Maui businesses take COVID-19 precautions

Cupies in Kahului will reopen Feb. 10 after more cleaning, testing

Cupies Maui Drive-In is taking "extra precautions" to maintain the safety and trust of its customers by voluntarily closing for at least two weeks after an employee tested positive for COVID-19.

On Monday, owner Ron "Kalani" Daniels said that Cupies is set to reopen Feb. 10 after the building is deeply cleaned and the remaining employees test negative. As of Monday, about 38 workers already received negative test results back through Minit Medical and few others are still pending.

"We are closed because it's pono, it's the right thing to do," said Daniels. "You worry about your business, you worry about your reputation and all that, but our customers are important to us, they're like our family, so that's why with family, we're open and transparent."

The employee who tested positive notified management Jan. 27 and the small family-owned eatery in Kahului immediately closed. A sanitization crew went in Friday and scrubbed the premises.

Daniels said that the employee had no customer contact, was home, and did not work several days before getting tested.

The employee is now doing well in isolation and didn't need hospitalization, he added.

Cupies was not ordered to close by the state Department of Health, but Daniels said they wanted to be proactive. He said they are now communicating with DOH about reopening strategies.

Before serving up their favorite comfort foods, Cupies employees are getting tested again and the restaurant will be sanitized for a second time just to be "doubly sure."

"We're doing this just for peace of mind and for the customers' peace of mind because it's a big thing," he said. "We want our Cupies customers to rest assured that we've covered everything and that we've taken extreme measures to mitigate this, and I care for my employees, too. I don't want them to go through this again, and we still may."

Because this was a major "learning curve" for the drive-in eatery, Daniels hopes this sets a good example and reference for other businesses who may have to respond to a COVID-19 exposure.

"We also want to be open and transparent because there will be other businesses who have this issue," he said. "I want them to know that Cupies has been through this and if they want to give me a call and ask me 'what did you guys do?' and 'how did you get through it?' and so I'm happy to help in any way I can."

As challenging as it is financially for restaurants to close for an extended period of time, Daniels noted that he values the "lives and trust" of his customers even more.

Sip Me Maui also took some precautionary measures this past weekend by voluntarily closing Saturday after there was a positive COVID-19 exposure from the community with staff members. The Makawao cafe will reopen at 7 a.m. Wednesday.

A social media post by the establishment said that majority of staff were placed on a 10-day quarantine, and a temporary crew has been brought in to work to "ensure we are still able to serve you during this time."

"We take pride in our proactive and stringent policies and guidelines to ensure that we keep our community and team safe and healthy!" according to an Instagram post. "We follow all State, Federal & CDC requirements and guidelines and actively refuse service to those who do not follow policy."

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.com.