YORKTOWN, Va. — Earlier this month health officials said a former employee at Ginny's Restaurant in Yorktown was diagnosed with Hepatitis A, so they warned customers who may have eaten at Ginny's during a certain time period to get checked out.
The owner and her daughter, Heather Hogge, said their business has been impacted and their family wants to clear the air about what happened.
Over the last week Hogge said business has been slashed by more than half, and it's only the ultra-loyal customers who have been stopping by, which is hard for them because they enjoy everyone who comes in.
"It's been slow. We've been lowering the staff. We don't need two waitresses on. We don't need to staff. If we're not making anything, we can't pay," said Hogge. "Try to just take it as it is, ya know?"
That's how they've been dealing with this blow.
But, the family wanted to set the record straight because health officials also said no food at the restaurant was the source of the infection.
"We had no control over an employee we already fired. It was a shocker to us. We weren't expecting that or anything," said Hogge.
She said they've been fully cooperative with the health department, and even passed a health inspection the same day after the news came out.
"I have my health certification and so does mom. We're OCD. This is not only our job, this is our house. We live here. This is our life, this restaurant, so we treat it like home," Hogge told 13News Now.
Despite that, they'll keep treating it like home for those loyal customers, and continue to welcome new ones in.
"We love our customers and business and everything," said Hogge.