INDIANAPOLIS — As businesses figure out how to grapple with the coronavirus outbreak, local restaurants are taking extra precautions to make sure customers and employees stay safe.
Bazbeaux Pizza manager Patrick Ramble said he is waiting to see what impact the virus will have on business. Employees who bus tables now wear rubber gloves, but he added the restaurant already took consistent steps to sanitize.
"Hopefully, that will carry over to what we're doing," Ramble said.
Management at the Noodles & Company location in the 900 block of Indiana Avenue said they are reemphasizing hand-washing with employees, and the restaurant has discontinued use of regular silverware and replaced them with plastic forks, knives and spoons. The restaurant is also serving drinks in disposable cups, and employees will use single-use towels to clean tables.
At Shapiro's Delicatessen, employees received Lysol wipes to take home and a notice with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control. Employees are encouraged to stay home if they are sick, and they wear gloves even for non-food handling tasks and wipe down each surface every hour.
Earlier Monday, a Chick-fil-A in Avon posted to their social media page that their playground area would be "temporarily closed" and they would be making other changes to their operations to ensure the safety of customers.
"Our restaurant is following CDC guidance and taking necessary precautions to help prevent the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19)," the restaurant posted on their Facebook page.
Indiana State Health Commissioner Kristina Box said Monday at a news conference that four confirmed cases of the coronavirus have been diagnosed in Indiana.
