KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A few Kansas City restaurants are closed after employees tested positive for COVID-19.
Port Fonda in Westport posted on its Facebook page that an employee tested positive and it immediately closed its doors.
Laura Norris, owner of Ragazza Food and Wine in Midtown, said she found out a member of her kitchen staff tested positive last Friday and decided to close.
"There's no playbook for this and we didn't really know what to do," Norris said.
Norris said she called the Kansas City Health Department right away, which did not require her to close, but she decided to anyway.
"I wanted to make sure that it wasn't spread within the family of Ragazza employees," Norris said. "In hindsight, although it hurts financially, I think it was the best thing to do just for everyone's peace of mind and well being."
Norris said almost all of her employees have test results back, and it's clear the virus only spread to workers who lived together. Norris said she has masks, cleaning and distancing protocols to thank.
"I think there is a bit of a lesson to be learned here for us and for other restaurants that following the protocols seems to have been effective," Norris said.
Director of Health for Kansas City, Missouri, Dr. Rex Archer said eating out is still risky, but there are a lot of restaurant owners taking the guidelines seriously.
"You should get up and leave if the servers aren't wearing masks - you shouldn't be in that establishment," Archer said.
Norris said knowing the protocols are effective makes her feel confident when Ragazza reopens July 9. In the meantime, she's dealing with the bump in the road head-on.
"People have been incredibly supportive and appreciate me getting out in front of it and owning it," Norris said. "it's not anything that we need to be ashamed of, we just have to handle it."
