Manco & Manco Pizza closes Ocean City boardwalk locations after employees contract coronavirus

Manco & Manco Pizza, an institution on the Ocean City, N.J., boardwalk, is closing its doors temporarily after three employees tested positive for the coronavirus.

In a message posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page, the owners said all three of their boardwalk locations will remain closed to have them professionally cleaned. No employees have tested positive at the Somers Point location, which will remain open and continue offering delivery and parking lot pick-up.

Owners initially planned to reopen the boardwalk locations Wednesday with new safety measures in place, including more frequent sanitizing of credit card terminals and touch screen tablets. But on Tuesday night, the restaurant announced on Facebook it will test all of its boardwalk employees, and that the three locations won’t reopen until Saturday, after all results have been received.

In an attempt to limit employees’ contact with food, only whole pizzas will be available for purchase when Manco & Manco reopens — individual slices will no longer be available for beachgoers to grab on the boardwalk, at least for the time being.

“We want the public, as well as our customers, to be able to make an educated decision and have all the facts before ordering,” the owners wrote. “The safety of our staff and our loyal customers is paramount.”

While New Jersey’s beaches have been a popular draw this summer, Gov. Phil Murphy said there is no evidence that large crowds gathering outdoors on the beach or boardwalk have lead to an increase in coronavirus cases.

“Having said that, if we don’t manage capacity at the beaches, if we can’t get social distancing, we’re probably playing with fire,” Murphy said on Monday.