ALLENDALE CHARTER TOWNSHIP, Mich. — An Ottawa County brewery that closed after a customer said they tested positive for COVID-19 reopened the next morning upon learning the information was false.
"There was no doubt in our mind that was what we had to do," said Greg Evans, co-owner and CIO of Trail Point Brewing Company in Allendale.
Trail Point closed its taproom on Thursday, July 2, after a customer told management they tested positive for the coronavirus. That person was asked to leave the building to limit exposure, Evans said.
"We went table-to-table telling [customers] we received this information and choosing to close down," he said. "We cleaned all the nooks and crannies, trying to wash this place top to bottom."
In the last month, several West Michigan businesses have closed down temporarily after employees or customers contracted the virus. Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order Wednesday shutting down indoor service at many Michigan bars, not including breweries. One bar in Lansing is now linked to an outbreak of at least 152 cases, according to the Detroit News.
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Evans called the local health department to verify the case and prepared to test all his employees.
"It [may have been] a miscommunication — we are not sure — but there was no positive test," he said.
Trail Point reopened Friday at noon for both indoor and outdoor seating. The brewery explained the situation to customers in a Facebook post.
"We've tried to be as transparent as possible, and we're trying to do the right thing," Evans said. "To treat it like it could be false isn't the right thing to do."
Trail Point requires masks for entry and has a supply for customers that don't bring them. Actions like these will be taken in the future to minimize risk, Evans said.
"If we don't take this seriously, you see what happens in Florida and other states," he said. "We're trying to do what we can to be a part of the solution and not the problem."
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