Following yesterday’s record-setting single-day increase in new Florida COVID-19 cases, Tampa Bay Brewing Co. announced that two of its employees have tested positive for COVID-19.
In a Wednesday Instagram post, TBBC stated that one employee worked at the Ybor location and the other worked at its Westchase location. The company also updated its hours and increased safety regulations.
From TBBC:
– The employees who tested positive will not be returning to work until the required quarantine period per CDC guidelines.
– A professional cleaning crew following CDC recommendations will be brought in daily to deep clean both taprooms, and weekly to deep-clean and sanitize the taprooms.
– All TBBC staff will be required to wear masks at all times.
– All TBBC staff will be washing/sanitizing their hands after handling any utensils, dishes, or high-touch areas.
– All staff will be washing their hands every hour on the hour and on the half-hour.
– Distance between tables and parties will be further increased.
– All tap handles, door handles, and other high-touch areas will be sanitized regularly and often.
– Tables and chairs will be sanitized after each party.
– We will continue to provide numerous sanitizing stations throughout the taprooms
– Contactless curbside pickup will continue to be offered at both locations.
"We want to continue being your favorite local hangout, a place where you can get a small feeling of normalcy for a bit," read the post.
"In order to do that we will have to adjust our hours to get both taprooms safely up to speed and ready to serve you safely per all CDC guidelines."
The Ybor location will now open at 5 p.m. and the Westchase location will open at 3 p.m. The company did not say it would be closing any locations.
Tampa Bay Brewing Co. now joins a handful of local businesses like Meat Market, Pelican Pub, The Landing at Jannus, Detroit Liquors and more that have reported employees infected with COVID-19 in the past week.
Yesterday, Jannus Live announced that its nearby locations will temporarily close to clean and upgrade safety measures. Jannus Live also pushed back its reopening and postponed this Friday’s Kenny Chesney tribute band concert.
UPDATED: 06/17/20 9:39 p.m. This post has been updated to make clear that The Landing at Jannus is the bar affected by COVID-19, and not any other local pub or restaurant called The Landing.
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This article appears in Jun 11-17, 2020.