2 Patriot Place Restaurants Closed After Workers Get Coronavirus
FOXBOROUGH, MA – Two restaurants at Patriot Place remained closed Monday after employees at Tavolino and Citizen Crust have tested positive for the coronavirus over the past week.
Health officials said last week that two Citizen Crust employees who live together tested positive for the virus. Tavolino management posted on Facebook on Saturday that it was closed after an employee tested positive as well.
Both restaurants are owned by Thomas Perruna, who told a Boston television station last week that he was frustrated because Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital only test patients who show symptoms. Perruna said the employees from the restaurants who tested positive had not shown symptoms.
In a Facebook post Saturday, Tavolino management wrote that it had been made aware of its employee testing positive and indicated that person had not returned to work since. Management also wrote that any potential employees who may have been exposed to the person that had become infected would be tested, the post said.
The restaurant also said that it had been taking down contact information for customers and said that guests who possibly could have been exposed to the employee had been contacted.
“Tavolino and Citizen Crust have been deep cleaned and sanitized,” the post reads. “If you notice now that we are closed or are only partially opened, it is because we are staffing each day only with employees who have been cleared to return. Getting people tested, and then getting results back, is taking time.”
When contacted about the status of the restaurants, the Foxborough Town Board of Health referred Patch to restaurant managers, who did not immediately return an email seeking comment on Monday.
In the social media post, restaurant managers echoed the owner’s frustrations over the "mad scramble" employees went through to get tested. The management said it is attempting to find enough local testing to keep employees of the restaurants tested each week.
In a statement issued last week, Patriot Place management said they had been made aware of the confirmed cases and were working with the restaurants to move forward.
Both restaurants share staff, who will all be tested. According to Diana Griffin, director of marketing for Patriot Place, both restaurants will remain closed until employees test negative for the coronavirus.
This article originally appeared on the Foxborough Patch
