Pizza Today - October 2020 - 37

Mandell says. "It tells them we do a
weekly COVID-19 sanitizing spray."
Closing the two restaurants and
paying for everyone's tests was
expensive, but necessary for customer
and employee relations. "Looking back
on it I'm happy that we were able to
give everybody peace of mind," he says.
Be proactive
Blue Highway, a pizzeria, has two
locations in the Gainesville, Florida
area. When an employee exhibited
COVID symptoms, co-owner Layla
Ruffino told the employee to go to
the hospital and get tested. "While we
waited, I decided to be proactive and
have everyone get tested," she says. In a
strange twist, the person who was sick
tested negative, and another employee,
who had no symptoms, tested positive.
With this new information, Ruffino
decided to close for 24 hours to
do a deep clean. She informed her

team, and also let customers know by
e-mailing them and also posting the
information on Facebook. The response
from customers was positive. "We
had more shares and comments than
anything we've done before," she says.
Check in the with team and with
other restaurants
Ruffino ended up keeping the two
locations closed for one week, because
team members let her know they
weren't comfortable coming back to
work until all employee tests were
negative. "Their safety and sense of
security is most important," she says.
She and some employees did a
deep clean, and also donated food
that they weren't able to use while
Blue Highway, a pizzeria was closed.
Ruffino also did an online search for
other restaurants that had employees
who tested positive, and reached out to
them for advice. "They were a wealth of

knowledge," she says.
For more information
The National Restaurant
Association https://restaurant.org/
articles/news/your-employee-ispositive-for-covid-19-now-what
and the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) https://
www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019ncov/community/organizations/
business-employers/bars-restaurants.
html#anchor_1589927210111
provide guidance on preparing for sick
employees.
In addition, there are state and local
laws regarding whether operators must
notify these entities when an employee
tests positive for COVID-19, and
guidelines. n
NORA CALEY is a freelance writer who
covers small business, finance and lifestyle
topics.

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https://www.restaurant.org/articles/news/your-employee-ispositive-for-covid-19-now-what https://www.restaurant.org/articles/news/your-employee-ispositive-for-covid-19-now-what https://www.restaurant.org/articles/news/your-employee-ispositive-for-covid-19-now-what https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/business-employers/bars-restaurants.html#anchor_1589927210111 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/business-employers/bars-restaurants.html#anchor_1589927210111 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/business-employers/bars-restaurants.html#anchor_1589927210111 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/business-employers/bars-restaurants.html#anchor_1589927210111 https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/business-employers/bars-restaurants.html#anchor_1589927210111 http://www.PIZZATODAY.COM

Pizza Today - October 2020

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