Protein Bar

• resultPass
• critical violations1
• last inspectedMarch 15, 2023
• address222 W Merchandise Mart Plz, Chicago 60654

Is Protein Bar clean?

Protein Bar is currently listed as closed by Chicago Department of Public Health, as of its inspection on March 15, 2023. A closure means inspectors found conditions serious enough to stop service — it is not the same as a restaurant choosing to shut down, and the listing can change once the problems are fixed and re-inspected.

What did inspectors find at Protein Bar?

These are the violations recorded at the most recent inspection on March 15, 2023, in plain English, with the city's own wording underneath.

• 🧼hand hygiene slippingcritical
  Proper Eating, Tasting, Drinking, Or Tobacco Use • OBSERVED EMPOYEE EATING IN THE FOOD PREPARATION AREA. STAFF MUST HAVE A DESIGNATED AREA OUTSIDE OF PREPARATION AREAS TO EAT. DISCUSSED WITH EMPLOYEES WHILE ON SITE. EMPLOYEE RELOCATED TO THE OUTSIDE DINING AREA.
• ⚠️Approved Thawing Methods Used • FROZEN RAW FISH HAS BEEN THAWED WHILE STILL WRAPPED IN COMMERCIAL REDUCED OXYGEN PACKAGING (ROP). PACKAGING MUST BE REMOVED FROM FISH IN ROP PRIOR TO THAWING UNDER REFRIGERATION OR RUNNING WATER.
  Approved Thawing Methods Used • FROZEN RAW FISH HAS BEEN THAWED WHILE STILL WRAPPED IN COMMERCIAL REDUCED OXYGEN PACKAGING (ROP). PACKAGING MUST BE REMOVED FROM FISH IN ROP PRIOR TO THAWING UNDER REFRIGERATION OR RUNNING WATER.
• 🏷️food improperly labeled
  Food Properly Labeled; Original Container • FOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS IN THE KITCHEN PREPARATION AREA IS NOT LABELED. FACILITY MUST PROVIDE LABELS.
• ⚠️Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED PANINI PRESS STATION AND CONTAINER OF LIDS FOR FOOD CONTAINERS NEAR SELF-SERVICE UTENISLS. PREPARATION AREA MUST BE PROTECTED FROM CONTAMINATION BY STORING IT: 1) IN A CLEAN, DRY LOCATION; 2) WHERE IT IS NOT EXPOSED TO SPLASH, DUST OR OTHER CONTAMINATION; FACILITY MUST RELOCATE PREPAREA/SINGLE-USE ARTICLES OR PROVIDE A GUARD TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION FROM CUSTOMER SELF-SERVICE AREA.
  Contamination Prevented During Food Preparation, Storage & Display • OBSERVED PANINI PRESS STATION AND CONTAINER OF LIDS FOR FOOD CONTAINERS NEAR SELF-SERVICE UTENISLS. PREPARATION AREA MUST BE PROTECTED FROM CONTAMINATION BY STORING IT: 1) IN A CLEAN, DRY LOCATION; 2) WHERE IT IS NOT EXPOSED TO SPLASH, DUST OR OTHER CONTAMINATION; FACILITY MUST RELOCATE PREPAREA/SINGLE-USE ARTICLES OR PROVIDE A GUARD TO PREVENT CONTAMINATION FROM CUSTOMER SELF-SERVICE AREA.
• ⚠️In-Use Utensils: Properly Stored • UTENSILS STORED IN STAGNANT WATER NEAR SOUP HOT HOLDING STATION. STORE IN-USE UTENSILS: 1) IN THE FOOD WITH THE HANDLE UP AND OUT OF THE FOOD ITEM; 2) STORED ON A CLEAN AND SANITIZED SIRFACE; 3) IN RUNNING WATER; 4) IN CONTAINER OF HOT WATER MAINTAINED AT OR ABOVE 135F.
  In-Use Utensils: Properly Stored • UTENSILS STORED IN STAGNANT WATER NEAR SOUP HOT HOLDING STATION. STORE IN-USE UTENSILS: 1) IN THE FOOD WITH THE HANDLE UP AND OUT OF THE FOOD ITEM; 2) STORED ON A CLEAN AND SANITIZED SIRFACE; 3) IN RUNNING WATER; 4) IN CONTAINER OF HOT WATER MAINTAINED AT OR ABOVE 135F.
• 🧹floors, walls, or ceilings grimy
  Physical Facilities Installed, Maintained & Clean • UNNECESSARY ITEMS / NONFUNCTIONAL EQUIPMENT FOUND IN EMPLOYEE STORAGE AREA (BROKEN OVEN). THE PREMISES SHALL BE FREE OF ITEMS UNNECESSARY TO THE OPERATION OR MAINTENANCE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT. THIS INCLUDES EQUIPMENT THAT IS NONFUNCTIONAL OR NO LONGER USED.
• ⚠️Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • EMPLOYEE BACKPACK FOUND STORED IMPROPERLY ALONG WITH DRY STORAGE ITEMS. FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS SHALL A) PROVIDE DESIGNATED DRESSING ROOMS OR DRESSING AREAS FOR EMPLOYEES THAT ROUTINELY CHANGE THEIR CLOTHES IN THE ESTABLISHMENTS; B) PROVIDE LOCKERS OR OTHER SUITABLE FACILITIES FOR THE ORDERLY STORAGE OF EMPLOYEES' CLOTHING AND OTHER POSSESSIONS.
  Adequate Ventilation & Lighting; Designated Areas Used • EMPLOYEE BACKPACK FOUND STORED IMPROPERLY ALONG WITH DRY STORAGE ITEMS. FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS SHALL A) PROVIDE DESIGNATED DRESSING ROOMS OR DRESSING AREAS FOR EMPLOYEES THAT ROUTINELY CHANGE THEIR CLOTHES IN THE ESTABLISHMENTS; B) PROVIDE LOCKERS OR OTHER SUITABLE FACILITIES FOR THE ORDERLY STORAGE OF EMPLOYEES' CLOTHING AND OTHER POSSESSIONS.

When was Protein Bar last inspected?

Protein Bar has 15 inspections on record going back to May 13, 2013. The 12 most recent are shown below.

Protein Bar vs Loop

Loop runs 44% clean across 3,616 tracked restaurants — 1,566 clean, 332 mid, 1,687 cooked.

Against the 3,616 spots Cooked tracks in Loop, this one comes out cleaner than 0% of them.

Other spots in Loop

• ✓ Sam's Gourmet Lasagna
  cooked · May 8, 2013
• ✓ Freshii
  clean · May 4, 2026
• ✓ Northern Trust Bank
  cooked · May 23, 2016
• ✓ Eurest Dining Services
  clean · August 16, 2016
• ✓ Langham Chicago
  clean · July 10, 2013
• ✓! Pret A Manager
  cooked · December 3, 2019

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 March 15, 2023. Inspection results describe one moment in a kitchen's life, not a permanent verdict.