Essential manufacturing and factory workers in Chicago, including those in the food and beverage industry, are continuing to contract COVID-19 at staggering rates, according to a report from Block Club Chicago. Among them are employees at well-known tortilla company El Milagro Tortilla Factory in Little Village, where more than 80 workers tested positive for the novel coronavirus as of September 30. The factory temporarily closed in April after a longtime employee died from complications of the virus.
El Milagro, which sells chips to stores and supplies tortillas to restaurants, is a Chicago institution founded in 1950 by Raul Lopez. El Milagro operates factories in Pilsen and Little Village, as well as three taquerias in the Chicago area plus restaurants in Austin, Texas and Atlanta.