Sum Yung Guys closes during Christmas holiday due to Covid-19 exposure

Ex-reality TV star and owner of Noosaville restaurant Sum Yung Guys, Matt Sinclair, has shared an emotional message after a staff member tested positive to Covid-19.

Popular Noosaville restaurant Sum Yung Guys has been forced to close for its busiest week of the year after 25 staff members were tested for Covid-19.

Part-owner Moe Rickard confirmed a staff member who worked on Sunday afternoon and night tested positive for Covid-19 and as a result 24 other employees had to get tested and isolate for seven days.

The restaurant was fully booked and expected to have a minimum of 300 customers a day.

The restaurant is part-owned by Matt Sinclair, 2016 MasterChef runner-up, who shared an emotional video on social media to confirm the news.

He said it meant staff could not celebrate Christmas with their families and that the business would miss out on its busiest week of trading.

“It’s not really the road map that we saw coming out of the borders opening and the rebirth of the Queensland economy,” he said.

“Losing staff because we had to enforce the mandate of them being double vaccinated, then turning people away because they weren’t vaccinated, for what?

“I don’t know right now because we’ve kind of ended up in the same place.”

Under the current rules those tested have to isolate for seven days regardless of if they return a positive or negative result.

Mr Sinclair said given staff shortages this left them unable to open the restaurant.

Interior at the new Sum Yung Guys restaurant at Noosaville. Picture: Lachie Millard

“All those staff now can’t have Christmas with their families,” he said.

“I went and got tested this morning and there are hundreds of people in town trying to get tested.

“We just really don’t understand how this is moving forward and a step in the right direction.

“If we’re one week into borders being open and we have to close our business for a week, in the biggest week for hospitality in the year, the knock-on effects that has for our staff is enormous.

“I don’t know what this holds for the future … hopefully something has to change.”

Mr Rickard said the staff member who tested positive did not suffer any symptoms and was feeling well.

“She’s fine but she’s devastated by the effect it’s having,” Mr Rickard said.

“Obviously we don’t have any animosity towards her, because it could’ve been any one of us.

“Our staff have followed the rules and now they’re in isolation for Christmas.”

He said she was informed on Monday that she was a close contact with a person with Covid-19 and she then returned a positive result early Tuesday evening.

Mr Sinclair said he also felt for the people who booked months ago to dine in at the restaurant this week.

They thanked customers and residents for their support.

Sum Yung Guys has not been officially listed on Queensland Health’s exposure sites list.

The restaurant was understood to have been fully booked from December 22 through to mid-January.

As of Wednesday morning there were 186 cases across Queensland and 22 active cases on the Sunshine Coast as of Tuesday afternoon.