Business & Tech
30 Plus Ill Diners Result in Channahon Restaurant Closing its Doors
Grundy County Health Department said they had 35 people report getting ill after eating at Hacienda Don Villo.
On Sept. 25, Hacienda Don Villo voluntarily closed its doors after the Grundy County Health Department investigated more than 30 cases of diners who became ill after eating at the restaurant.
"We got our first complaint on the 23rd of September and we went out there to investigate as we do with any complaint," Phil Jass, Health Admistrator with the Grundy County Health Department said.
While the county was investigating the initial complaints, more and more people reported being sick.
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"We contacted the Illinois Dept of Health within hours and they recommended that we close them," Jass said. "The owner has been very cooperative and she closed voluntarily."
The restaurant closed on Sept. 25 and will remain closed until they clean and sanitize the restaurant, staff goes through training on how to safely handle food, which is administered by the health department, and two food samples test negative. The restaurant has cleaned and sanitized and one food sample has tested negative while one is still being tested. Training was slated to happen on Oct. 3, Jass said.
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Jass said he did not know what the 35 sick people ate, only that they all became sick after eating at the restaurant.
"To be specific at what kind of food it was, I couldn’t really tell you," Jass said.
A Minooka resident who wanted to remain nameless said his wife was one of the diners who fell ill. She was in the hospital at Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center for four days. The man said his wife has a confirmed case of salmonella as does a family friend of his who also ate at the restaurant. The Minooka man said his wife ate steak tacos.
If you felt ill after eating at the restaurant, call the Grundy County Health Department at 815-941-3400 and ask for Environmental Health.
Hacienda Don Villo opened in April 2008. The owner could not be reached for comment.
Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.
Editor's Note: A misspelled name was corrected. Patch regrets the error.
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