In Charlotte, restaurants don’t have to report COVID cases, yet some do. Why?
North Carolina law doesn’t require restaurants to disclose when employees test positive for COVID-19. Yet in Charlotte, some restaurant owners are choosing to tell the public, anyway. As of July 21, at least 15 Charlotte restaurants had made announcements that they would temporarily cease operations after employees tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
“We do not release the names of businesses that have had a positive case of COVID-19 unless there is a public health reason to release the name to the public. We notify every business that has a case among their staff as we investigate and isolate the case, determine who the contacts to the case are, and follow up with those contacts to assure that they are aware and quarantining as appropriate,” an official statement from the Mecklenburg County Department of Public Health said.
The department then works with those businesses to ensure they’re responding appropriately to the situation and will alert customers to a possible exposure if it’s deemed necessary.
But while the local law doesn’t require restaurants to share COVID-19 information, business owners have taken it upon themselves to disclose the information to loyal patrons.
Transparency above all
On July 2, popular local ramen house Futo Buta posted an announcement to its Instagram account disclosing that an employee had tested positive for COVID-19 and that the restaurant would be closed for a deep clean.
“This is not easy for any small business. But we are adamant about keeping the transparency and honesty within our community. We want nothing more than this pandemic to end so our Charlotte restaurant industry can flourish again. We’ll continue to do our part and update you when we’re open,” the Instagram post read.
Futo Buta manager Rylina Dey cited transparency as the most important facet to the business’ decision.
“We just chose to be honest with the community and our staff and let everybody have the chance to go and get themselves tested,” Dey said. “Being transparent with our community is the most important thing to us because we have such a strong following here, and we really do care about our guests that visit our restaurant and experience our food. We care more about them and our staff, so we made that decision to close temporarily.
“Our whole decision since we’ve been able to reopen has been to stay doing takeout because our traditional concept is a ramen house and it is so small. We don’t want to change that. However, we do want to protect our staff and our guests so we’re not choosing to dine in right now,” Dey said.
Futa Buta, which reopened July 9, is one of many local restaurants dedicated to transparency.
This restaurant won’t share future COVID cases
On July 15, The Office Craft Bar & Kitchen announced via Instagram that an employee had tested positive for COVID-19. After following guidance from health officials and notifying staff, the restaurant reopened July 16 at 4 p.m.
“We are a family business. We consider our customers to be a family. As such, we feel it is important to notify you an asymptomatic employee tested positive for COVID in preparation for a trip out of the country. This is a trying time for all people in our community and we plan to be a part of the solution, not part of secrecy or ongoing problems,” the Instagram post read.
James Rivenbark, managing partner at The Office, reiterated that as a restaurant, it’s important to be a responsible company that’s accountable both to staff and to loyal customers.
“COVID is everywhere, but it is [the customers’] decision to come out and eat with us. If something causes me concern that could affect our customers, I feel it is my duty to let them know,” Rivenbark said.
While the information was divulged as the result of a positive test, the second test came back negative. As such, Rivenbark said the restaurant will double down on safety and cleanliness, but will not put any future test results on social media, as it’s difficult to know whether the results are true, and also to protect the privacy of the employee.
“After this situation, in which we feel we did the right thing, I don’t know if it is always right [to disclose]. There are positive tests which are negative, and there are negative tests which are actually positive. There are privacy concerns. We were not aware of the quandaries until this week,” Rivenbark said. “I think it is a case-by-case situation, and I am not here to judge anyone. I have a lot of friends in this industry and wish all of them and their families the best. We simply want to be responsible to our staff and loyal customers.”
Rivenbark said the restaurant will always offer free testing to employees, quarantine anyone who has been in contact with a person experiencing symptoms, require masks and take temperatures before shifts.
Financial implications
While it seems like the obvious choice to close when an employee contracts COVID-19, the loss of business — especially after a statewide shutdown — can be detrimental.
“We’ve worked really hard to build our business and we wanted to be careful and thoughtful of our customers and employees. We basically thought about how we’d like to see one of our favorite restaurants handle the situation,” said Diana Chiaravalloti, co-owner of Juice Bar in Plaza Midwood. “As a customer, I’d like to know and I would appreciate honesty. It’s a tough call because it does have a financial consequence.”
On July 14, The Juice Bar announced a temporary closing to test employees for COVID-19 after one of its employees tested positive.
“It’s been in the back of our minds since COVID started happening. It’s always a threat. We’ve tried to keep everyone safe and required our employees to wear masks and gloves before they were mandated. But with more cases diagnosed each day, you know it’s a matter of time. And it’s very scary personally and for your business,” Chiaravalloti said.
The Juice Bar reopened July 20.
‘Small business is always scary and exciting. This is another wrinkle.’
Other popular local venues have also had to balance the health of the community with the financial implications of temporarily closing. The Dumpling Lady, a food-truck-turned-food-stall in Optimist Hall temporarily ceased operations in both the truck and the food hall on June 29 following an employee testing positive for COVID-19. It later reopened on July 6.
“It’s a difficult situation. At the end of the day, you have to do what you feel is honest. People want and need to know what is going on in their communities, work and local businesses so they can assess their risk and make individual decisions that are best for them and their families,” said John Nisbet, co-owner of The Dumpling Lady.
