After getting multiple complaints of food poisoning, San Francisco’s House of Prime Rib has closed for 24 hours.
Owner Joe Betz has invited the city’s Department of Public Health to walkthrough the restaurant in order to demonstrate transparency and reassure the public. Two previous inspections - one in April and one on Tuesday - have found no violations.
"The inspector told me we doing everything right," Betz told KCBS Radio this week. "There is absolutely zero problem in our house, based on the health department."
The city’s health department has received about a dozen complaints of foodborne illness, which are now under review.
The restaurant made a statement earlier this week that they had an "isolated issue with some of our prime rib which was immediately discovered and addressed."
But Betz said he believes the current wave of diners complaining of illnesses may be related to the pandemic. Because people have been eating at home for so long, Betz says their stomachs might not be accustomed to a rich steak dinner.
The restaurant staff eats the signature prime rib dinner every Saturday, and Betz says none of them have been affected.
Brendan Williams works right by the restaurant and says as a so-called "dedicated carnivore," he can’t wait to eat at the restaurant again.
He doesn’t believe the news will hurt business at the 70-year-old institution.
"They certainly have a lot of people that were trying to get in here over the course of the last year or so and I’ve sort of felt like I was missing out. We’ve just been waiting for the opportunity."
