A POPULAR butcher and pie-maker hopes to re-open its Darlington shop this week after having to temporarily close due to Covid-19.

Taylor's was forced to close its Skinnergate shop on Friday due to staff testing positive for Covid-19.

However, the good news for Darlington pie fans is that the Skinnergate shop could re-open as early as Thursday according to one of the family-run company's directors, Paul Taylor.

The Northern Echo:

 

Taylor's on Skinnergate with signs on the windows informing customers of the short-term closure

He told The Northern Echo today: "It was a hard decision for us (to close temporarily) but we had to do it because we had a lot of staff that had been isolating.

"The most sensible thng to do was just to close for a short period of time."

Mr Taylor confirmed that none of the company's other outlets across the region, including it's cafe on Darlington's Lingfield Way, have been affected and they are operating as normal.

In a statement published at the weekend, Taylor's thanked its customers for their support and wanted to reassure people that 'immediate action' had been taken.

It added: "When our staff are at work, we take all necessary measures to stay safe, follow very strict hand washing procedures and the shop is thoroughly cleaned multiple times a day.

The Northern Echo:

The signs on the Skinnergate shop windows informing customers of the short-term closure

"We have been working very closely with track & trace and environmental health through all this and following the advice that they give us.

"We appreciate these are worrying times and we don’t want our customers to feel unsafe coming to shop with us and we just want to ease any concerns people may have and apologise for any panic caused.

"We have acted very quickly and accordingly to ensure safety is key and will always prioritise employee and public safety above everything else."