Ludington restaurant suffered after busboy lied about virus

LUDINGTON — A northern Michigan restaurant lost thousands of dollars in sales after a busboy said he had COVID-19, but the employee simply wanted a day off and lied, a manager said.

“It was heartbreaking,” says David Hritco, manager at Timbers Seafood and Steakhouse in Ludington. “I worried about my staff. I worried about well now do I have COVID?”

Timbers was forced to close Friday and Saturday after the COVID-19 claim and had to cancel a wedding rehearsal party, Hritco said.

The timing was terrible for the restaurant, which is trying to recover during the peak summer season after months of being closed.

“It’s our second busiest weekend of the year,” Hritco said.

The employee confessed to the lie Saturday night, Hritco told 9and10news.com.

“He doesn’t know what he did, and I feel terrible for him because this is a young kid that made a mistake,” Hritco said. “But this is now a police matter.”