When a customer claimed to see workers at an Uptown restaurant using cooking utensils to kill mice, city health inspectors killed the eatery's license to operate. The North Side restaurant was closed down Monday afternoon after inspectors found evidence of a mouse and cockroach infestation.
Nigerian Kitchen, at 1363 W. Wilson, was ordered closed when inspectors found mouse feces throughout the restaurant, cockroaches crawling on a wall and wastewater backing up from three clogged sinks in the kitchen, according to a release from the City Dept. of Public Health.
Inspectors also found a mop sink filled with dozens of tomatoes and green peppers -- cut and whole -- and ordered them discarded, the release said.
The inspection was triggered by a person who called 311 to allege that restaurant staffers were using cooking utensils to kill mice, the release said. No such activity was observed by inspectors.
Nigerian Kitchen owners will face an administrative hearing on March 26 and fines are expected to total $1,500.
The enforcement action was the 44th in 2009 that resulted in a food establishment being shut down.
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Chicagoans who believe a restaurant or other licensed food establishment is operating in an unsafe manner are encouraged to call 311.
