LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) – The Fayette Mall food court has self-closed at the recommendation of the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department to allow the area to be sanitized after a high number of stomach illnesses were reported from people who ate there.
Originally, Chick-fil-A decided to remain closed after restaurant officials elected to shut down last week after numerous employees called in sick.
The health department began an investigation after claims that other food court employees have been ill.
A third party will clean and sanitize the area and all the equipment.
They released this statement last week:
Yesterday (Thursday) we voluntarily closed the restaurant at Fayette Mall as soon as multiple employees reported symptoms of being ill. Additionally, we proactively notified the health department to investigate the situation and they have confirmed that we have taken every necessary action to protect the well-being of our guests and team members. We’ve decided to keep the restaurant closed a little longer to ensure sanitization, and look forward to serving guests again soon.
Officials have not said what they believe the virus is. They do say there is no reason to believe this is hepatitis A.
Symptoms included nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. If you ate at the food court July 17-22 and are experiencing these symptoms, please call 859-231-9791 or email report@lfchd.org to report it. Be sure to include the following (and remember, you need to email it and NOT post it on here) to help us with the investigation:
• where and when you ate at the food court
• what food items you ate or drank
• when you began experiencing symptoms
• how many in your family/group became ill (if applicable)
• the ages of those who became ill
• how long you were ill
• a contact phone number where you can be reached.