In addition to our normal news coverage, What Now Atlanta (WNA) is tracking ways Atlanta’s businesses are adapting to the novel coronavirus and the challenges it brings to brick-and-mortars.
Westside Provisions District eatery Forza Storico has temporarily closed its doors after an employee tested positive for COVID-19 and in light of the curfews implemented by the City of Atlanta.
“Due to the recent curfews and having discovered a member of our staff testing positive to COVID-19 we are closing Forza Storico until conditions of safety and well-being are met,” the restaurant posted to its Instagram page Wednesday.
“All our staff is being tested as a precaution. Thank you for your understanding and see you soon!”
A reopening timeline has not yet been determined.
In addition to the pandemic which forced restaurants to close dining rooms in April, the City of Atlanta is under a curfew at least through the weekend following more than a week of protests in wake of the in-police-custody-death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, adding a new stressor to local businesses trying to get and stay reopened.
Forza Storico is the fourth-known Atlanta-area eatery to close its doors after a worker tested positive for COVID-19.
Hattie B’s, Little Rey, and gusto! also closed after employees had fallen ill but have since reopened.
Other restaurant groups, including Buckhead Life and U Restaurants, have been accused by alleged employees of staying open even as employees fell ill with the novel coronavirus.
Georgia law does not require restaurants to close after an employee catches the virus.
Click here to follow WNA’s ongoing COVID-19 coverage.
[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 WNA’s ongoing coverage of the crisis. For guidance and updates on the pandemic, please visit the C.D.C. website.]
