Several restaurants close after COVID-19 cases – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
On the eve of a new year, some restaurants in North Texas have announced temporary closures due to the increase in COVID-19 cases and the impact on staff.
Jon Bonnell, the owner of Bonnell’s Restaurant Group, announced on Facebook on Tuesday that one of his restaurants will be closed for the rest of the week. Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine will continue to offer sidewalk orders, according to Bonnell.
– It’s a staffing problem. We have several who test positive. Even those who test positive and show no symptoms, you need to stay at home. There’s just no choice, no alternative there, “he told NBC 5.” At one point we looked at it and said, ̵[ads1]6;You know, we can not even offer the service we need to customers who still want to come. inn. ‘”
Bonnell is not alone. This week, Pizza Verde also announced that it would be closed until January 2nd.
“One team member has COVID, while two others happen to be regularly ill. Prioritizing the health of our team and our customers must come first, but we will lie to pretend it’s not scary to lose a week of sales after just five weeks. with open, it says in the announcement on Facebook.
Similarly, Easy Slider announced on Instagram that the Grapevine location will be closed for a few days due to COVID-19 exposure in their team.
“We will return when everyone is negative and has passed quarantine protocols, hopefully before 2022,” it said in the post, which said that their Deep Ellum location is still running at 100%. A handful of truck events were canceled, including Double Wide on New Year’s Eve.
“We are sorry to report that our Grapevine location will be closed for a few days due to COVID exposure in our team. We will return when everyone is negative and has passed quarantine protocols, hopefully before 2022,” the post said. .
This week, UT Southwestern released its latest modeling projections that say the omicron variant now accounts for 90% of cases in Texas and surrounding states. Dr. Gregory Phillips, a Fort Worth-based physician and former president of the Tarrant County Medical Society, said data show the variant is a milder disease in general, but can be more contagious.
“But it can still be a serious illness, especially in people who have not been vaccinated. There have been people who have had the omicron variant who have been sick enough to be in the hospital,” Phillips said.
Vaccinated or not, he encourages everyone to be vigilant and have safety measures in mind, especially as many plan to attend New Year’s Eve celebrations.
“If you are in a large crowd and you are not sure about the vaccination status of the people you are with, you should practice wearing a mask. You should have social distance. You should be very, very careful when you go out there. “Even if you’ve been vaccinated, you still need to be careful as far as wearing a mask, stay away from people as much as you can, and take the usual steps we’ve recommended for the past two years.”
For restaurant owners who are already dealing with challenges in the face of labor shortages and supply chain problems, Bonnell said they are prepared to make tough decisions again.
“We were already a bit pressured for staffing in the industry overall, and this certainly does not help. Asking and talking to restaurant owners and managers, it’s a very tough place to be in right now, ”he said. “Mom and Dad all over the city and state are still struggling a bit with supply chain issues, staffing issues, so buying gift cards for something in the future, there are great ways to support the locals. We are still sidewalk service, to-go service, all that. that kind of thing. ”
He said they plan to reconsider where they are next week with staffing at Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine.
