Health Code Violations Shut Down Fox & Obel

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Jul 15, 2013 9:30PM

Crain's Chicago Business reports gourmet grocery store Fox & Obel shut down Monday due to health code violations. An email cited by Crain's from Fox & Obel's client services division indicated the company "is in the process of complying with the Health Department of Chicago and will re-open as soon as possible," although when that will be is uncertain as of post time.

Chicagoist received an email from reader Thor Rudebeck, who said he was at the store during lunch hour when employees went individually to customers waiting for their orders and offered them refunds or they could wait for their food, but it would be another 20 minutes. "Then they had employees barricade all the doors—they let us all out with a smile," Rudebeck said.

It's the latest in a litany of bad news for Fox & Obel, which has had problems in recent years making payroll and had fallen more than $300,000 behind on the rent of its Streeterville digs.