Charlotte restaurant, closed after customers report illness, cleared to reopen

CHARLOTTE - A local restaurant ordered closed Tuesday after health department staff received complaints from customers who reported becoming ill after eating there over the weekend was cleared to reopen Wednesday afternoon.

Barry-Eaton District Health Department spokesperson Sarah Surna said staff visited Tequila’s Mexican Grill twice Tuesday before requiring the business to close.

Ten people reported a gastrointestinal illness after eating at the Mexican restaurant on North Cochran Avenue, she said.

Health department staff were at the restaurant Wednesday morning, Surna said. Restaurant employees thoroughly cleaned both the kitchen and dining area and disposed of any ready-to-eat food on the premises.

Restaurant employees were interviewed, and it was determined that none of them had been sick, Surna said. The risk of illness at the restaurant now is considered minimal, she said, but the health department is still investigating.

Staff received two sets of complaints from people who ate at Tequila’s Mexican Grill on Sunday, Surna said.  

Symptoms included nausea, abdominal cramping, vomiting, and diarrhea, according to a news release from the health department. Everyone who reported being ill are feeling better, but the restaurant was closed from 5 p.m. Tuesday until noon Wednesday, Surna said.

Department officials haven't determined the exact cause of the illnesses customers reported, she said.

"We are still trying to determine what caused the illness," Surna said. She said there is no timetable for the investigation's completion.

A message was left at Tequila’s Mexican Grill Wednesday morning.

Surna said the health department is scheduling future training on health, hygiene and food handling for Tequila’s Mexican Grill employees.

The heath department inspects restaurants twice a year, Surna said.

Records from the department's most recent inspection of Tequila’s Mexican Grill, in April indicated several food safety violations that were then corrected. 

Violations included finding food that was observed cooling at an unsafe temperature, the use of improper methods to cool foods, the storage of raw meat next to or above foods that were ready to eat, and food being stored at improper temperatures.

Anyone who ate at Tequila’s Mexican Grill on Sunday through Tuesday, and became ill is asked to contact BEDHD’s Environmental Health Division at (517) 541-2615.

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Contact Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.