Lucky Pelican restaurant in Lakewood Ranch closes after death of cook from COVID-19
The staff of the Lucky Pelican Bistro, 6239 Lake Osprey Drive, was devastated to learn Thursday that a staff member had died of COVID-19 related complications.
The restaurant immediately announced on social media that it was closing until further notice.
“We are deeply hurt and grieving the loss of our friend and co-worker. He had a great sense of humor and a great work ethic,” owner Patrick Moore said Friday. “We are just besides ourselves.
Moore and a partner have owned the Lucky Pelican for six years.
“Due to a COVID-related incident we are closing the restaurant at this time. We were notified around 11:10 a.m. today (Thursday) that one of our day-time line cooks passed away from COVID. This employee has not worked since last Friday, and over the weekend started having symptoms and went to get tested. They had not been back to work while waiting on their results. Late last night, this individual let us know they had received their results and they were positive. While talking to this person last night, they let us know the only symptom they had was a hard time breathing, and that they felt good about it all. Unfortunately, things changed this morning,” the Lucky Pelican said on its Facebook page.
“Since we opened back up we have been committed to being a safe place for our staff and guests. We also believe more than ever it is important to be transparent and open with everyone. We are closing the restaurant and having our entire staff tested. Once we have all the results, we will plan our reopening. If you have been following us on Facebook, and been to our restaurant you know everyone here is going above and beyond to ensure we keep this place safe. When we reopen we will continue to strive to be a leader in this industry with safety being the highest priority. We thank you all for your understanding, and encourage you all to keep being leaders in the community in regards to safety,” the Facebook post said.
The Lucky Pelican will reopen once it has a large enough staff who have tested and proven to be free of COVID-19, but the priority now is to honest and transparent with the community and ensure the safety of its staff, Moore said.
“We would not put anyone at risk,” he said.
