Positive COVID-19 tests closes Dutch Bros. Airway Heights location

AIRWAY HEIGHTS – Dutch Bros. Coffee Company announced that its Airway Heights location will be closed after two employees tested positive for the novel coronavirus and the disease it carries, COVID-19.

According to a company news release, the first employee at the shop at 10117 U.S. Highway 2 took a COVID-19 test on June 24 and received a positive result on June 27. Prior to the test the employee worked midday shifts on June 17 and 18 and morning to evening shifts on June 19 and June 22.

A second employee took a COVID-19 test on June 26 and received positive results the next day. That employee worked a midday shift on June 20 and an evening shift on June 22.

Both employees have been advised to self-isolate at home for 14 days.

Dutch Bros. said they learned of the first positive test on Thursday, June 25, and immediately closed the Airway Heights store to perform deep cleaning by a third-party. The company says they are also coordinating with public health officials to meet the recommended expectations.

At press time, June 30, Dutch Bros. public relations lead Natalie Weber said the company had no timeframe for reopening in Airway Heights. There are extensive cleaning procedures to follow, and she said they would notify the public via social media when the outlet will open.

"We just want to make sure we are doing our due diligence," Weber said.

This is the first Dutch Bros. location in the Spokane area to face closure due to COVID-19, but not the first in the chain. Two locations in Las Vegas were closed June 23 due to employees testing positive for the virus along with one in Tuscon, Ariz. Three locations in the Boise, Idaho area closed due to positive COVID-19 tests in early April.

Dutch Bros. said they have taken the following steps over the last few months to prevent the spread of COVID-19:

Enforced increased hand-washing and sanitizing

Temporarily suspended the use of personal mugs at drive-thurs

Temporarily closed walk-ins and walk-ups to focus exclusively on serving through drive-thru windows

Instituted a cashless payment system, eliminating unnecessary touch points between customers and broistas

Instituted mask policies to align with updated CDC recommendations.

"We want the community to know we're following all recommended CDC guidelines and will continue to keep the community's health at the forefront of all decisions we make," the company Dutch Bros. said in the release.

Other coffee stands and restaurants have announced closures due to employees testing positive for COVID-19. Borracho Tacos & Tequileria in downtown Spokane said June 25 it was closing for cleaning after the Spokane Regional Health District announced the day before that it had linked 24 positive cases to the business.

Jitterz announced on June 28 that it was closing all of its North Idaho coffee stands after two employees tested positive for COVID-19 and worked shifts prior to receiving their test results.

Spokane County has seen a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, with health officials saying 40 percent being from community spread rather than increased testing. In Cheney (99004 zip code), 38 cases were reported as of June 30, an increase of 18 since June 15 and 13 since June 22 while Airway Heights recorded 21 cases through June 29, four since June 22.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.