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CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Friends and fans are raising money for a fixture in local taverns.
Claudio Velez has been known as the "Tamale Guy" for two decades, selling tamales out of a red or blue cooler from bar to bar. But with bars closed due to the stay-at-home order, Velez began selling tamales through pre-orders online offering home delivery. He sold hundreds since March, and even hosted two curbside pick-up events organized by the West Loop Community Garden.
But those two events last month drew the ire of the city, which sent a cease-and-desist letter telling Velez he was operating without a food license and needed to shut down his tamale operation.
According to the Tribune, Velez received a cease-and-desist order from the city in early May, but needed help understanding it. He reached out to longtime friend Cesar Valerio, a Chicago police officer, to translate and explain the letter.
“I was mad and it was heartbreaking telling him what the letter said, because he was already making a fraction of what he made,” Valerio told the Tribune. “Claudio was upset and hurt.”
Velez stopped making and delivering his tamales immediately, Valerio said, and has declined to comment on the situation as he tries to figure out what to do next.
“He is afraid of ruining any chance of eventually opening his restaurant; that is his dream,” Valerio said.
The city said it was responding to numerous complaints about the tamale sales, according to the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection. In an email to the Tribune, BACP cited complaints to 311 about Velez from Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez and eight other individuals for selling food without a license.
Following the complaints, the city issued a cease and desist order to Velez and Moshe Tamssot, who organized the West Loop Community Garden sales, for selling food without a retail food license. According to the BACP statement, the city has the “responsibility to respond to all complaints to protect Chicagoans and ensure food safety standards are being met.”
According to the Tribune, Sigcho-Lopez, of the 25th Ward, clarified that his office followed protocol by forwarding the 311 calls and email complaints to City Hall, but noted his office “never made a recommendation or comment” regarding Velez.
Sigcho-Lopez told the Tribune there should be an investigation into why the city came down so hard.
In the meantime, a GoFundMe for Velez has raised nearly $30,000 within a couple of days.