Photo by staceyviera

If your lunchtime routine often includes the Potbelly Sandwich Works location at 1900 L St. NW, you may have run into some trouble snagging that meatball sub on wheat bread today. The restaurant was briefly evacuated in the middle of the lunch rush on Monday due to customer complaints of an apparent mild irritant in the air. D.C. Fire/EMS spokesperson Pete Piringer said hazmat tests for possible air toxins inside the shop all came up negative, but several people were evaluated for symptoms such as watering eyes and sneezing. The fire department doesn’t know for sure what caused the reactions, but Piringer speculated it may have been something like a mild pepper spray substance. Or maybe it was just all those hot peppers? The whole incident was over in under an hour, and the Potbelly is back to business as usual.