Ford Fry Closes Little Rey as Employee Tests Positive For COVID-19

Piedmont Heights eatery is the second-known Atlanta-area restaurant to temporarily close after a worker caught the coronavirus.

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Ford Fry of Rocket Farm Restaurants has temporarily closed his Little Rey eatery in Piedmont Heights, at 1878 Piedmont Ave. NE, after learning an employee had tested positive for COVID-19.

The company announced the news Thursday on its Instagram page and a spokesperson in an email Friday confirmed the news with What Now Atlanta in a prepared statement.

Little Rey has temporarily closed as we recently learned an employee has tested positive for COVID-19. Maintaining the safety and health of our guests and our staff continues to be our top priority, and we have notified all team members who may have come into contact with this individual, and we are actively working with the local health department and medical professionals to get the staff tested immediately. We will continue to keep you updated & appreciate your support.

Little Rey is the second-known Atlanta-area restaurant to temporarily close its doors after learning that one of its workers had caught the coronavirus.

Hattie B’s last week closed its doors when a cook came down with the disease but has since reopened.

Restaurants started reopening dining rooms on Monday, April 27, as allowed by Executive Order out of the Georgia Governor’s office.

Most restauranteurs have opted to continue operating for takeout and delivery only.


[Editor’s note: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is rapidly evolving as is its effect on Atlanta, and the City’s businesses and its residents. Click here for What Now Atlanta’s ongoing coverage of the crisis. For guidance and updates on the pandemic, please visit the C.D.C. website.]

Caleb J. Spivak

Caleb J. Spivak

Caleb J. Spivak

Caleb J. Spivak

10 Responses

  1. So you test all the employees, and everybody goes on with their routine.
    Seems like the test is only going to be accurate for the day they had the test.
    It doesn’t assure that someone won’t catch it the day after they took the test.

    1. That’s been my question all along when I hear the chorus of “more testing.” Especially since there doesn’t seem to be definitive proof regarding reinfection.

      1. I don’t know what the answer is.
        We’re obviously dealing with something that is somewhat unprecedented.
        I just read an article about how some governors are cancelling unemployment for people that don’t go back to work in industries (such as restaurants) that have been allowed to reopen.
        These politicians are not going by the medical community’s standards, but just going on their whim to jumpstart the economy.
        I’m all for getting the economy back on track, but it’s feeling like a “three steps forward, two steps back” kinda thing.
        It saddens me to see so many food establishments close their doors for good…

    1. And then what, track down all those customers and have them tested?
      And then compile lists of people that those customers came in contact with?
      Where does it end?

      1. Contact tracing isn’t viable with 1m+ active cases in the country, but I suppose that’s exactly the process you’d follow if case numbers were lower. The ‘where does it end’ question isn’t as complicated as it seems. My understanding is that experts determine how many degrees of contact tracing are required based on the characteristics of the virus and circumstances of the outbreak. The goal isn’t perfection, but breaking as many lines of transmission as possible.

  2. We don’t need tests. Unless you’re 60 or older or have an underlying condition, you need to be exposed to the virus in its natural state so that your body can build up the proper immunity to it. I don’t know anyone who has the coronavirus nor anyone who has been hospitalized

    1. Pretty sure I came back from Europe with it at the end of November.
      It was brutal, and twice I thought I was gonna die.
      I don’t usually get sick, and I had gotten the flu shot.
      My partner should have gotten it too, since we were traveling together for 10 days.
      Maybe he did get it and was just asymptomatic.
      Two months after my sickness, I had a routine doctor’s appointment. I told the Doc my symptoms and his eyes got really wide like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
      People from all age groups have had severe reactions to this bug, and many have died (including children and young adults).
      There is still a lot to be learned about C-19.
      I’m eager to take an antibody test, when they become accurate enough.
      But then there’s still the question if I will be immune, or could I possibly catch it a
      second time, only worse.
      There’s been a lot of misinformation and conspiracies floating around out there– I’ll only accept information/updates from the healthcare authorities, and not the
      politicians, wackos, and laypeople who think they have it all figured out.

    2. Experts seem almost unanimous that mass testing is critical to managing the virus. Why oppose this? Tests are (theoretically) quick and cheap. It’s impossible to respond effectively without the information they provide.

      “you need to be exposed to the virus in its natural state so that your body can build up the proper immunity to it”

      There’s not yet any indication that this is the case. This is pseudo-science.

      “I don’t know anyone who has the coronavirus nor anyone who has been hospitalized.”

      That’s fortunate. But that’s not everyone’s experience. My co-worker’s grandparents both died last week.

      1. I have an acquaintance who’s probably going to lose both sets of his
        grandparents– and they didn’t live in nursing homes.

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