MAMARONECK, N.Y. (AP) — Health officials in suburban New York say they’ve confirmed that the illness that shut down a Westchester County diner last week was the highly contagious norovirus.

Greg Katsaros’ Mamaroneck Diner & Pizza Restaurant voluntarily closed on Friday after two customers contacted the eatery and said they’d fallen ill. The Westchester County Health Department confirmed Monday that an outbreak of norovirus sickened the customers.

The health department says the diner has been “extremely cooperative” in ensuring every precaution was taken to prevent spreading of the norovirus.

Norovirus is one of the most common causes of foodborne illness and symptoms include severe vomiting and diarrhea. There’s no treatment for norovirus other than to drink plenty of fluids and let the illness run its course.

About the Mamaroneck Diner & Pizza Restaurant

“Twenty-Five years ago George Katsaros, an electrical contractor by trade, bought the former Mamaroneck Inn as a silent partner with his brother and soon found himself managing the increasingly popular establishment,” according to the restaurant’s website.

“A major renovation in 1994, opened up the look of the dining room with the installation of large windows, and at about the same time George’s son Greg took over the kitchen. A graduate of New York Restaurant School, Greg slowly intituted a number of menu changes-including pizza, cooked in an authentic stone deck oven- and this year, Greg decided it was time to re-do the kitchen. The entire kitchen was removed and replaced, from floors, ceiling and all the equipment, during the month long renovation from February 2005-March 2005. This also included a modernization of the dining area: New booths, granite tables, ceilings, LCD Tv’s. The look say’s Liana Katsaros, Greg’s sister, has been described by customers as ‘elegant…classy….modern’.”

(Material from the Associated Press was used in this report)

The Mamaroneck Diner & Pizza Restaurant in Westchester County, New York. (Photo by TNH/Costas Bej)