity was found in either inspection.
The enforcement action was the 245th time in 2008 that Health Department inspectors have shut a food establishment for violations of the Chicago Health Code. Representatives of Wiener’s Circle will have to explain themselves at an administrative hearing on January 22 and pay fines expected to total $1,000.
Chicagoans who believe that a restaurant or any other licensed food establishment is operating in an unsafe manner are encouraged to report it by calling 311 or visiting www.cityofchicago.org.