Aug 21, 2008 10:48 pm US/Central
Women Leave Trendy Restaurant Covered In Bug Bites
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Two women claim they got strange marks on their legs after eating at a trendy restaurant.
They ate there on different days, but as CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reports, both women are tracing their suspicious marks to Japonais in River North.
One woman ate there last Friday night, the other on Saturday, and both have similar stories.
"We were all bitten from the knee down," said Sharon O'Brien. "From the knee to the ankle area, covered in bites."
O'Brien said she suffered between 75 and 100 bites on her legs.
"I didn't really feel anything bothering me while eating. I woke up the next day and noticed I had bumps all over my legs," O'Brien said.
The night before the red marks appeared on her legs, O'Brien says she had dinner at Japonais.
Holly Oliveri's legs looked much like O'Briens's after she, too, ate at Japonais.
"I counted 78," Oliveri said. "That's insane."
Oliveri and O'Brien work at the same company.
"Sharon and I spoke on Monday, and by happenstance, figured out we were at the same place," Oliveri said.
Oliveri had eaten at Japonais the night after O'Brien did.
"I didn't feel anything until late in the night, early the next morning the next day and I had, what I would think of as an infestation of bites from the knees down," she said. "I was scratching like a maniac."
Both women had worn skirts. They had eaten outside at street level, not by the river. Each went to a doctor.
O'Brien's diagnosis was that she was bitten by fleas or bed bugs. Oliveri says her physician told her she suffered spider or mosquito bites.
Both the general manager and owner of Japonais told CBS 2 the establishment, which is located on the Chicago River, is aware they have a mosquito problem. They said repellant is offered to guests. They also said they believe the women were bitten by mosquitoes and a program is in place with a pest control company to deal with the issue.
But Oliveri's not convinced that mosquitoes were the culprits.
"Quite frankly, I have gotten mosquito bites in the past and this was nothing like that," she said.
O'Brien filed a complaint with the Chicago Department of Public Health. A spokesperson said they will be investigating.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Video: CBS 2's Picks To Click
