Prominent Greenville restaurants are re-closing as COVID-19 spread worsens

Several iconic restaurants closed the first week of January to help stem the rampant spread of COVID-19 in Greenville County.

The Upstate county has for months led the state in the number of cases and last week was ranked No. 1 in the nation for number of cases in moderate-sized communities.

Table 301 founder Carl Sobocinski said his leadership team decided to close four restaurants, including Soby’s, after the holidays. The Southern Pressed Juicery remains open since it has a handful of employees and most of the business is takeout, Sobocinski said.

He said 18 of his employees, including four managers, have been diagnosed with the coronavirus since May. All who know how they got it were infected at family gatherings.

Sobocinski said he was not worried about employees passing the virus to customers because of the safety protocols they’ve put in place, including air filters and a no-nonsense mask policy. More likely, the spread would come from those eating in the restaurants.

“We wanted to do our small part,” Sobocincki said.

He said the restaurant business is traditionally slow at this time of year, so this week was a good choice to close. All managers are being paid, and hourly employees are encouraged to take vacation days, he said.

Greenville County reported 792 new coronavirus cases Wednesday and 13 deaths. There have been 40,666 cases in the county since the pandemic began and 506 deaths. In all, 44% of tests in Greenville County were positive Wednesday. Five percent is considered moderate spread.

Greenville Mayor Knox White said he is not aware of other Greenville restaurants temporarily closing..

This story has been edited to include more information about the spread of the virus in Greenville County and among Table 301 employees.

This story was originally published January 7, 2021 at 12:00 AM.