Sun Wah BBQ Shut Down By City

By Lisa White in Food on Dec 3, 2013 8:30PM



Sun Wah BBQ. Photo Credit: Darwensi

We hope you weren’t planning on heading to Uptown for some crispy roasted duck anytime soon. Local favorite Sun Wah BBQ was shut down by the city yesterday according to DNAinfo Chicago.

DNAInfo Chicago reports that a green sign stating that their license has been suspended hangs on the front of their since Monday. This stems from an inspection done on Nov. 25 after a complaint was made to the city. What was the final decider? Here come the gross details.

According to a report, an inspector observed more than 10 live roaches on the floor inside the restaurant’s heater room. The inspector also found dead insects inside employee lockers. There were also issues with keeping food at proper temperatures, but roaches are what get us feeling a bit squeamish.

DNAinfo dug up that Sun Wah had been inspected by the city 11 times since 2010 and failed five of those inspections. Much of those citations have been (once again) regarding proper food temperatures but in May an inspector failed them after finding “waste water backing up” from the floor drain under a food prep area. They also found that in 2010 an inspector found “evidence of rodent infestation throughout the premise.”

Look, we’re all for sometimes being adventurous and trying food at dingy little joints. But Sun Wah is hugely successful with a large fanbase and (at least on the outside) a nice large dining area. There is no reason they shouldn’t be putting in the money to keep their business up to code. We understand that rodents and bugs are attracted to food establishments, but if we flick a light on and 10 roaches scatter, get an exterminator over there pronto. We hope Sun Wah puts forth the effort to resolve these matters so we feel safe diving into our roasted duck in the future.