Darnestown Liquor And Wine Reopens After Coronavirus Closure

GAITHERSBURG, MD — Montgomery County Alcohol Beverage Services is raising a toast, of sorts, to the Darnestown Liquor And Wine in Gaithersburg, which reopened Monday after multiple positive coronavirus tests effectively closed the store for three weeks.

A total of four staff members at the store tested positive for coronavirus, the county announced earlier this month; the store was forced to close due to staffing shortages.

"During the closure, a specialized unit performed a deep cleaning and sanitization of the store, which included cleaning all surfaces and products and fogging with specialized machines," the county said in a statement.

The Alcohol Beverage Services serves as the wholesaler of beer, wine, and spirits in Montgomery County. In announcing the reopening of Darnestown Liquor And Wine, the county noted that ABS continues to deep clean its store and test all employees for coronavirus on a bi-monthly basis.

Mask wearing and social distancing are required in ABS stores for both customers and employees.

However, while Darnestown and ABS' other stores have erected plexiglass barriers at registers and instituted various cleaning measures , they do not offer curbside or drive-through services.

"We would love to be able to," ABS tweeted Monday, replying to a question about the Darnestown store's reopening, "but ABS stores don't have the staffing to be able to offer curbside pick up at this time."