Fort Worth Restaurant El Paseo’s Team Mourns Coworker Who Died From COVID-19

Fort Worth Mexican restaurant El Paseo announced over the weekend that a longtime employee died after battling coronavirus. In a Facebook post, the restaurant management shared the tragic news about their team member, who’d worked there for more than 25 years.

The post reads:

It is with a heavy heart to announce our employee who contracted this horrible disease has passed away. He was apart of our El Paseo family for over 25 years. He was a good man with a kind heart. We could always count on him to bring a smile to our faces when we arrived at work. He was a loyal, hardworking and devoted employee and we were extremely blessed to have him work for us. Unfortunately with underlying health conditions, double pneumonia, and Covid-19 he was unable to overcome his illnesses.

A GoFundMe fundraiser set up for his family has already raised more than $2,500. The restaurant isn’t naming the employee publicly, writing in a post:

Out of respect to his family, we are not sharing his personal information at this time. We wish for the family to grieve with intimate privacy for their beloved husband and father. We are graciously overwhelmed with prayers and positivity, and are thankful for your thoughts during this tragic time.

According to the Fort Worth Star Telegram, El Paseo shut down its restaurant locations on March 31 when the worker found out he tested positive for COVID-19. The employee called in sick with a fever and sore throat on March 24, and he didn’t return to work, restaurant officials said.

“None of our employees have reported any symptoms since the quarantine,” the restaurant’s Facebook page reads, adding that spaces have been sanitized. The plan is to reopen on April 7 for curbside pickup and delivery.

• Fort Worth restaurant community mourns death of El Paseo worker who had coronavirus [Star Telegram]