COVID-19 closes DQ
Drive thru open again
BY DONNA SCHWARZ
When bars and restaurants opened to in house customers, Dairy Queen closed its doors.
Dairy Queen owner David Jeffrey had his first experience with the COVID-19 virus on Friday May 1.
After receiving a phone call from a parent of an employee at DQ, Jeffrey said, “I made the decision to close as soon as I was told that someone in our restaurant had came into contact with a positive COVID-19 case. Until I got some more direction from the Department of Health and Dairy Queen Corporate. I wanted to make sure that I was doing the right thing. Being over cautious, that’s why I closed.”
With 15 total employees at DQ, Jeffrey said that they are reviewing the scheduling to see who was in contact with the individual.
For staff safety Jeffrey said, “We alerted the entire staff. Letting them know so that they could talk to their families. We wanted to cover everything, as far as who knew and who may have been in contact.”
Jeffrey added, “The staff are not laid off. They will receive their wages for however long we were closed. They will be paid for whatever hours they were entitled to.”
After speaking with the Department of Health Friday afternoon he said, “They informed me that it was low risk, in regards to the other personnel within the store. Family members of those personnel were more or less at risk.”
At this time, the Department of Health is only providing COVID-19 testing to those who are experiencing symptoms.
Jeffrey reopened the DQ drive-thru on Tuesday. He said that the lobby will closed for dine in business, be will be open for to-go orders and cakes.
“We are doing a deep cleaning on all of the equipment, any surfaces that people may come in contact with at the store. The frequently touched surfaces, not only by the crew members but the customers as well,” Jeffery said. “DQ already had strict safety precautions in place. All staff are required to wear gloves and masks in store, along with sanitizing in between customers.”
