Potbelly Sandwich Works

• resultPass w/ Conditions
• critical violations0
• last inspectedApril 29, 2026
• address303 W Madison St, Chicago 60606

Is Potbelly Sandwich Works clean?

Potbelly Sandwich Works is currently Pass w/ Conditions from Chicago Department of Public Health, from an inspection on April 29, 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 April 29, 2026, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🧫food prep surfaces dirty
  Proper Cooling Methods Used; Adequate Equipment For Temperature Control • OBSERVED FRONT SERVICE LINE AREA SMALL LINE COOLER IN POOR REPAIR, INTERNAL AMBIENT AIR TEMPERATURE OF 50.5F AT TIME OF INSPECTION. PERSON-IN-CHARGE AWARE OF INADEQUATE COLD-HOLDING EQUIPMENT AND TAGGED COOLER WITH SIGNAGE INSTRUCTING STAFF NOT TO USE PRIOR TO INSPECTOR ARRIVAL. TAGGED EQUIPMENT WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO CONTACT CDPH ONCE EQUIPMENT IS REPAIRED OR REPLACED AND PRIOR TO USE. PRIORITY VIOLATION. 7-38-005 NO CITATION ISSUED.
• ⚠️Utensils, Equipment & Linens: Properly Stored, Dried, & Handled • OBSERVED CLEAN EQUIPMENT STORED DIRECTLY NEXT TO HANDWASHING SINK AT THE WAREWASHING AREA. INSTRUCTED TO RELOCATE CLEAN EQUIPMENT OR PROVIDE BARRIER BETWEEN HANDWASHING SINK BASIN AND CLEAN EQUIPMENT STORAGE TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION AND MAINTAIN ALL CLEAN EQUIPMENT WHERE IT IS NOT AT RISK OF CONTAMINATION FROM SPLASH OR SPILLAGE.
  Utensils, Equipment & Linens: Properly Stored, Dried, & Handled • OBSERVED CLEAN EQUIPMENT STORED DIRECTLY NEXT TO HANDWASHING SINK AT THE WAREWASHING AREA. INSTRUCTED TO RELOCATE CLEAN EQUIPMENT OR PROVIDE BARRIER BETWEEN HANDWASHING SINK BASIN AND CLEAN EQUIPMENT STORAGE TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION AND MAINTAIN ALL CLEAN EQUIPMENT WHERE IT IS NOT AT RISK OF CONTAMINATION FROM SPLASH OR SPILLAGE.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • OBSERVED FLOOR BENEATH SHELVING IN THE WALK-IN COOLER AND REAR DRY STORAGE HALLWAY AREAS TO BE SOILED WITH DRIED FOOD DEBRIS AND OTHER SOILS. INSTRUCTED TO CLEAN FLOORS AND OTHER PHYSICAL FACILITIES AT ADEQUATE FREQUENCY TO PREVENT BUILD UP OF DRIED FOOD DEBRIS AND OTHER SOILS AND MAINTAIN.

When was Potbelly Sandwich Works last inspected?

Potbelly Sandwich Works has 21 inspections on record going back to September 29, 2010. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Potbelly Sandwich Works vs Loop

Loop runs 70% clean across 3,616 tracked restaurants — 2,521 clean, 764 mid, 300 cooked.

Against the 3,616 spots Cooked tracks in Loop, this one comes out cleaner than 23% of them.

Other spots in Loop

• ? Green Apple Inc
  cooked · August 16, 2010
• ? Briazz
  cooked · December 17, 2012
• ✓ Valaji Lobby Shop
  clean · January 14, 2013
• ✓ Taco Fresco
  clean · November 12, 2010
• ✓ Taco Bell_#4171
  clean · April 7, 2014
• ✓ The Thomas Club At Symphony Center
  clean · May 2, 2018

See every restaurant inspection in Loop →

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 April 29, 2026. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.