A fourth Wichita restaurant temporarily closes after worker tests positive for COVID-19
The voluntary coronavirus-related restaurant closures in Wichita keep coming.
Late on Monday, Connie’s Mexico Cafe at 2227 N. Broadway — one of Wichita’s oldest and most popular restaurants — announced via social media that is temporarily closing because an employee tested positive for the virus.
“While none of the other Connie’s employees are symptomatic, out of an abundance of caution, we are closing temporarily so that our entire staff can be tested,” the post read.
Connie’s is the fourth Wichita restaurant to announce a voluntarily closure over the past 12 days.
Jose Pepper’s west location at 2243 N. Tyler Road closed on Thursday, June 11, after a back-of-the-house employee tested positive for the virus. Paleterias Tropicana at 21st and Amidon followed on Monday, June 15. Both of those restaurants have since reopened.
Then on Thursday, managers at Stroud’s, a popular fried chicken restaurant 3661 N. Hillside, announced that it was temporarily closing for the same reason. It remained closed as of Monday.
Also on Monday, the owners of Mort’s — an Old Town nightlife destination at 923 E. First St. — announced that it would be closing for now after being crowded with revelers the past few weeks. Owner Morrie Sheets said he was concerned that if he didn’t close, “somebody’s going to get sick,” especially with coronavirus cases continuing to rise in Wichita.
Connie’s post said that it would be performing intense cleaning during the closure and that all employees would be tested.
This story was originally published June 22, 2020 at 11:14 PM.
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