SCRANTON, Pa. — In the past week, at least half a dozen restaurants in downtown Scranton have been forced to close over coronavirus concerns.
Pizza by Pappas on North Washington Avenue shut its doors over the weekend when a staff member was exposed to the virus. They'll be closed until at least early next week.
The owners say in their 49 years of business, they've never been closed for this long. today, they showed us what they're doing with their time
At lunchtime, the counter at Pizza by Pappas in downtown Scranton would, in any other year, be bustling.
The place has been open throughout the pandemic, but over the weekend, the owners say the inevitable happened. An employee was exposed to COVID-19, forcing the pizza place to close for at least a week.
"It's pretty scary because even though it seems like it's been months in the making, it still seems like a shock when it happens," Bill Sheakoski said. "How do you tell, how do you explain this to other customers and let them know? Because you want to be responsible about it."
Pizza by Pappas is using the week off from making pizza to deep clean the place and change the way some things are done. They've installed a sanitizing machine in the kitchen, and the dining room is now wide open.
"We took out 16 booths. That will clear up and are of about 25 by 25 feet, and with that, we feel that when people do come in for takeout, they're not going to be able to dine-in, but they'll be able to put a little bit of space between them. It's going to make them feel more comfortable and us."
The restaurant will be takeout only now for the foreseeable future. The owners say there's little guidance from state health officials about what businesses need to do if a staff member is exposed to the virus.
They're in communication with the other downtown restaurants in the same boat and coordinating their efforts.
"Just working together with all the downtown businesses, they all know if they need help, they can call us. We know if we need help, we can call them. We're just working together as one big community to get through this together," Tom Sheakoski said.
Pizza by Pappas hopes to reopen at the beginning of next week.
The owners told us that they have no choice but to survive in 2020 since 2021 will be their 50th year in business.