After closing over the holiday weekend, Pizzeria Toro remained closed Monday after one of its employees tested positive for COVID-19.
The Durham restaurant’s owners posted the information on its Instagram page Monday, saying “Although we have been closed for the past two holiday days, and our teams have not been working together, we are taking the extra precaution of closing Pizzeria Toro for now.”
The post was signed by the restaurant’s owners — Gray Brooks, his wife Cara Stacy and their business partner, Jay Owens.
“Once we can confirm who has tested negative,” the post said, “we will reopen for curbside service at each location. We anticipate reopening both later this week.”
Bars are closed under the terms of Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive order that has the state in Phase Two of his three-step reopening plan. Restaurants can be open for take-out orders and can operate for in-person dining at a limited capacity.
Restaurants are not required by law to reveal if they have employees who test positive for COVID-19.
“We share this in an effort to be 100% transparent with our loyal guests and community who have been so incredibly supportive of Pizzeria Toro since March,” they said, “and who have welcomed Jack Tar & The Colonel’s Daughter back over these past 2 weeks as we introduced curbside service.”
Pizzeria Toro, which is on East Chapel Hill Street, and Jack Tar are undergoing extensive cleanings to sanitize prior to reopening, the owners said.
As of Monday, the state’s Department of Health and Human Services reported 74,529 coronavirus cases and 982 hospitalizations, a single-day high.
Steve Wiseman was named Raleigh News & Observer and Durham Herald-Sun sports editor in May 2025. He covered Duke athletics, beginning in 2010, prior to his current assignment. In the Associated Press Sports Editors national contest, he placed in the top 10 in beat writing in 2019, 2021 and 2022, breaking news in 2019, event coverage in 2025 and explanatory writing in 2018. Before coming to Durham in 2010, Steve worked for The State (Columbia, SC), Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, S.C.), The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.), Charlotte Observer and Hickory (NC) Daily Record covering beats including the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints, University of South Carolina athletics and the S.C. General Assembly. He’s won numerous state-level press association awards. Steve graduated from Illinois State University in 1989.
