LAKEVIEW — Cheesie's Pub and Grub reopened Friday evening at 6 p.m. after a failed city inspection Jan. 12 caused the restaurant to close Thursday, the restaurant announced on Twitter.
Cheesie's, 958 W. Belmont Ave., had its license suspended briefly for more than a dozen violations found during a Jan. 12 food inspection, according to a report in the city's official data portal.
Cheesie's quickly completed repairs like re-drywalling the basement ceiling and plugging up holes in the walls, owner Chris Johnston said. At noon Friday, he said the restaurant would reopen very soon after the paperwork was complete.
"It was simple things like weather stripping on doors, drywalling around the piping," Johnston said. "It's all stuff that's fixed during the inspection or within the week."
Restaurant management disputed some violations listed in the city's data portal report occurred, stating that only three building violations were found: holes and gaps in the drywall, improper dry storage and a cluttered basement. The city health inspector's office could not be reached for comment Friday night.
According to the city report, the restaurant was cited for food stored at improper temperatures and inadequate hand washing facilities. About 40 rat droppings were found in the basement and its dry storage room, and the holes and gaps under doors needed to be sealed.
Overflowing garbage bins in the alley, grease buildup, a cluttered basement, and employees' bicycles stored in the basement also resulted in citations.
— Cheesie's Pub & Grub (@CheesiesChicago) January 21, 2016
Johnston said a new inspector conducted the Jan. 12 canvass and "wasn't very friendly." While Cheesie's has "always had a great relationship with the health department," this inspection was "very aggressively unfair," he said.
When a supervisor came by to hang the green sign declaring Cheesie's license suspended, "she was cool. She just said since she was called [by the inspector], she had to put the sign up."
The suspension came just as Johnston was preparing for the grand opening of Whiskey Business Friday night. The companion to the Cheesie's in Wicker Park — which opened on New Year's Eve — will serve stuffed burgers and french fry entrees, along with 24 beers on draft and a creative list of cocktails.
The Lakeview Cheesie's opened in 2011. In the four years since, it has passed 12 inspections or follow-up inspections and failed six.
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