Champs Restaurant in Glen Burnie Closed Due to COVID-19 Related Violations, County Health Officials Say

Officials with the Anne Arundel County Health Department today announced the closure of Champs Restaurant in Glen Burnie, amid concerns over COVID-19 related violations.  

On October 30, 2020, the Department of Health performed an onsite inspection at Champs Pizza as a follow-up to a customer’s complaint. The customer reported that Champs employees were not wearing face coverings and were operating in an unsafe manner. At the inspection, the Champs manager and several employees were improperly wearing face coverings that fully covered the nose and mouth.

The Department of Health issued an Order of Immediate Compliance. The order is a warning, not a fine. The Order includes an educational packet that consists of the Governor’s and County Executive’s Executive Orders and guidance related to the violation.

On November 2, 2020, a reinspection was conducted and the face covering violations still existed. On November 3, the Department of Health ordered Champs to close as an unsafe business not following Executive Orders and putting employees and customers at risk. The business must cease all food preparation, food sales and food service activities.

Champs will remain closed until the business submits a plan of action addressing how it will operate in a safe manner. Upon receipt of the plan of action, the Department of Health will perform a reinspection to see what conditions have been put in place to prevent further violations.

 A statement was posted to the company's facebook page saying that their staff were being retrained on the coronavirus related regulations. "We are retraining and reinforcing all of the covid procedures to our staff and will make every effort to enforce covid procedures upon reopening," the statement said.