Press Releases
Montgomery County’s Alcohol Beverage Services Temporarily Closes Its Darnestown Liquor and Wine Store Due to COVID-19 Issues
For Immediate Release: Monday, July 6, 2020
Montgomery County’s Department of Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS) has temporarily closed its Darnestown Liquor and Wine store after three store employees tested positive for COVID-19.
The store is located at 12155 Darnestown Road in Gaithersburg.
One employee tested positive on Tuesday, June 30. The two other employees tested positive several days later. The store was immediately deep cleaned and sanitized, but out of an abundance of caution, ABS decided to temporarily close the store.
All other employees at the Darnestown store have been asked to monitor themselves for symptoms and are on paid administrative leave for two weeks. The store is tentatively scheduled to reopen on Monday, July 20.
As a precaution, anyone who has visited the Darnestown store within the past week should monitor themselves for symptoms.
Since the COVID-19 health crisis began, ABS has been deep cleaning all stores. In addition, plexiglass has been installed at the registers in each store to create a barrier between consumers and employees. ABS also has implemented policies requiring employees to wash their hands hourly and to use hand sanitizer between transactions. Face coverings and social distancing of at least six feet is required for customers and employees. Daily temperature checks are conducted of each employee and they follow enhanced cleaning protocols for high touch surfaces.
ABS will be providing bi-monthly testing for all employees who opt in within the next week as an extra safety measure.
ABS is the alcohol wholesaler of beer, wine and spirits for Montgomery County. ABS operates 25 beer, wine and spirits stores and one spirits only store in Poolesville. It manages alcohol licensing, enforcement and education for more than 1,000 businesses. Generating more than $35 million in net income annually, ABS profits are used to pay down County debt, with a large portion deposited in the County general fund to pay for resident services that would otherwise be funded by County tax dollars.
For information about ABS, including store hours and locations, visit the website and follow ABS on Facebook and Twitter.
For the latest COVID-19 updates, visit the County’s COVID-19 data dashboard.
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Media Contact: Melissa Davis 240-660-1224