BAR HARBOR, Maine — Three positive coronavirus cases have been identified at two restaurants in Bar Harbor. Out of an abundance of caution, they and six other neighboring bars and restaurants are now closed...most for two weeks.
Gail Leiser is the owner of Galyn's Restaurant in Bar Harbor. It is now closed for the rest of the season after one of its staff members tested positive.
"We could have reopened this weekend, but last Monday after looking at the sky-rocketing rates of transmission in Maine, we decided that the best decision for our staff and our community would be to remain closed," says Leiser. "It was a really hard decision to make, we had people looking to work for another month."
Alf Anderson is the Executive Director for the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He tells NEWS CENTER Maine that the restaurant community has had a very quick response to this potential COVID-19 exposure.
“We’ve decided to close our Midtown location today. We don’t have any employees who are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, and we’ve been practicing strict masking, distancing, and sanitizing guidelines. We learned today that one of our staff members was potentially exposed. We want to minimize the risk for all our employees and customers. We are choosing to play it safe in this uncertain time. Sorry for the inconvenience, we hope you understand," Atlantic Brewing said.
Those restaurants are:
- Havana
- Pat's Pizza (will only offer take-out for the rest of the season).
- Leary's Landing
- Blaze
- The Dog and Pony Tavern
- Atlantic Brewing Company
- Choco-Latte
- Side Street Cafe
*The rest of the restaurants will be mostly closed for two weeks. - Galyn's (closed for the season after positive COVID-19 case).
Three individuals at two separate restaurants have tested positive for the coronavirus, making neighboring restaurants close, too, to clean their facility, and test staff members out of an abundance of caution.
“Bar Harbor businesses remain committed to protecting the health and safety of our community and our visitors. Several restaurants have temporarily closed out of an abundance of caution and concern due to situations where a staff member may have been in contact with someone with COVID-19,” said Anderson.
The manager at Pat's Pizza tells NEWS CENTER Maine, "I decided to change to strictly contactless take-out."
"There has not been a widespread outbreak or anything like that, just a wide-spread outbreak of caution," Anderson said.
Anderson wants to remind folks that Bar Harbor will continue to provide free masks for everyone who needs one.