HARRISBURG, Pa. – A Forest County restaurant will continue to remain open despite being listed today as one of 33 restaurants statewide ordered to close for refusing to comply with Governor Tom Wolf’s order prohibiting dine-in service.
The Department of Agriculture today released data related to COVID-19 restaurant enforcement actions from December 21 through December 27, 2020. The information is specific to COVID-19 mitigation requirements for restaurants, including masking of employees offering carry-out, delivery and curbside pick-up services, and reflect the temporary order prohibiting dine-in service from December 12, 2020 until January 4, 2021.
From December 21 through December 27, the department’s Bureau of Food Safety performed 381 inspections, 54 of which were complaint-driven. Of those, 50 were COVID-19 specific complaints. The department received 42 food facility COVID-19 related complaints, and 20 of those COVID-19 related complaints were referred to local and county health jurisdictions.
Inspectors ordered 33 restaurants closed after confirming that each was open for dine-in service and refused to comply with the order while the inspector was present.
One of those restaurants was The Seldom Inn along Route 36 in Tionesta; however, owners Robert and Jennifer Zuck told exploreClarion.com that the restaurant will continue to remain open for dine-in service.
“We are doing this for our employees,” said Jennifer Zuck. “We can’t survive on take-out alone.”
Zuck said an inspector informed her of the shutdown order last week and she also received a follow-up letter in the mail.
Wolf’s limited-time mitigation order includes:
– All in-person indoor dining at businesses in the retail food services industry, including, but not limited to, bars, restaurants, breweries, wineries, distilleries, social clubs, and private catered events is prohibited.
– Outdoor dining, take-out food service, and take-out alcohol sales are permitted and may continue, subject to any limitations or restrictions imposed by Pennsylvania law, or this or any other order issued by the Secretary of Health or by the governor.
A county-by-county breakdown of COVID-19 restaurant enforcement actions can be found on the Department of Agriculture’s website.
