Potbelly Sandwich Works

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations2
• last inspectedDecember 31, 2025
• address277 E Ontario St, Chicago 60611

Is Potbelly Sandwich Works clean?

Potbelly Sandwich Works is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on December 31, 2025. Inspectors wrote up 2 critical violations — the kind most directly linked to foodborne illness. On Cooked's ladder that reads mid 😬.

What did inspectors find at Potbelly Sandwich Works?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on December 31, 2025, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 📋certified manager paperwork missingcritical
  City Of Chicago Food Service Sanitation Certificate • OBSERVED NO CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGER ON SITE THROUGHOUT INSPECTION. CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGER SHOWED UP SHORTLY AFTER INSPECTION BEGAN, HOWEVER CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGER LEFT BEFORE CONCLUSION OF INSPECTION. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO ENSURE A CERTIFIED FOOD MANAGER IS ON SITE AT ALL TIMES. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION 7-38-012 CITATION ISSUED.
• 🚰handwashing sink blocked or barecritical
  Adequate Handwashing Sinks Properly Supplied And Accessible • OBSERVED HAND WASHING SINK IN REAR PREP BLOCKED BY GIANT DISH. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO ENSURE HAND WASHING SINK IS ACCESSIBLE AT ALL TIMES. EMPLOYEE REMOVED DISH. PRIORITY FOUNDATION VIOLATION 7-38-030(C) CITATION ISSUED.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED BROKEN TILES ON WALL UNDERNEATH REAR HAND WASHING SINK. INSTRUCTED MANAGER TO REPAIR.

When was Potbelly Sandwich Works last inspected?

Potbelly Sandwich Works has 20 inspections on record going back to July 11, 2011. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Potbelly Sandwich Works vs Near North Side

Near North Side runs 75% clean across 2,889 tracked restaurants — 2,147 clean, 530 mid, 203 cooked.

Against the 2,889 spots Cooked tracks in Near North Side, this one comes out cleaner than 39% of them.

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• ✓! Karyn's Cooked, Inc.
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• ✕ Embassy Suites Hotel
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See every restaurant inspection in Near North Side →

How Chicago grades restaurants

Chicago does not use letter grades. Every inspection ends in one of three official results: Pass, Pass with Conditions, or Fail. Pass with Conditions means violations were found but corrected on the spot or under a deadline — the restaurant is open, with homework. A Fail means serious violations went uncorrected, and it usually brings a re-inspection within days. Chicago also flags “priority” violations, the ones most likely to actually make someone sick. Cooked reads Pass as clean, Pass with Conditions as mid, and Fail as cooked, and shows the itemized violations behind each result.

Source: Chicago Department of Public Health via Chicago Data Portal. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated December 31, 2025. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.