At Ithaca Bakery and Collegetown Bagels, we are monitoring the COVID-19 situation carefully and taking proactive measures to protect the health of our staff and our customers.
Due to an increase in COVID-19 cases, indoor dining has been suspended until further notice at all Ithaca Bakery and Collegetown Bagels locations. We continue to offer takeout, curbside pickup, and delivery daily.
Our COVID response plan goes above and beyond the mandates of the state and county health department, which continues to be reviewed on a daily basis and amended as the best advice and guidance is released. Our plan includes:
A minimum of two staff people per location dedicated to adherence to COVID guidelines and procedures at each cafe
A dedicated employee restroom at each location
Protective barriers at counters and cash registers
Daily staff temperature and symptom checks
Mandatory COVID testing for all retail staff every two weeks. Staff will be paid for a half hour of time for each test result received.
In the event employees are sick or are told to quarantine by the Health Department, staff have a generous paid time off policy that employees are able to use if they have accrued time, and a federal leave policy under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act allows for up to two weeks of paid leave for most COVID-related scenarios.
Any staff member that travels to a state on the New York travel advisory list must quarantine before returning to work.
Staff are required to wear masks that cover their mouth and nose, and we require the same of our guests.
Retail staff are required to wear and change gloves often.
Each store has social distancing signage and stickers on the floor to remind customers to stay 6 feet apart.
Our staff are paying extra special attention to cleaning and disinfecting any surfaces where people’s hands generally end up. We have implemented the following cleaning procedures at each of our locations:
Door handles, counters, and bathrooms are sanitized every 30 minutes.
Hand sanitizer is available at each entrance for customer use.
We already love washing hands, but our staff are now washing them even more.
Deep cleaning is taking place every night.
We deeply care about the well-being of our Ithaca community and will continue to refer to the CDC and other public health agencies to determine the safest course of action for anyone who enters our stores.
We wish you continuous health and well-being, but……if you are sick: call your health care professional, then stay home in your jammies & catch up on some Netflix. We’ll be here for you as soon as you’re back on your feet, fever free, and feeling hungry!