Wake 'n Bacon, the floral-draped, Instagrammable brunch spot in Lakeview that markets itself as one of Chicago's most photo-worthy dining destinations, was hit with a failed inspection and is currently temporarily closed after a Chicago Department of Public Health complaint inspection on June 17 turned up over 50 live cockroaches, more than 300 dead flies, a dish machine sanitizing at literally zero parts per million, sausage patties sitting at 55 degrees in a reach-in cooler, and unlicensed residential roach killer stashed in the dry storage. That's not a rough day — that's a catastrophic one.
What the Inspector Found
The June 17 inspection — triggered by a complaint, not a routine visit — was a 28-violation pile-up that hit nearly every critical category in Chicago's food safety code. The cockroach count alone was enough to define the report: inspectors documented more than 50 live roaches in the dishwash and food prep areas, inside the compressor of a reach-in cooler, on the floor, on containers, and along the walls, per the Chicago Department of Public Health inspection record. Alongside that, over 300 dead small black flies were found throughout storage on food containers, the floor, and paper goods.
The sanitation failures compounded from there. The low-temperature dishwashing machine was registering zero chlorine — meaning it was running dishes through hot water and nothing else — and was tagged out of service on the spot. The three-compartment sink was backing up: water released from the second basin was flooding back into the first and third. Pork sausage patties in the reach-in cooler were measured at 55.4°F, well above the 41°F maximum required for cold holding; the person in charge was instructed to discard and denature them. And residential boric acid roach insecticide — the kind sold at hardware stores and explicitly prohibited in commercial food spaces — was sitting in dry storage. Citations were issued for all of the above.
Then there was the bacon curing. Inspectors found that Wake 'n Bacon — which, as its name implies, takes bacon seriously — was actively curing bacon and other products in the prep kitchen without the required variance from the city to conduct specialized processing. No variance documentation was found on site. Both the curing and variance violations received citations, though the CDPH consolidated them into a single violation count. The restaurant's certified food safety manager was also not on site at the start of inspection while eggs were being cooked, a priority foundation violation under Chicago Municipal Code §7-38-012, and a citation was issued for that as well.
A Pattern, Not a One-Off
The June 17 inspection was a complaint visit — but it also cited continued non-compliance from a routine inspection conducted on October 30, 2025 (CDPH report #2626271). That prior inspection had flagged excessive ice buildup in chest freezers on the second floor storage area, tin foil being used as a shelf liner in the prep area (not a cleanable surface), damaged and missing floor tiles throughout the kitchen, stairwells, and second-floor storage, missing wall tiles near cooking equipment, peeling paint behind the dishwashing machine, clutter on the second-floor storage area creating potential pest harborage, and an unused two-door cooler sitting next to the dish machine that was never repaired or removed. None of those core violations were corrected in the eight months between the two inspections, which itself earned a citation under priority foundation violation #7-42-090.
The list of additional violations from the June 17 inspection goes well beyond the headliners. The prep area handwashing sink had no hot water at the start of inspection. There was no handwashing signage at the bar sink. No chemical test kit for sanitizers was on hand. Sewage lines in the upstairs dry storage ran directly over single-use items without shielding. Milk crates were being used as shelving throughout storage areas. Condensate drainage from the walk-in cooler and second-floor storage was draining into plastic buckets instead of to floor drains. Toilet room doors were not self-closing. Grease buildup was found on cooking equipment, walls, surrounding floors, and shelving throughout the kitchen. Holes in the wall were found under the three-compartment sink and near the walk-in cooler. Floor tiles were damaged or missing throughout the dry storage room and staircase. The ventilation hood and filters above cooking equipment needed cleaning. Food containers throughout the kitchen had no labels. There was no access to the toilet room on the second floor. The ice machine and espresso machine lacked backflow preventer devices.
The Instagram Gap
Wake 'n Bacon has cultivated a significant following on the strength of its aesthetic — the restaurant's own website describes a space "draped in lush hanging flowers and enchanted garden vibes," with ube pancakes and bacon flights designed as much for cameras as for appetites, per eatwakenbacon.com. The address, 420 W. Belmont, is described as a deliberate nod to cannabis culture, with hemp extract available as an add-in to food and drinks, according to LinkedIn. It's a concept built on the promise of a meticulously curated experience. The gap between that brand promise and 50 live cockroaches in the dish area is hard to paper over.
The Yelp listing for Wake 'n Bacon currently shows the restaurant as temporarily closed. The CDPH inspection record notes the business is classified as Risk 1 (High) — the highest risk category under Chicago's food service classification system, reserved for establishments that handle raw animal products and conduct complex food preparation. For a brunch restaurant that cures its own bacon and cooks eggs to order, that designation comes with heightened obligations that the June 17 inspection suggests weren't being met. The CDPH can be reached at (312) 744-5000 for questions about the inspection or the reinspection timeline.
What Chicago's Rules Require to Reopen
Under Chicago's food service sanitation code, Wake 'n Bacon cannot reopen until it eliminates the cockroach and fly infestations through licensed pest control, obtains a valid City of Chicago Food Service Sanitation license for the designated person in charge, restores the dish machine to proper sanitizing function, repairs the plumbing backing up at the three-compartment sink, corrects cold holding temperatures, removes the residential insecticide from the premises, and addresses the structural issues — wall holes, missing tiles, damaged flooring — that are contributing to pest harborage. The restaurant will also need to obtain or present documentation of a variance for any in-house curing processes before that activity can legally resume, per the CDPH inspection record.
