Potbelly Sandwich Works

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations0
• last inspectedJanuary 8, 2026 →
• address545 W Madison St, Chicago 60661

Is Potbelly Sandwich Works clean?

Potbelly Sandwich Works is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on January 8, 2026. No critical violations were recorded at that visit. 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 January 8, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🌡️hot/cold holding temps off
  Proper Hot Holding Temperatures
• 🧊cold food not cold enough
  Proper Cold Holding Temperatures
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean

When was Potbelly Sandwich Works last inspected?

Potbelly Sandwich Works has 26 inspections on record going back to June 15, 2010. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Potbelly Sandwich Works vs Near West Side

Near West Side runs 80% clean across 1,294 tracked restaurants — 1,031 clean, 233 mid, 18 cooked.

Against the 1,294 spots Cooked tracks in Near West Side, this one comes out cleaner than 10% of them.

Other spots in Near West Side

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• ✓ Macello Ristorante
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• ? Bezantium
  cooked · January 13, 2012
• ✓ Ambassador Public House
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• ✓ Greektown Gyros
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See every restaurant inspection in Near West 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.

Read the Chicago ratings guide →

Inspection findings and available history come from the authority’s published records. Cooked checks daily; publication can lag behind an inspection. Read the date on each result and check the official source for newer information.

Source: Chicago Department of Public Health via Chicago Data Portal. Cooked refreshes this data daily — this listing's most recent inspection is dated January 8, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.

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Cooked covers 10 cities on official inspection data — see who's clean, mid, or cooked near you.