“Starting and running a small business is a unique challenge unto itself. Imagine if you don’t make an illness public and other people unknowingly expose themselves. What then? The nature of our situation makes it imperative,” Nisbet said. “Recently, with the developments that the pandemic has brought around, new challenges have been introduced. At first, it’s scary, and potentially overwhelming. We, and a lot of other businesses, are flexible and able to pivot our business based on external environments and demands. Small business is always scary and exciting. This is another wrinkle.”
“Each business can make their own decision based on their financial and operational situation, Nisbet said. “I am a fan of putting it out there even if it might get you on the news. At the end of the day, my wife and I thought it was the appropriate thing to do given our business.”
Controlling the narrative
Beyond informing guests and employees, local restaurants are also taking to social media to control the narrative around COVID-19 cases onsite.
The Crunkleton posted an update on July 7 disclosing that a staff member had tested positive for the virus. The post reassured customers that all employees are required to wear PPE, and announced a precautionary short-term closure to clean the restaurant and allow for staff testing. After a deep clean and staff testing, the bar reopened July 9.
“First and foremost, we wanted to make sure our staff was healthy, but since we’ve been open to the public, we wanted to make sure that we were keeping all of our guests and members healthy as well. The overall health of our staff and neighborhood came first for us, so we knew we immediately had to shut down,” said Brittany Earley, assistant general manager at The Crunkleton. “It was our go-to plan from the beginning if it were to happen, which we felt was inevitable with the close environment.”
Earley said each day has required a pivot to something new and that as a team, they’ve had to come together and work harder to ensure everyone’s safety. Some of that work required disclosing the positive case early to ensure the information was accurately communicated.
“I believe it’s important to control the narrative of our own restaurant. That way, it’s not being told by word-of-mouth. We all know how the game of telephone can go,” Earley said. “It’s best to create your own narrative, and it shows your guests that they’re your main concern, that you have them on your mind and in your heart. We wanted to be the ones to let everyone know what our plan was.”
Right thing to do
Bruce Moffett, owner of Stagioni, Good Food On Montford and Barrington’s, said the management team decided before reopening the restaurants June 1 to share such information with the public.
“The more businesses say it, the more people will get used to it. I feel like it’s important for businesses to say, ‘Yep, this is happening,’” Moffett said.
It’s also about being up-front with employees, who undergo wellness tests before shifts.
“I think we go out of our way to create a safe environment,” Moffett said.
On June 18, Moffett Restaurant Group emailed a press release announcing the temporary closure of the Italian restaurant Stagioni after an asymptomatic worker tested positive for the virus. The restaurant closed for five days for deep cleaning and for workers to get tested and reopened on June 23.
“If someone coming into one of my restaurants got sick or died, I don’t think I could live with myself,” he said. “We pride ourselves on being part of the neighborhood and to be honest with people who have supported us over the years.”
On June 22, Moffett Restaurant Group announced on Facebook that Good Food On Montford was closing for a couple days so employees could get tested and the restaurant be disinfected after a worker was exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19. All tests were negative, company spokesman Roland Alonzi said. The restaurant reopened on June 24.
Restaurateur Paul Manley said it wasn’t part of a plan to announce positive COVID-19 cases at The Waterman Fish Bar until it happened.
“We work hard at being a trusted brand,” Manley said. “Announcing it to the public was not part of an action plan, but we try to be as transparent as we can.”
On June 17, The Waterman Fish Bar in South End said via Facebook that the restaurant was closed to sanitize the building and stop the spread of the virus after a worker tested positive. It reopened on June 23.
“It was the best decision we could make at the time,” Manley said, noting that it was both for peace of mind and that workers having to quarantine affected the staffing.
He said the management learned from their mistakes, implementing stricter health check-in before shifts and more checks and balances. He said they also added staff.
“We had to make adjustments to the game plan and shouldn’t have to close again,” Manley said.
Manley also is a partner at Sea Level NC in uptown and Ace No. 3 in the Belmont neighborhood. He said navigating the COVID crisis is arduous and expensive.
“We concentrate on doing the right thing every day,” he said.
Keep everyone safe
Boardwalk Billy’s Raw Bar and Ribs in the University area announced via Facebook on June 18 that the restaurant would close for about three days after an employee tested positive.
Restaurant partner Jamie Jenkins said after a server tested positive, the management wanted to do what they could to prevent potential multiple exposures.
“A lot of them are young college students and hang out outside of work,” Jenkins said of the staff. “We did it out of extreme caution to get the place professionally cleaned and make sure everyone was safe and could get tested.”
Announcing it publicly also let customers know.
“It was the responsible thing to do,” Jenkins said.
The restaurant reopened June 22 and has since expanded the screening process for workers before shifts.
“We’re doing everything we can while they’re here,” he said. “It’s a new world we’re having to navigate and not without its challenges.”
North Carolina had more than 100,000 COVID-19 cases on Monday, according to health officials, as health experts warned the state is still just in the beginning of the pandemic.
“This is a very difficult time for everyone. No one is immune. Whether it is a restaurant or any other business, we are all affected by this contagious virus,” Rivenbark said. “Of course, these are scary times and a lot of people are scared. Yet, we all face this situation daily. If we mitigate hazards by wearing masks, staying 6 feet apart and washing hands frequently, we can reduce the risks of exposure greatly.”
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 12:51 PM.
