Claudia Sanders Restaurant Reopens; Have the Customers Returned?

Claudia Sanders Dinner House in Shelbyville, Kentucky, reopened a couple of weeks ago after a staph infection sickened well over 100 Easter buffet customers. See the items posted below. The cause was traced to a ham, but it's still unknown how the ham was infected. I've delayed updating this story because I was hoping to see some indication of whether and when the customer base returned to pre-Easter levels. I haven't seen any indications in the media coverage.

Restaurant Manager Louise Riley gets a C from me for how she handled this crisis. The restaurant is closed Mondays, and there seemed to be no proactive effort to contact key audiences, including the media, that day. Claudia Sanders tried to open Tuesday morning as if nothing was wrong. It closed a short time later. I don't know if that was a decision by the Health Department or the restaurant because of low patronage. Riley did a good job through the media, explaining that all food had been discarded, the kitchen scrubbed, and employees trained on safe food handling. Maybe there's a sign at the restaurant to reassure customers of these actions. I haven't been there. But I doubt it. The web site hasn't been updated to explain how careful the restaurant has been to prevent a recurrence. In fact, it still has a link to "Easter Buffet." Ugh!

If I learn that Riley has found ways to communicate that the restaurant is 100% safe again, I would raise her grade from a C to maybe a B. You shouldn't count solely on reporters to do your communicating for you, which appears to have happened here. She should be using her web site, advertising, offering well-publicized specials, and direct contact with regular customers and tour buses that might frequent the restaurant. Even if you put your kitchen in order, it does little good if your customers don't know about it.