Southeast Public Health has shut down a restaurant in Carleton Place, Ont., after several people reported becoming intensely ill after eating there. Eataria Unlimited, located at 73 Bridge St. in Carleton Place, west of Ottawa, is now shuttered following an inspection on April 14. Amanda Wormleighton, a local personal trainer, was part of the group that called Southeast Public Health to conduct an inspection. She says she and five other co-workers attended Eataria Unlimited April 9 for a work lunch, and shortly following their meal, many started to feel unwell. “Out of the six of us, four of us got sick. Two of us didn’t,” Wormleighton told CTV News. “They had something that had no lettuce on it. So that’s where we believe the connection is, is the lettuce.” Within 24 hours, Wormleighton says she became sicker than she has ever been before. “I ended up violently ill. I threw up over the course of 12 hours, something like 20-some-odd times. I had a fever of 103,” she recalled. “I ended up in really bad shape, where I was almost delirious from how high my fever was getting.” Her co-worker, Kayleigh Trudeau, says she ordered a donair wrap and suffered a similar fate. “Throwing up lasted about eight hours. I think I threw up about 12 to 14 times,” Trudeau said. After realizing they were suffering from the same symptoms, they contacted Eataria Unlimited to notify them. Trudeau says they were offered a refund on their meal. It was then that the group contacted the health unit. “It was to the point where we just didn’t feel that food could be made safely and served to the public,” says Kim McCann, manager of environmental health at Southeast Public Health. The health unit’s report confirms that the business was not in compliance for all eight of the inspection categories: McCann confirms that insects were found on the premises and that pest control has been brought in to help get the situation in order. “She said it was one of the filthiest restaurants she’s ever seen,” said Trudeau, on what the health inspector told her following their inspection. “She said, ‘You absolutely all are correct. You had food poisoning,’” added Wormleighton. “And she said that the cross-contamination was shocking to her.” CTV News contacted Eataria Unlimited for comment but did not receive a response. “I felt a little bit violated that they felt it was okay to serve me food that could get me that sick,” said Trudeau. The group of co-workers said that they anticipated backlash for speaking out against a local business, but felt obligated to — so that no one else suffered from the same illness they experienced. “I’m all about supporting local,” said Wormleighton. “It’s just, it’s disappointing. It really is. You want businesses to do well here. It’s a real shame.”
