An employee at local cookie and dessert shop, Bake‘n Babes, tested positive for coronavirus Tuesday, resulting in the store’s temporary closure.
The last time the employee worked was Sunday, June 21, and “they were strictly in the back of house with no guest interactions,” according to a Bake‘n Babes Instagram post.
After the employee called the bakery with positive results, Bake‘n Babes immediately shut down, according to the post. The bakery will be professionally cleaned Wednesday and all staff members will be tested with no one returning to work until all results are collected.
" Protocols we already have in place include mandatory masks inside, daily temperature checks before beginning of shift, and installing anti-bacterial surface shield on common areas like door handles and touch screens," reads the post. " We appreciate your patience & understanding as we work through these difficult & unprecedented times. We love you fam & are looking forward to serving you freakshakes & desserts again soon."
Bake'n Babes recently moved from The Hall on Franklin to GenX Tavern, which is located 103 E. Jackson St, Tampa.
"I know businesses and restaurants are scared to come forward and acknowledge that they had an employee test positive for COVID in fear of public shaming coming from news organizations and social media," Bake'n Babes founder and owner told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
" It was not required for us to disclose the information or close, but it is our responsibility to be honest and transparent with the guests we serve, and the hospitality workers we employ," she added. "We need to think of the community, and although it may hurt financially to close, it’s the right thing to do."
This announcement from Bake‘n Babes follows weeks of similar announcements from local businesses, which technically do not have to disclose any coronavirus or COVID-19 exposure.
"When it comes to whether to publicly disclose the information, the biggest factor is whether the employee was customer facing, like a hostess or server, or if they largely spent their time behind the scenes," Tampa attorney Robert Shimberg recently told the Tampa Bay Business Journal. "Our advice to businesses is if there’s a customer-facing employee or the employee would be in the same restroom as the public, or otherwise in contact with the public, you would notify the public."
Bake‘n Babes—like Ybor music venues Crowbar and Orpheum, which both put reopening shows on hold due to potential COVID-19 exposure—undoubtedly did the right thing. Many other businesses are undoubtedly doing otherwise.
On June 17, Tampa Bay Brewing Co. announced that two employees tested positive for coronavirus at two different locations. On the same day, Noble Crust temporarily closed after an employee tested positive for coronavirus. Meat Market in South Tampa also announced that an employee tested positive for coronavirus on June 8. And, Jannus Live posted on June 16 that it is closing three nearby bars due to a recent coronavirus case.
UPDATED: 06/25/20 5:23 p.m. Updated to include a quote from Bake ‘n Babes owner Julie Currie and another from a Tampa lawyer about whether or not businesses must disclose COVID-19 exposure.
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This article appears in Jun 18-24, 2020.