TACOMA, Wash. – The Melting Pot in Tacoma reopened Saturday afternoon following a 24-hour shutdown after several people got sick eating at the restaurant.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department cleared the restaurant to reopen after a thorough cleaning and interviews with staff.
The department closed the restaurant temporarily Friday after receiving complaints from diners.
Five people came down with diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting after eating at the restaurant on Dec. 23, according to the department and entries on iwaspoisoned.com.
“We all came down with this on Christmas,” one iwaspoisoned.com user wrote. “It ruined two days. We have read about 10 others who also got sick.”
The health department does not know the source of the possible foodborne illness, and it's difficult to find the cause without multiple lab samples.
“We do not know the actual pathogen,” Christina Sherman, an environmental health specialist with the health department, told The News Tribune. “We have to go forward with an abundance of caution for the guests that will be dining there over New Year’s weekend.”
Temporarily closing the restaurant allows the department to ensure any potential sources of illness are not present anymore.
The health department last inspected the Melting Pot on Nov. 29, and the restaurant had no violations.
