By RACHEL KIPP
rlkipp@marion.gannett.com
Fewer customers have stopped by the Wendy’s south restaurant since an employee there was found to have contracted Hepatitis A, but things may be on the upswing.
“As you can imagine business has been impacted,” said Gary Boyer, director of operations for the locally-owned fast food restaurant. “But we’re seeing friends and associates coming back and it’s improving every day.”
He said business has decreased at both the store at 1410 S. Western Ave., and at the north location, 1223 Wabash Ave., which has seen customers return more quickly.
Grant County Health Inspector P.J. Culley said she and other health department employees have eaten at the south restaurant in the past few weeks.
“People need to know it’s safe to eat there again,” she said.
Beginning Jan. 1, the state will require food establishments to have at least one certified food handler overseeing food safety operations. Boyer said employees at his restaurants have been taking the requisite class and receiving the certification for several years.

Over 5,000 people were vaccinated against Hepatitis A, which is caused by a virus that inflames the liver, after the discovery was made at the Wendy’s location. No cases of the disease related to the Wendy’s employee have been reported.
The employee was released from the hospital soon after being admitted, Boyer said, but still is recovering from the disease, which can be transmitted by a person not washing their hands after using the restroom or touching dirty diapers or linens that have been soiled by stool.
Boyer said the employee plans to come back to work after he recovers.
“Customers didn’t seem to understand that this is a virus. It’s a virus like the flu, it’s something you get over,” he said. “We’ve talked to the young man and he’s been trying to figure out where he got it.”