‘Contactless’ delivery, increased sanitation measures and more in place at State College businesses
Some State College businesses are taking precautions against the potential spread of coronavirus by ramping up sanitation and limiting person-to-person contact.
There are no confirmed cases of novel coronavirus, known as COVID-19, in Centre County. As of Sunday afternoon, the Pennsylvania Department of Health is reporting 63 confirmed cases of COVID-19, most concentrated in the eastern part of the state.
Penn State suspended in-person classes until April 6 in an effort to contain the spread of the virus. It also canceled the annual Blue-White football game in April.
Dante’s Restaurant and Nightlife owners JP Mills and Jennifer Zangrilli told customers in an email that the restaurant would “increase the cleaning and sanitation procedures practiced on a daily basis at all of our locations.”
Some of those increased precautions include: sanitizing tables twice, rolling silverware inside of a banded napkin to decrease hand contact, sanitizing communal items like salt and pepper, practicing social distancing in seating customers and replenishing soap and bathroom supplies regularly while frequently wiping door handles and other touch points.
“Our stores are prepared, willing and able to modify operations, practices, and procedures as necessary and as directed by local officials to safely serve your favorite HiWay Pizza Pub and Liberty Craft House food and drink as we navigate through these dynamic times,” said Zangrilli and Mills. “This may include scenarios such as limiting seating to improve social distancing, moving to mobile/phone only pick-up and delivery options, etc. In any scenario, we expect disruptions, if any, to be brief.”
Big Burrito Restaurant Group — which owns Mad Mex in State College — President Bill Fuller said in an email that the company is asking all employees with any illness and customers with flu-like symptoms to stay home. To compensate for potentially fewer customers and staff, the company is adding more of its restaurants to food delivery services Grubhub and Door Dash.
There will be extra hand sanitizer in all Mad Mex locations, increased cleaning and increased enforcement of the no cellphone policy for staff, said Fuller.
The Wings Over franchise, which has a location in State College, told customers it would be moving to delivery, pickup and take-out orders only to ensure “the safety of our guests and teams.”
Wings Over Happy Valley will now require all orders to be pre-paid by phone, wingsover.com or the Wings Over App “to limit all non-essential contact.” During delivery, all orders will be “contactless,” with orders placed in “a tightly tied bag” and delivery drivers wearing a new set of gloves for every delivery.
The company will also be waiving delivery fees during this time.
Domino’s in Bellefonte will also offer “contactless” delivery options. Orders can be placed at dominos.com or by phone, with options to prepay with a credit card.
Delivery drivers will “place your order outside of your door and step away allowing you to collect your items from a safe distance,” the business wrote in a Facebook post.
At Sowers Harvest Cafe, management is adding more “sanitation regiments” and suspending self-service coffee in favor of serving drip-brew coffee and water, owner Bryant Martin said in a Facebook post. The cafe, which is open and continuing its normal hours, is also not using any reusable cups or utensils.
“We are praying for the many people who have been affected by this virus,” said Martin.
Tony Ghaffari, owner of Your Cigar Den, said his business will “err on the side of caution” by increasing cleaning and limiting opportunities for the spread of viruses.
The business will install an ionizing purifier and ultraviolet germicidal irradiation system in the HVAC duct, will upgrade to HEPA filtration and rely on new exhaust fans that prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses.
In addition, Ghaffari will remove public-use cutters and lighters and begin a loan system of equipment treated with EPA-approved combination germicide, pseudomonacide, fungicide and viricide between uses. Disposable plastic cups will be available and glassware will not be available, he said. He is also asking anyone who can pay using a wireless method to do so; incoming currency will be set aside and disinfected overnight.
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 1:58 PM.
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