Cafe Santa Fe served 300 customers Monday when the Benton restaurant reopened after being closed almost a month because of a salmonella outbreak. "We have apparently regained the confidence and trust of all our patrons," owner Herb Flores said.

Cafe Santa Fe closed voluntarily May 1 after the Health Department said nine cases of salmonella had been confirmed and linked to the restaurant. The state Health Department gave approval Monday for the restaurant to reopen after officials tested employees and inspected the restaurant.

Flores and his crew have spent hours at the restaurant training and recruiting employees in compliance with state Health Department regulations. "We’re abiding by the new 178-page regulation and requirements for all food-handling organizations,” Flores said, including the installation of a light on the dishwasher that alerts when the machine is low on cleaning chemicals.