Cemeno's Pizza: Employee Coronavirus Case Confirmed

JOLIET, IL — One of Joliet's most popular restaurants, Cemeno's Pizza, announced Monday morning that an employee has contracted the new coronavirus illness. As a result, Cemeno's plans to stay closed indefinitely for a deep cleaning and sanitizing.

The sit-down pizzeria on Essington Road announced on Monday morning that it hoped to reopen on Wednesday. However, by Monday afternoon, Cemeno's updated its social media posting. The updated statement on Facebook didn't indicate when Cemeno's intended to reopen.

"The employee is in an administrative (role) and does not serve customers," Cemeno's posted on social media on Monday afternoon. "They have not been in our building since July 10. While we feel the risk of transmission is low, we also feel it is our moral obligation to be straightforward and clear with all our employees, family, customers and friends."

In the meantime, the restaurant said it is paying the costs to have all its staff tested for the coronavirus. Cemeno's also said that ServPro, the professional cleaning service, was in the building on Monday.

"It pains us to have to close our business for several days, but the last thing we want to do is harm our staff or customers," Cemeno's indicated on Monday afternoon.