Restaurants temporarily close after staff tests positive for COVID-19

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (TNN) - Three more businesses have closed their doors this week after some of their staff tested positive for COVID-19. Backporch Draft House, Parkway Grill North, and Children’s Dentistry all made similar announcements Monday.

At Backporch, two employees who traveled to another part of the state notified management on Thursday. The results came back positive on Monday, triggering the restaurant to close.

“We will have staff actually from a different location and professional cleaners to clean and sanitize the store so that way none of us will be anywhere near the building for 14 days,” Brittany Meredith, District Manager of Backporch Drafthouse said.

Health officials are also warning as the state begins to reopen at near full capacity that safety must be in the front of people’s minds.

“I think we are beginning to see a peak and an increase in cases since we've opened back up the economy and that people need to be aware of that and to take precautions when they are going out in public,” Lou Kreidler, Health Director of the Wichita Fall – Wichita County Health District said.

With entire crews now back out of a job, after months of being closed in the middle of the quarantine, supporting these businesses remains so important.

“I just hope that the community understands that we are going to do everything we possibly can to make sure we do what’s right,” Meredith said.

Meredith adds that their company will pay for the cost of a COVID-19 test for any of their employees.

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