Popular Charlotte brewery closes temporarily after worker tests positive for COVID-19

Olde Mecklenburg Brewery on Yancey Road in Charlotte has temporarily closed its restaurant after an employee reported testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, the brewery posted on Facebook.

“Out of a substantial abundance of caution,” brewery officials said, the restaurant is closed “as we go through the CDC contact tracing protocols, and ensure that anyone that might have come in contact with the employee also gets tested.”

Brewery officials said they consider the risk of exposure “extremely low” because the worker who tested positive and all other co-workers and guests he came into contact with had masks on.

“However, we have decided to take these steps to be overly cautious,” brewery officials posted, adding that the site will undergo a thorough sanitization over the next couple days as an additional precaution.

“Once all employees are cleared and the sanitization is complete, we will reopen,” according to the post.

Olde Mecklenburg is the third Charlotte brewery to announce a COVID-19-related closure in recent days.

VBGB Beer Hall and Garden said on social media Tuesday that due to the coronavirus and “limited operating capabilities,” the beer hall at Avidxchange Music Factory will temporarily close Dec. 13, The Charlotte Observer reported.

Another Charlotte beer hall closes for now, citing the coronavirus pandemic

That announcement followed another brewery, Sycamore Brewing in South End, saying it will temporarily close its taproom starting Dec. 1 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and colder weather. The brewery is open for delivery and pickup .

South End brewery closes taproom temporarily, citing COVID-19 and colder weather

In October, Mecklenburg County Health Director Gibbie Harris disclosed two COVID-19 cases linked to Olde Mecklenburg’s Sept. 25-27 Mecktoberfest event, the Observer previously reported. That number soon rose to five cases.

In an online letter at the time, OMB founder John Marrino said the brewery’s restaurant and Biergarten remain “a safe, relaxing place, the Observer reported. “Our main concern is that this ‘snapshot’ of a three-day event that was virtually perfect at all other times, has distorted people’s perceptions of the overall event and our brewery.

“For all but a few hours of the weekend, and for the vast majority of attendees, the event was near perfect, and everyone practiced good social distancing,” Marrino said.