The Wellington Grille, Harrison’s Restaurant announce reopening plans

Dining room of the Wellington Grille in Beavercreek. 2013 file photo by CHRIS STEWART / STAFF

Credit: Dayton Daily News

Credit: Dayton Daily News

Dining room of the Wellington Grille in Beavercreek. 2013 file photo by CHRIS STEWART / STAFF

Two Dayton-area restaurants that have been temporarily closed for more than a week due to possible COVID-19 exposure are gearing up to reopen this week.

The Wellington Grille at 2450 Dayton-Xenia Road in Beavercreek is planning to reopen Tuesday, Oct. 20, restaurant managers told this news outlet via Facebook. The restaurant’s hours going forward will be 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.

When Wellington Grille shut down Oct. 10, its owners said, "We are working very closely with state and local authorities to take all the steps needed as well as some extra steps to ensure our safe return to providing you with the best possible service we can. We will be having our entire restaurant professionally sanitized and cleaned as well as all staff and anyone in contact tested and given the green light to return.”

Harrison’s Restaurant at 106 E. Main St. in Tipp City posted a similar notice on its Facebook page over the same weekend announcing a temporary closure.

On Monday, a spokesperson for Harrison’s said plans call for reopening Wednesday, Oct. 21 and for the resumption of regular hours of Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday noon to 8 p.m.

“All of our exposure tests have returned with negative results,” and the restaurant was professionally cleaned and disinfected, the Harrison’s management said.

The two independent restaurants have some crossover in family ownership, although no employees are shared between the restaurants.

According to Responsible Restart Ohio protocols created by state health officials and Gov. Mike DeWine to help keep the coronavirus pandemic in check, it is mandatory for bars and restaurants to “immediately isolate and seek medical care for any individual who develops symptoms while at work, contact the local health district about suspected cases or exposures, and shut down the area for deep sanitation if possible.”

The “recommended best practices” in such cases call upon a restaurant or bar to “work with the local health department to identify potentially infected or exposed individuals to help facilitate effective contact tracing/notifications; once testing is readily available, test all suspected infections or exposures; and following testing, contact the local health department to initiate appropriate care and tracing,” according to the Responsible Restart Ohio document.

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