Employees were hammering, painting and checking off tasks from a lengthy to-do list taped to a photo booth at the Heartland Cafe last night, working to ensure the restaurant passes a health inspection and will be able to resume serving diners later this week.

The Rogers Park restaurant was ordered shut last week  by health inspectors, who said they found rodent feces throughout the establishment, black, slimy mold dripping into water in an automatic ice machine, and food being stored in improper temperatures. 

The city Health Department says the inspection came after a customer who became sick after eating at the Heartland, 7000 N. Glenwood, called 311.

For five days since then, owners Michael James and Katy Hogan have overseen a facelift of the café, which is known for its left-leaning politics.

“We went way further than (inspectors) asked for because we were so humiliated at being shut down,” Hogan says.

They've removed the ice machine and caulked the stage to prevent rodents from entering. James says the concrete floor has been replaced, and they fired their exterminator, hiring a new one.

James and Hogan hope to be serving customers later this week. But first they’ll need to pass another inspection. Hogan says they are praying they will pass, especially with the top-to-bottom refurbishing the restaurant has received, courtesy of its staff and about 30 neighborhood volunteers.

It has proven to be a costly mistake.

The city assessed the restaurant $1,500 in fines for three “critical” violations. Add to that the cost of the rehab and the loss of a busy weekend crowd: “I’m not going to think about it,” Hogan says.

Following disclosure of the violations, Heartland Café was roundly skewered by Rogers Park bloggers. That irks Hogan, who says the restaurant tries to be a good neighbor.

“We’re sorry we were not up to snuff and we think we’ll be better than ever,” James says. “Bottom line it’s brought a lot of people together who apparently care a lot. It’s really been heartwarming.”

The Red Line Tap and No Exit Café, adjacent to the Heartland Café, remain open.

Correction: An earlier version of this story referred to Michael James by a different last name.