The popular Little Wok Chinese and Japanese restaurant last week became the latest on a busy stretch of Broadway in East Lakeview to be shut down by the Chicago Department of Public Health.
The department confirmed Monday that the license for Little Wok, at 3144 N. Broadway, had been suspended primarily due to pest infestation — specifically rodents.
The city data portal indicated that inspectors found two live rats in the food preparation area, and rat droppings on food containers, on the floor near rice, in the food preparation area, behind and underneath cooking equipment, and in the dining room.
Small black flies were also seen in the rear preparation and dish area, the city said.
The data portal entry said Little Wok was instructed to contact a licensed pest control company and to thoroughly sanitize.
No one answered the phone at Little Wok this past Tuesday when a "license suspended" sign appeared on the glass door, nor on Monday morning.
Residents have noticed that several restaurants along the popular dining strip on Broadway south of Belmont Avenue have been hit with license suspensions in recent months.
This past June, the Department of Public Health also suspended the license at The Bagel, 3107 N. Broadway, and its former sister restaurant, Stella's, 3042 N. Broadway. Cockroach infestations were cited at both The Bagel and Stella's.
Both restaurants later passed reinspection and reopened, but Stella's has since gone out of business. A new location of the famous Ann Sather chain is set to take over its former space.
Little Wok first opened on Main Street just west of the North Shore Channel in Evanston in 2008. It features a pan-Asian menu with Chinese and Korean selections, a Japanese menu with a vast sushi selection, and a variety of wine and cocktail specialties.
The East Lakeview location opened in 2016. A third location on Division Street in Wicker Park followed in 2022.
