CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- While its owner remains hospitalized with COVID-19, the Tamale Guy Chicago restaurant reopens Wednesday. The Tamale Guy Chicago closed about two weeks after first opening, after 55-year-old owner Claudio Velez tested positive for the coronavirus and was hospitalized and put on a ventilator.
For more than 20 years, Velez sold his tamales out of a red and white cooler. The pandemic put an end to that, but in mid-August with the held of a GoFundMe campaign and a couple of partners, he opened his own restaurant.
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On Facebook, Tamale Guy Chicago said it will only allow one person at a time inside the restaurant in the 2000 block of West Chicago Avenue. Extra cleaning will be done by staff, and any employee with a fever will be sent home.
A previous post said Velez has a long recovery ahead and cannot speak, but responds to voices, especially when the restaurant is mentioned.
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A GoFundMe page for Claudio Velez has, so far, raised more than $56,000.