U.S. Congressman Gary Ackerman, and members of his staff, paid a special visit to Port Washington to dine at Ayhan's Shish Kebab. The congressman wanted to show his support for and faith in Ayhan. "I have always admired Ayhan for the contributions he's made to the Port community." A regular customer of Ayhan's, he added, "I also love the food here."

He, like others, feels that what happened at Ayhan's restaurant could happen anywhere. "You can have germs in your own home," he noted.

Ayhan reports that his business is building again. Many residents have observed the filled-to-the-brim parking lot and crowds waiting to be seated on specials night at both Shish Kebab and Fish Kebab. "One evening the Port police were at lower Main Street directing traffic because the cars were so jammed near Ayhan's restaurants.

"I will be continuing with new specials nights in the future," Ayhan said.

He also reports that he did a cooking show for Channel 7 and that other media people have asked him for cooking demos and interviews, he thinks, that will be more positive.

Ayhan is still overwhelmed by the love and support shown to him from the Port Washington community. He related that a longtime customer even offered to carry the restaurants' payrolls for two months.

In a related vein, residents have mentioned that they noticed that in other restaurants employees seem to always be wearing gloves now. Ayhan told us that his glove supplier told him that glove sales in the state have tripled since the shigellosis outbreak.

Cynthia Brown, spokesperson for the Nassau County Board of Health, reports that an update from her department will be issued by the end of the week.

At the end of June, the latest number of cases reported was 116 lab confirmed, 15 of which were employees, and 868 reports of illness.