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Trinity Bar Shut Down After Failing Health Inspections

By Paul Biasco | March 19, 2014 8:36am | Updated on March 19, 2014 10:02am
 Trinity Bar, 2721 N. Halsted St., was shut down by police Saturday afternoon after failing two public health inspections.
Trinity Bar, 2721 N. Halsted St., was shut down by police Saturday afternoon after failing two public health inspections.
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DNAinfo/Paul Biasco

LINCOLN PARK — Chicago Police shut down Trinity Bar Saturday afternoon after the business failed two health inspections, according to city records.

The Irish-themed bar and restaurant at 2721 N. Halsted St. was cleared by police about 3 p.m., according to customers.

On Tuesday afternoon, Trinity remained closed, with a bright green notice stuck to the window indicating its license had been revoked by the city's Public Health Department.

But Mike Bomher, a manager at Trinity, said the bar planned to reopen Wednesday, pending another health inspection.

Public health records indicate Trinity failed an inspection Thursday due to numerous critical violations, and its license was suspended by the Public Health Department.

City health inspectors came back on Friday, and the establishment again failed, according to public records.

During Thursday's inspection, monitors found chicken breasts, salsa and beer being stored at temperatures that weren't low enough, a critical violation, as well as issues with sewage and waste water disposal, also a critical violation.

That inspection report indicated waste water was backing up into a three-compartment sink, also a critical violation.

Friday's inspection report found that a number of issues, such as the temperature of the cooler, had been fixed, but it still noted problems with sinks and waste water backing up in the basement.

Trinity opened Saturday morning to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, one of its busiest days of the year, apparently with a suspended license, according to city records.

A manager at the bar said he was told by police that an anonymous caller had reported the violation Saturday afternoon.

"We think someone is trying to sabotage us," said Mike Bomher, a manager at Trinity.

Customers at Trinity Saturday afternoon said a group of three police officers showed up and began shouting the bar was closed.

"They were basically telling people ... get the hell out of here," said Alex Plungis, who was at Trinity with a few friends to celebrate the holiday. "They probably had the whole place cleared out within five minutes."

"You had a lot of people getting kicked out of the bar, and they couldn't get into Hidden Shamrock [next door] because their line was so bad, so it was kind of ugly on Halsted," he said.