SARASOTA – It’s a sight all too familiar. Bars and restaurants along the Suncoast closing their doors temporarily this time due to an increase in staff testing positive for coronavirus. The latest to be added to the rapidly growing list….Sharky’s on the Pier in the City of Venice.
“We’ve been open and honest about everything since day one, and there’s a lot of misinformation that we’ve had to battle,” says Justin Pachota. “So that’s kind of the honest approach we’ve taken is continuing on.”
Pachota, Co-Owns Sharky’s, he tells SNN they closed down the iconic restaurants as soon the employee found out of the positive test result. He says the employee has not worked at the restaurant for the past 11 day, and we’re told there is no evidence that the virus has spread beyond that individual.
But, Pachota is taking all the necessary precaution sanitizing the restaurant.
“Our ongoing cleaning is by far some the best, it goes beyond the recommended CDC suggests,” says Pachota. “We’re also using disposable menus, we’re not keeping anything on the tables, all tables are spaced six feet apart, inside dining is 50%.”
Pachota plans to bring in a cleaning crew to sanitize the entire restaurant. However, they aren’t the only restaurant who has closed. Pop’s Sunset Grill in Nokomis had to shut down after an employee tested positive there as well.
General Manager Stephanie Brown says they luckily had a plan in place in case the outbreak hit home.
“We set up rapid testing for all of our employees. Ellenton Urgent Care even came on site and did 15 minute results rapid testing for all of our staff, and we invited some family members as well,” says Brown.
Brown says since the positive diagnosing they had Enviro-Masters sanitize the waterfront restaurant with a virus vaporizer that their website says kills 99.9% of all germs including COVID-19.
Brown and Pachota both agree being transparent with their customers will allow for them to feel safe when returning to two of the Suncoast popular destinations to grab a bite to eat.
Pop’s Sunset Grill reopened their doors on Wednesday. Meanwhile Pachota hopes to reopen Sharky’s sometime next week. And Lucky Pelican also temporarily closed their doors, after the sudden death of an employee due to combination COVID-19.
We’ll be sure to update you with anymore restaurants closing on the Suncoast. And if you’re visiting a restaurant or bar and notice CDC guidelines aren’t being followed reach out to us on Facebook or send us an email to news@snntv.com.
