Bob Chinn's reopens day after diner illnesses force closing

Bob Chinn's Crab House, the popular seafood restaurant in Wheeling, reopened to serve dinner Wednesday evening after a health scare forced the eatery to shut down Tuesday afternoon.

Restaurant general manager Deno Roumanidakis said he closed the eatery voluntarily after receiving calls Monday from a couple of patrons complaining they felt ill after eating at the restaurant, 393 S. Milwaukee Ave.

It's the first time in 30 years the restaurant has closed due to illnesses, he said.

“Our protocol here is, if we get two phone calls the same day, we call the health inspector,” Roumanidakis said.

Roumanidakis said he called the village of Wheeling's health inspector, who then notified the county.

Cook County Department of Public Health spokeswoman Amy Poore said it's still too early in the investigation to determine what caused the illnesses.

“We've only been notified in the last 24 hours,” she said. “We do have seven people who were confirmed that have a gastrointestinal illness. That number is just as of (Wednesday) morning.”

While Roumanidakis said health officials have said some type of virus is going around, Poore said the agency hasn't ruled out food-borne illnesses.

“We have a lot more investigating to do,” she said. “Absolutely nothing, at this point, has been ruled out. … We don't even have the exact source of what the illness is. We're awaiting laboratory test results.”

It may take a couple of days before those results are in, she added.

Roumanidakis said any customer or employee could have spread a virus.

“That's why it's so important to wash hands,” he said. “We're actually sanitizing the restaurant. We're literally scrubbing this place down. We are looking (to be) open for dinner. We need to make sure our employees and our guests are all safe.”