Seattle Chipotle Location Closed By Health Department Hours After CEO’s Apology

Chipotle founder and co-CEO Steve Ells has finally publically apologized on behalf of the restaurant chain.

The South Lake Union Chipotle restaurant that closed Thursday for violating food-safety code reopened Friday.

Boston public health officials are urging people to stop the spread of norovirus by washing hands regularly, avoiding close contact or sharing food and drink with sick people, and staying home when ill. “They’re having a tough time”.

Health experts brought in by Chipotle think that changes enacted after the outbreak “will put us 10 to 15 years ahead of industry norms, and I believe this will be the safest restaurant to eat at”, Ells said.

Chris Arnold, a Chipotle spokesman, also said an employee coming in sick was in violation of the company’s policies. The health department said there had been red violations on three separate days at the location that was closed and that meat was held at temperatures that were too low.

Norovirus, the most common cause of food-borne illness, inflames the stomach and intestine, resulting in a day or two of nausea and vomiting.

The E.coli outbreak has sickened folks across nine states and if that wasn’t bad enough, 141 students at Boston College reportedly contracted the norovirus after eating at a local Chipotle. That restaurant is now closed as the restaurant is sanitized.

For weeks, Chipotle has posted updated information on its site about the food safety issues and what it is doing to address them.

“Work on our enhanced food safety program began immediately after reports surfaced at the end of October regarding the E.coli cases in Washington and OR”, the company said in a statement.