A Christmas party last month for employees of Leola Village Inn & Suites turned into a decidedly un-merry occasion as a number of them came down with salmonella, an outbreak that's being investigated by the state Department of Health.
All told, 11 people over three days contracted salmonella at the restaurant Mazzi, the state confirmed, including a few who attended other private parties there.
John Calabrese, who owns Mazzi and co-owns Leola Village Inn & Suites with his wife, Deborah Shirk, said about 50 people attended the Dec. 10 party at the restaurant, which is part of the Leola Village complex off Route 23.
When the workers got sick with nausea, fever, chills and other symptoms, "we couldn't figure out what was going on" and immediately notified the Health Department, Calabrese said. The restaurant also quarantined some areas "and sanitized everything," he said.
Stacy Kriedeman, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health, said Friday that there were 11 confirmed laboratory cases of salmonella involving people who ate at Mazzi on Dec. 10, 11 and 12, and 39 more people who reported feeling ill.
She said the cause still hasn't been determined.
Calabrese said the vast majority of those affected were attendees of the Leola Village Christmas gathering.
Some other diners attending private parties at Mazzi around that time were affected as well, he said.
However, none of the hundreds of à la a carte diners who ate at the restaurant fell victim, Calabrese said.
Many customers were called "to make sure they were OK," he said.
A state inspection report in today's Business section of the Sunday News lists strawberries, blueberries and unpasteurized eggs as possible culprits in the Mazzi outbreak. A report in last Sunday's paper mentioned tomatoes.
Whatever the cause is, Calabrese said he's certain the restaurant couldn't have prevented it.
"We know how we handle our food."
Paula Wolf is a staff writer for the Sunday News. She can be reached by e-mail at pwolf@lnpnews.com.
