ROCHESTER — Little Miss Sophie’s Country Kitchen will be temporarily closed for two weeks because one of the Route 11 restaurant’s kitchen staff has tested positive for COVID-19, according to the management.
Sue Mayo, a manager of the restaurant, said "at no point was the public in any danger" and that the restaurant is voluntarily shutting its doors until Sept. 27 because the employee and other kitchen staff are in quarantine until Sept. 26.
"We’d rather keep everybody safe," said Mayo.
All 20 of Little Miss Sophie’s staff members have been tested for COVID-19 and only one employee’s test has come back positive, according to Mayo.
City health officials couldn’t be reached immediately for comment.
Mayo said no cases of COVID-19 involving restaurant patrons or members of the public had been linked to the restaurant as of Tuesday.
"We’re a small restaurant," Mayo said while explaining the restaurant’s decision to temporarily close. "We don’t have a great big, huge staff. Our cooks were quarantined, therefore we have to close. We’re not going to try to (fill shifts) with temporary cooks. It was a hard decision to make."
Little Miss Sophie’s is owned by Jessica O'Brien, who also owns Jimmy Jones Locker, a seafood restaurant near downtown Rochester.
The restaurants don’t share staff and no Jimmy Jones employees have been exposed, according to Mayo. Jimmy Jones has operated as normal since Little Miss Sophie’s temporarily closed.
Mayo said the infected Little Miss Sophie’s employee found out Saturday, while on shift, that a friend with whom the employee recently had contact had tested positive for the virus.
Mayo said the employee notified management and co-workers, then "immediately" left the restaurant to be tested. The employee, who has only had cold-like symptoms, but never displayed a fever during the restaurant’s daily pre-shift temperature checks, tested positive and hasn’t been inside the restaurant since, according to Mayo.
Mayo credited the employee. She said she believes the employee’s diligence in wearing a mask prevented the virus from spreading to others.
"Really, this could’ve been a lot worse, except (they) did keep (their) mask on," said Mayo. Mayo asked gendered pronouns not be used in order to protect the privacy of the employee who tested positive. "It’s a perfect situation. (They) did a good job. This could be a lot worse."
In addition to the fact that the employee always kept a mask over their mouth and nose, even on sweltering summer days, Mayo credited the employee for always wearing gloves and being hypervigilant about carrying and applying hand sanitizer and disinfectant frequently throughout every shift.
"I can’t stress that enough," said Mayo, later adding the employee often prompted good-natured jokes for the way in which they sprayed "everything" with sanitizer. "We’re all just shocked it was this (employee)."
A sign on Little Miss Sophie’s door Tuesday morning indicated the restaurant is closed for maintenance. Mayo said the sign was put up over the weekend because staff didn’t know at the time exactly what measures would need to be taken to clean the restaurant in response to the positive test result.
The business also posted about the temporary closure on its Facebook page Monday night. Mayo said they did so in response to unfounded accusations and rumors Little Miss Sophie’s had been forced to close.
"Please be kind as we (work) through this," reads the Facebook post. "Posting negative is not going to help anyone here. This is a small business, this can happen to anyone and unfortunately it has happened to us. This day and age social media takes things and runs with them before the business even has a second to wrap their heads around what is happening. Show kindness. Be nice. Let me know if you have questions!"
Mayo said the restaurant has been in contact with the state and the city of Rochester’s health officials. She thanked officials at the state and the local level for their assistance thus far.
Little Miss Sophie’s employees will apply for COVID-19 unemployment benefits while the restaurant is closed, according to Mayo.
"We’ll get through it," said Mayo. "We just have to stay going forward. That’s all we can do. We can’t go backward. … There are a lot of small businesses suffering. We’re grateful we’re making it through right now."
The Link LonkSeptember 15, 2020 at 11:24PM
https://www.fosters.com/news/20200915/little-miss-sophiersquos-restaurant-closes-due-to-virus-case-for-2-weeks
Little Miss Sophie’s restaurant closes due to virus case for 2 weeks - Foster's Daily Democrat
https://news.google.com/search?q=little&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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