Eli’s on Whitney has officially had its first issue with COVID-19 forcing them to close, shutting down between last Friday, Oct. 16 and this Wednesday due to a positive test from an employee. They posted a Facebook statement to their wall, and opened up again on Wednesday, which is the day that they originally planned for.
The restaurant was preparing to open last Friday and had been taking reservations until they received the news about the positive test, according to resident Sam Barnaba.
“We were getting ready to go and had called earlier and they told us we were set,” said Barnaba. “Then when we got there we saw something about how they were closed, and we were super confused. We assumed something obviously happened, and then it came out that it was COVID. I hope whoever tested positive is OK and I am happy they’re open again,” said Barnaba.
When asked if she will be returning to Eli’s this Friday since they are open again, she was unsure.
When Eli’s initially opened on Wednesday, the crowd was very small with few people inside along with an empty parking lot. However, on Thursday, it was much more filled.
“When I went back on Thursday, there were more people than the day prior,” said resident Derek Lally. “I am happy they were so thorough in their communication with the Facebook post, and I am happy they’re back when they said they would be,” said Lally.
Eli’s and restaurants all across the state will be bracing for a second wave of COVID-19. Thursday the country reported over 70,000 positive cases, the most since July. The state of Connecticut is one of the states on the watch list, and they are far from alone, with many other states accompanying them as dangerous spots.
As Eli’s stated, they will continue to do their due-diligence and sanitize and keep the respread to a minimum. As of now they are open, along with plenty of other places, but it seems as if the concern in the area is rising more and more as we get closer to November.
Eli’s was unable to respond to comment.