Fredericton restaurant forced to close after COVID infects staff
Two weeks after the end of the mandatory order, staff at many restaurants in the province are still wearing masks, including the Cabin in Fredericton.
Despite best efforts, the restaurant was forced to close after COVID-19 infected the majority of its staff.
"It was pretty shocking, I mean we've been fighting this thing for over two years, and then you think after two years you're probably not going to get it," the Cabin owner David Halfway told Shift.
"I made the decision to shut down before we infect customers."
Spread quickly among staff
Halfway said his staff began showing minor symptoms early last week, but all tested negative for the virus.
"We were all quite happy about that," he said.
By Thursday night, one staff member showed more severe symptoms and tested positive for COVID-19.
Halfyard expected the restaurant would be able to continue operating with just one employee down, but the virus spread quickly among staff.
In total, eight out of the Cabin's 12 staff tested positive Friday.
"It's here and it's here to stay, we'll just have to learn to deal with it," said Halfyard.
The Cabin was closed the entire weekend and will remain closed until Wednesday.
Halfyard said support from the community has been great, with people offering words of encouragement on social media.
"On Facebook, there's just hundreds and hundreds of people commenting," he said. "The crazy thing is there hasn't been one negative reaction."
He said it's a challenge whenever the restaurant is forced to shut down.
All perishable food needs to be thrown away and replenished again. Halfyard said he also likes to offer support to staff members trying to pay their bills.
"It's a very close-knit family," he said. "It's not like a bunch of employees, it's a bunch of friends and we're very proud of the Cabin."
Halfyard said he was at the restaurant Monday to do some cleaning, and the phone rang consistently. Cars with customers were still driving into the parking lot to see if the Cabin was open.
He expects the restaurant will be back to normal in a week or so.
Back to normal?
Halfyard said he didn't expect for much change when the province lifted the mandatory order two weeks ago.
"The minute they dropped those, we almost got back to normal," he said.
He said restaurant staff will continue wearing masks and sanitizing tables after every use.
About 70 per cent of customers continue to wear masks, he said.
