4th Busiest Restaurant in the US Sickens Dozens

With a name like Bob Chinn’s Crab House, aren’t you just asking for trouble?  But we digress– the Chicago-area restaurant is being blamed for an outbreak of flu-like symptoms, so far some 50 people have been reported to be sickened and health officials are bracing for more.

Bob Chinn’s Crab House claims to be the fourth busiest restaurant in the nation, serving around 800,000 people annually.  In case you’re wondering, that’s an amazing 2,191 covers on average a day.  The only comment Cook County’s Health Department had on the number of sick was “We anticipate that will continue to go up.”

The restaurant voluntarily closed for one day this week, opening a day later on Wednesday.  A spokesman told the Chicago Sun Times:

“We worked with the [Cook County Department of] Public Health to clean and sanitize the restaurant.  We’ve satisfied all of the requirements, and they’ve allowed us to reopen.”

Officials still don’t know what made the diners sick but say the restaurant is safe.  Symptoms included vomiting, diarrhea, chills and fever.

Bon appetit!