KAPA‘A — The restaurant Olympic Cafe will be reopening its doors after being shut down because the staff weren’t wearing masks on the job and has reopened today.
KAPA‘A — The restaurant Olympic Cafe will be reopening its doors after being shut down because the staff weren’t wearing masks on the job and has reopened today.
The state Department of Health announced the cafe was closed Monday, after a Department of Health Food Safety Branch inspector responded to complaints about the establishment’s violations of mask use requirements. A red placard was issued as a result of investigations conducted on May 4 and May 10 when an inspector observed restaurant staff working without masks on both occasions.
A follow-up inspection Thursday confirmed the restaurant corrected the violation and the establishment was issued a green placard and allowed to reopen.
Olympic Cafe owner Troy Trujillo he didn’t understand some of the pandemic-related rules the Department of Health has in place for restaurants, and that led to the three-day shut-down.
“We had to take out a bunch of chairs, we had to take out a bunch of tables,” Trujilo said. “And I mean, it’s not the only thing I wasn’t doing. 100% was we weren’t social distancing properly, and we weren’t masking properly.”
Since Monday, the restaurant has been thoroughly cleaned. Chairs and tables have been rearranged to create enough social distancing to come into compliance with Centers for Disease Control and state Health Department guidelines.
“We (also) used three days because we’re so understaffed that we gave everyone some time off,” Trujillo said.
Opening today, Trujillo said he’s expecting business to be a bit slow, but said the weekend should bring things back to normal.
“You know, that’s kind of the flow of how things work,” Trujillo said.
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Won’t be eating at this restaurant ever again, obviously cares little about the community and then lies to save face.
Seems that owner Troy Trujillo doesn’t understand basic published Health Codes and required hygiene to operate a commercial restaurant. On my list of places I’ll never go. Why risk sickness for what is more than likely mediocre food.
Obey……You must where your obedience muzzle. Those who do not will be cancelled!
It’s not cancelling. It’s called consequences. Even my children get it. You can say what you want but you have to live with the consequences of your actions and words. Simple.
so he shut down for 3 days and thats getting cancelled? special snowflakes and their feelings lol
Never going here again. This donkey has no regard for his customers, staff, or this community. All bottom line. Shame.
Aloha
Brilliant … Let’s see how many more business you can shut down over a glorified flu.
How dumb can you get and still breath … oh yes … with a mask sucking in your own CO2
Kauai Ron,
Don’t offer me anything that you prepared to eat. “JUST DON’T WANT IT!”
If by “glorified” you mean that the difference is that in 2020, more than 16 million people have had COVID-19 in the U.S. More than 290,000 people died of COVID-19 in the U.S. in 2020.
By comparison, during the 2019-2020 flu season in the U.S., about 38 million people had the flu and about 22,000 people died of the flu.
Less people get this “glorified” flu. More people die from it.
Died WITH** not OF. only 6% is reported to have been from covid. Next 70% of hospitalizations were obese people. The average age of death was 80yrs old. Sooo yea, facts pal. Follow the factual science. Not cnn echo chamber talking points. K thanks.
Then how many of those “flu deaths” were died WITH?
This was the same guy from the earlier article in this paper who defiantly stood in the picture taken for the article with no mask on, as well as most people around him. We all knew at the time this would come around to bite him and it did. Then there was the February 17th article in TGI showing the business owner meeting at his place where mask wearing was also non existent. He and his fellow business owners at that meeting understood pandemic rules perfectly, they just chose to ignore them!
His excuse sucks! Shame on him and his staff! I will NEVER go there and warn all my visitors to steer clear of this place. It is clear he cares NOT one iota about the community. Only caters to the tourists. Let them have him then. He should had had more consequences for the violations.
“Olympic Cafe owner Troy Trujillo he didn’t understand some of the pandemic-related rules the Department of Health has in place for restaurants, and that led to the three-day shut-down.”
Nonsense. As an business owner it’s YOUR job to know what the rules are. And who doesn’t “understand” after 13 months? Not buying it!
Recently there was an article about some Kaua’i businesses that briefly closed due to COVID outbreaks. The DOH didn’t tell them to, they did it because some of their staff tested positive and felt it was the responsible thing to do. One of those establishments was Rob’s Good Times Grill. Included in the article was a picture of Troy Trujillo along with 6 diners at the Olympic Cafe. Only ONE had a mask on, and it wasn’t Troy. None had food in front of them, and the tables close to one another. He should have known once that picture was published he’d be on the radar. The writing was on the wall.
If he doesn’t “understand” something as simple as mask requirements for he and his staff a year into this, what else is he ignoring that’s part of the standard DOH protocol for food establishments?
I will eat there again. The death rate for 2020 was extremely low. Covid was way overblown.
You have the right to stay home if you’re afraid. But you’ll miss out on some great food. Great atmosphere and true Aloha spirit. Highly recommend eating at Olympic cafe. I’ll be back again and again.
If you have trouble breathing through a mask then something is wrong with you not the masks. Unless you think doctors and nurses have secret breathing tubes they use beneath their masks as part of a worldwide conspiracy to turn people into turtles because of the mole people?
Mole people unite, the time has come to be free and expose our breathing tubes.
Troy just improved the caliber of patrons he will have in the future. I Will begin going their immediately. Without knowing maybe everyone working has been vaccinated or have natural immunity by having already recovered. There should be a colored placard for fully vaccinated staff.
The restrictions are all BS. Last month’s Stanford University publication has been all but “discredited” as the snowflakes were threatening a cancel culture against the school. The study showed that anything less than an N95 mask was ineffective against virus transmissions. Period the end. You scared to get it – stay home – let real Americans get on with their lives. All the haters against this cafe are pathetic.
So you always wore an N95 mask then?
We’re proud of you Troy these mask and restrictions don’t work. We tried there way in the beginning. Covid-19 is faaaaaaaaaake.
You anti-mask folks can have it, food poisoning galore up there. You know when people say their food is great they are not from here, guarantee gut rot.