Big Ed’s Pizza temporarily closing to evaluate curbside, carryout orders

Big Ed’s Pizza, Oak Ridge’s most well-known restaurant, announced Tuesday that it is temporarily closing.

The temporary closure will allow managers to time they need to evaluate how to safely and effectively fulfill curbside/to-go/carryout orders, said the restaurant, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.

“Once we feel we have the best protocols in place and feel that we can safely operate, we will do so,” Big Ed’s said in a social media post.

“Tennessee is the Volunteer State, and we do not need a mandate to take action,” the restaurant said. “Our hearts go out to all of our fellow restaurant and retail workers who do not have work-from-home options and are facing extremely hard decisions on what their businesses should do.”

The change comes as restaurants, bars, and other businesses across the country—as well as local, state, and federal governments—determine how to respond to COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus.