The Quaffery in Saltaire shut until July 8 due to owner's Covid

The Quaffery, on Bingley Road, will remain closed until Thursday, July 8, after its co-owners Craig Bradley and Simone Crossland came into contact with a staff member who tested positive earlier this month. 

The shop was initially closed on June 19, on a day they were open, after the member of staff told the owners she had the virus.

The co-owners then went in to an initial 10-day period of self-isolation, but this effectively restarted for a further 10 days once both Mr Bradley and Simone, and her daughter, all tested positive for Covid.

However, there was no threat of transmission to the public as the original staff member did not mix in the shop section of the site with customers.

The shop windows have handwritten messages on the front windows and doors saying; 'Closed due to Covid isolation rules'.

A handwritten sign on the front door of The Quaffery says it is shut

The shop is open between Thursday and Sunday each week, so they will have lost three weekend spells of trading by the time they reopen.

The site will also undergo a deep clean before it is scheduled to welcome back customers on July 8.

Mr Bradley says the business has also strictly followed the guidelines, such as Test and Trace for customers, once they were allowed to reopened earlier thjis year.

Despite being frustrated by the situation, Mr Bradley says he and Simone have had their spirits lifted by the support they have received on social media from customers after they made the annoucement on their Facebook page yesterday.

He said: "It's crippling for us. We are feeling pretty rough too.

"We have to do the right thing and we're stuck and it's just one of those things.

"It has not expanded out to the public and it was a staff member who works behind the scenes for us.

"We're poorly and not just isolating for no reason. We could certainly do without it.

"When we found out we shut on the Saturday morning. The people who were in there at the time could not believe it.

"We've got to look at the positives. Saltaire is a thriving area.

"We have just done the right thing and have received a lot of support from customers, people saying get well soon. We have done the only thing people should do."

Mr Bradley also urged people to be extra careful with social distancing as he has still tested positive despite receiving both doses of the Covid vaccination just before.

He added: "I have had two jabs and Simone has had one. You would probably think that I was going to be OK. It's a strange one.

"Even if people don't have any symptoms, they can still carry it."

He says it has been 'relatively stop-start' for the business since it reopened 20 months' ago due to be forced to closed during the governement guidel