Salmonella outbreak at popular L.A. Oaxacan restaurant sickens 44
- Madre owner Ivan Vásquez himself called the county health department to report the outbreak after a diner called his restaurant to report an illness.
- One diner claimed his chicken mole made him sick, and has filed a lawsuit.
- The Santa Clarita location, barely a year old, has since reopened.
Dozens of cases of salmonella linked to a popular Oaxacan restaurant in the Santa Clarita Valley in mid-September resulted in its temporary closure and a lawsuit filed by a man who said a chicken mole plate made him sick.
The lawsuit aimed at Madre Oaxacan Restaurant in the Valencia area comes after the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health shut down the restaurant on Sept. 18 following a salmonella outbreak that sickened about 44 people. The county inspected the restaurant and slapped it with a “C” grade for multiple health code violations.
On Sept. 15, Gary Delrosario dined at the restaurant with his family and ate a chicken breast with mole sauce and white rice and beans before getting sick, according to a complaint filed by Gomez Trial Attorneys and Ron Simon & Associates in L.A. Superior Court. The Sept. 24 lawsuit accuses the restaurant of negligence and asks for an undisclosed amount that includes court costs, attorney fees and expert fees and costs.
“Shortly after consuming the food, plaintiff became sick and was compelled to seek medical attention,” the complaint states. “Plaintiff tested positive for salmonella. Plaintiff continues to suffer the effects of salmonellosis.”
The restaurant has since reopened and is struggling to regain customers, said owner Ivan Vásquez, a well-known chef in Southern California and immigrant from Oaxaca who operates three other Madre locations in Los Angeles.
“We feel sorry for the people who got sick. We didn’t do this with intent,” he said. “We take responsibility for what happened with the outbreak.”
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Vásquez said he called county health officials on Sep. 18 when he received a call from a diner telling him she’d fallen ill and had tested positive for salmonella.
“I didn’t want to hide anything,” he said. “I’m the one who made the call.”
Public health officials had already fielded several reports of people experiencing “gastrointestinal symptoms” after eating at the restaurant, said Los Angeles County Department of Public Health officials.
County officials shut down the restaurant, per procedure when an establishment is linked to an imminent health hazard for disease transmission. Public health officials said this week they continue to investigate the outbreak.
In the complaint, Delrosario blamed the chicken. However, the source of the salmonella outbreak is unclear and still under investigation, county public health officials said.
Salmonella is spread by eating or drinking contaminated food or water, or by coming into contact with infected people or animals. The bacteria in this case is linked to the restaurant, officials said, but it’s unclear whether it originated at the restaurant.
Vásquez said he called his food providers to see if anything he’d purchased had been recalled. He said none had.
The same day as the closure, county officials inspected the restaurant and gave it a “C” grade for some minor and critical violations (restaurants in L.A. County can remain open with a “C” grade). The most serious included food debris and mold buildup in the deep scratches and etches of a cutting board surface in the food prep area and the dishwasher being unaware of proper sanitizing procedures when manually washing wares, according to the inspection report.
While it was shuttered, Vásquez said his team sanitized the restaurant, throwing out all of its food, and met with county officials, who tested employees for salmonella. Nine of 52 employees — including three cooks, a prep cook and a dishwasher — tested positive, Vásquez said.
Most were asymptomatic, he added.
A worker who buses tables and tested positive fell ill on Sept. 17 but didn’t tell anyone at work he wasn’t feeling well, Vásquez said. A bartender who tested positive called in sick on the day of the restaurant closure.
Since then, Vásquez said he’s retrained all his employees at the restaurant on proper hand-washing procedures as well as sanitation and dishwashing policies. He also reminded employees to report illnesses right away.
“We are doing everything we can to make our restaurant safe,” he said.
Since the pandemic, inspectors say, they have been pushed to the breaking point trying to keep thousands of restaurants safe while their ranks shrink.
The Valencia location of Madre Oaxacan Restaurant opened about a year ago. The original location in Torrance became a hit for its fine Oaxacan dishes and extensive mezcal collection, considered the broadest in Los Angeles. Vásquez would go on to expand to Palms, West Hollywood and Santa Clarita.
Since the salmonella outbreak, Madre in Santa Clarita has regained its “A” grade by the county health department. It reopened on Sept. 26, two days after county officials gave them the green light to do so. None of the workers who tested positive have returned to work and won’t do so until further testing, Vásquez said.
Since the closure, visits are down by 90% at the restaurant, Vásquez said.
“We’re almost out of business,” he said. “We’re working to save the restaurant.”
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