UPDATE: Wheat Penny to reopen Friday after employee tests positive for COVID-19

DAYTON — UPDATE @ 11 a.m.:

Wheat Penny Oven and Bar is reopening Friday at 4 p.m. for outdoor dining.

According to the owner Liz Valenti, four of their employees are quarantining, even after three tested negative for COVID-19. This is a precaution as all four were in contact with the positive case.

“The health department was clear about the person that tested positive, we had 3 people in the kitchen that had contact with them, not too close, but close enough to be concerned,” explained Valenti.

Valenti plans to be even more vigilant after this positive case.

“There was a bit of fear initially, we had prepared and thought this would not happen to us,” said Valenti. “But everyone was responsive and was quick to take it seriously.”

UPDATE @ (8/21) 2:31 a.m.:

Wheat Penny Oven and Bar has announced a reopening plan after closing on Tuesday due to an employee testing positive for COVID-19.

In a post to their Facebook the owner said “We are taking this very seriously and have tested every single team member and we are getting back those results now. We have been very aggressive with our closing, deep cleaning, and working with the Health Department.”

On Wednesday, Wheat Penny temporarily closed so they could deep clean the restaurant to prevent the spread of the virus.

“We are also doing some self-quarantining of people who may have been exposed even if they have a negative test,” added the owner.

The owner also said that the restaurant currently hopes to reopen sometime this weekend.

INITIAL REPORT

Wheat Penny Oven and Bar has closed temporarily after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.

>>Restaurants implement new safety rules during reopening

The restaurant shared the news on Facebook Tuesday afternoon.

The owners said ‘As all of you who have dined with us or have gotten carry-out know, we have taken extreme precautions to keep all of our employees and you, the customer, safe. Unfortunately, even with all of our strenuous standards in place, we have just learned this morning that one of our employees has tested positive for Covid-19.'

Wheat Penny says dine-in and carryout will be closed as they deep clean the restaurant.

The owners also said they are working with Public Health Dayton & Montgomery County on a reopening plan.

Cox Media Group