ST. LOUIS — Restaurants in the St. Louis area have had to temporarily close again due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Multiple restaurants have either had an employee test positive for COVID-19 or a customer. In some cases, restaurants are temporarily closing after a potential exposure involving an employee. Others are closing their dining rooms out of an abundance of caution.
Businesses are not required to tell the public if a customer or employee has tested positive for the virus. However, several restaurants in the area have chosen to make public, transparent statements to let customers know the situation.
Below is the current list of St. Louis area restaurants that temporarily closed due to COVID-19.
Editor’s note: This story will continue to be updated.
Bogart's Smokehouse announced it'll close on Oct. 3 for fall and winter. A reopening date has not yet been announced.
Elmwood announced it will put a pause on dine-in services due to “rising numbers locally and nationally” that are “too great to ignore, too great to leave to hope,” the restaurant announced on Instagram. The Maplewood spot will switch back to only offering to-go orders beginning July 30 and continuing through August. Elmwood plans also to offer a new menu with a focus on pizza.
HuHot Mongolian Grill announced it will close in Creve Coeur on Aug. 30 due to the restrictions placed on its business because of the pandemic. It said the pandemic has resulted in a business level that is unsustainable. "We hope to reopen in the future when things return to a semblance of normal," the restaurant wrote on Facebook.
Juniper in the Central West End announced on July 19 it would be closing its dining room and moving to carry out and delivery only due to COVID-19 concerns. "I do not anticipate re-opening our dining room for at least a year ... we are at least prepared for that. Takeout, and delivery (finally) will be our new model for the foreseeable future. Take care y’all," the tweet from Juniper said.
On Labor Day, Lucas Park Grille on Washington Avenue announced it would be closing for an “extended period of time” due to the challenges from COVID-19. “We hope to emerge from this on the other side but just in case we don’t we would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our loyal employees, customers and friends for all of the love and support we have enjoyed together over the past 18 years,” the restaurant shared on Facebook.
Narwhal’s announced on July 27 it is closing the dining rooms at both of its locations. “We cannot ignore the latest COVID surges and the prevalence of the virus in our community right now,” it wrote on its Facebook page. Patios reopened the first week of September.
Russell's on Macklind announced on Sept. 10 it would be closed after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.
"We just received the news and will be taking the evening to sanitize the entire restaurant. The individual last worked on Sunday, and our entire team has been extremely diligent about sanitation as well as wearing masks at all times. While our team currently feels fine, we will be closed (Macklind only) until our entire staff has been tested," it shared on Facebook. A reopening date has not been yet announced.
Start Bar closed on Aug. 25 due to the current restrictions placed specifically on the bar and nightclub industry in St. Louis city. A reopening date has not been announced.
Southern announced it'll close on Oct. 4 for the fall and winter. A reopening date has not been announced.
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