Did Salsa From West LA’s Don Antonio’s Make a Bunch of People Sick?

A couple of months ago, Eater started hearing rumblings that something might be amiss at Don Antonio’s, the well-liked West LA Mexican restaurant that’s been on site for nearly 35 years. Rumors came and went, but without a negative notice from the Department of Public Health, there wasn’t much to be done.

That’s when a bunch of sick fed up customers — nearly a dozen in all — started taking to Yelp to complain about possible salmonella poisoning, raising enough ire on the online review platform that the LA County Department of Public Health got involved.

Once on site, they ended up slapping the restaurant with a few different infractions ranging from hazardous food stored at less-than-safe temperatures to bad sanitation practices. Ultimately, Don Antonio’s was given orders to change or be faced with stiffer penalties, and has been allowed to remain open in the meantime.

But, as the LA Times lays out, that hasn’t stopped two of the worst-off customers (at least one of whom landed at UCLA Medical Center) from filing suit against Don Antonio’s for failure to provide a safe dining environment. Alleging negligence over what they claim is some tainted salsa, the pair filed their claim on May 15, and word is yet to come about any possible repercussions from the suit.

For now it's business as usual at Don Antonio's, and as the Times notes, there have been no further instances of recorded salmonella poisoning. But even for a well-meaning company, it just goes to further underscore the need for proper attention to health, safety, and cleanliness codes — as even big names like Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams has learned.