Staff

Update: Friday September 16

The Matador in Ballard will reopen Saturday September 17 after passing the King County Health Department’s inspection.

Matador Ballard issued a statement about the incident:

“Matador is extremely disappointed to be involved in the foodborne illness outbreak, but together with the health department, the restaurant is confident the situation is fully rectified and no contaminated products are on premise.”

Original Post:

The Matador in Ballard is closed after King County Health officials suspended their food permit while they investigate numerous cases of E. coli food poisoning.

As of 5p.m. last Friday windows in the restaurant were blocked off, and a sign on the door said it would be closed for cleaning and sanitizing.

According to both Seattle and King County Public Health, five people were infected with the same strain of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli after dining at the Mexican restaurant. Symptoms of the bacterial infection include fever, cramping and bloody diarrhea. Of the five, three were hospitalized. One of the people hospitalized developed hemolytic-uremic syndrome, which is potentially fatal type of kidney injury.

Public Health reported that the first case was on August 22 and the most recent case was reported last Tuesday. The source of the outbreak was linked to improper equipment cleaning.

The restaurant has a history of citations accruing 10 since 2010 for issues with food-handling practices fostering food-borne diseases. The majority of those citations were for not storing food at proper cooling temperatures.

The Matador in Ballard is one of 11 Matador restaurants in the U.S., including locations in West Seattle, Denver, Boise and Portland. The Matador is owned by Opper-Melang restaurant group, which also owns the Ballard Annex Oyster House and Kickin’ Boot.

Public Health official advise that if anyone has eating at the restaurant in the least ten days and develops symptoms to see a health provider immediately.