Crusade Burger Bar to re-open Friday after COVID-19 exposure among shared staff

Crusade Burger Bar, 209 S. Bridge St. in downtown Yorkville, is set to reopen Friday evening, Aug. 21 after the restaurant and its sister business, Sovereign, 24216 W. Lockport St. Suite B, in Plainfield, were closed because of a COVID-19 outbreak, according to restaurant staff.

Rafael Gomez, owner of both restaurants, said people who came in contact with one employee who tested positive – an employee who has worked at both locations but primarily works at Sovereign, according to Gomez – have been tested. He said some workers are still waiting for results to come back and others have since tested negative.

"People that are still waiting will not be working," Gomez said. "And anyone who has either not come in contact or have tested negative will be scheduled to work, and only if they choose to."

Gomez said the other two positive COVID-19 cases among staff are solely at Sovereign.

Gomez said Crusade Burger Bar has been professionally sanitized since the Tuesday closure. He said Sovereign, which closed Sunday and remains closed as of 2 p.m. Friday, will be professionally sanitized as well.

The update comes after staff from the two restaurants wrote in Tuesday, Aug. 18 social media posts that both were temporarily closed due to an outbreak of COVID-19 among staff members. Staff wrote both restaurants were being deep cleaned and will resume normal business hours once all is clear.

Gomez had said Tuesday the two restaurants share employees. Between the two places, he had said, he's aware of three employees testing positive for COVID-19.

Gomez had said all staff for both restaurants have been told to get tested for COVID-19. He had said those employees need to test negative for the illness before returning to work.

Gomez had said one employee tested positive for COVID-19 at Sovereign about a month ago. He had said that case resulted in the restaurant closing for a few days.

"Everybody was negative, so we reopened," Gomez had said.

Staff wrote in the Tuesday social media post that they are following all directives and advice given by health agencies and will continue to communicate through the restaurants' social media outlets.

"Once we were made aware of an employee experiencing symptoms, we immediately asked the employee to quarantine and be tested," the social media posts from Crusade Burger Bar and Sovereign read.

Gomez had said the first person who told restaurant management they were sick was Saturday afternoon. Once staff got all of the information they needed, he had said, they decided to close Sovereign at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Once restaurant management learned that an employee that tested positive for COVID-19 also worked at Crusade Burger Bar, he said, they decided to close the Yorkville location Tuesday morning.

RaeAnn VanGundy, executive director for Kendall County Health Department, confirmed on Tuesday that county health officials were aware of the Crusade Burger Bar closure and were working closely with the manager.

Steve Brandy, spokesman for Will County Health Department, wrote in a Wednesday, Aug. 19 email to Record Newspapers that Sovereign closed on their own.

"They had some staff members with COVID-19 (no customers that we are aware of, no complaints made with us), did the research, and decided on their own to close down temporarily," Brandy wrote.

Gomez had said the goal was to reopen the restaurants this weekend. Once employees from both restaurants get clean bills of health and the deep cleans are complete, that's ultimately when the restaurants will reopen, he had said.

"We're not going to rush anything," Gomez had said.