Chicago’s Department of Business and Consumer Protection fined nine businesses for COVID-19 violations last weekend. The citations are part of the department’s continued efforts to enforce the city’s ever-changing safety guidelines, which since Oct. 30 have included a shutdown of indoor dining, officials said.
Ten locations in the Wrigleyville entertainment district that were open and operating for outdoor dining were also investigated Saturday night, and all of them were in compliance with safety guidelines. In total, 118 investigations were conducted citywide Dec. 10 to 13.
One of the more egregious COVID-19 violations was an event at World Wide Blend (2427 W. Hubbard St.) advertised as a “pandemic party” on social media. About 2 a.m. Sunday, investigators found about 50 people neither social distancing nor wearing masks, department officials said. The location also had curtains blocking out the windows, and was also cited for building code violations, such as no smoke alarms, no carbon monoxide detector and no fire extinguishers, according to the department.
More Top Picks Why Fluorescent Lights Make Irlen Syndrome Worse
Eight other businesses were cited during the weekend investigations:
River North CrossFit (330 W. Ontario St.) was cited Dec. 11 for holding indoor fitness classes and for patrons not wearing masks.
Cafe Touche (6731 N. Northwest Highway) was cited Dec. 11 for allowing indoor dining.
Edison Park Inn (6715 N. Olmsted Ave.) was cited Dec. 11 for allowing indoor dining.
Beverly Hills Art Gallery (2135 W. 95th St.) was cited Dec. 11 for hosting an unlicensed event indoors without enforcing social distancing or masking.
Barraco’s Pizza (2105 W. 95th St.) was cited Dec. 11 for allowing indoor dining.
The Clark Street Bar (3040 N. Clark St.) was cited Dec. 12 for serving customers after 11 p.m.
A shared housing party (6950 S. Michigan Ave.) was cited Dec. 12 for hosting an indoor event with 24 people.
Duffy’s Tavern and Grille (420 W. Diversey Parkway) was cited Dec. 13 for allowing indoor dining.
So far during the pandemic, the department has issued 355 citations and investigated 7,184 businesses.