As we start to take small steps back to normal life, we’ll see our favorite restaurants opening their doors, and thank goodness for that! But, will we all be ready to return to these eateries? And, what lengths will restaurateurs have to go to, to ensure their customers can feel safe to return?
Restaurants will need to promise customers more than just regular deep cleans. They will need to put routine, visible cleaning and safety practices in place, to ensure even their regulars feel safe returning to their tables. It’s important to remember that the virus has not been eradicated, so best practices need to be followed to keep the spread of Coronavirus low.
How To Get Your Restaurant Ready
If you are a restaurant, deli, or bar owner, there are various steps that need to be taken in order to provide the most hygienic setting to make food or drink for your neighborhood community:
1. The Deep Clean
This should definitely be the first port of call. This involves a thorough clean, sanitization, and disinfection of every part of the restaurant. We’re not talking about a soap and water clean, no, rather a cleaning with professional cleaning products, from top to bottom.
2. Front and Back
Back-of-house is where viruses can spread, so clean this area very very well. Now (when your restaurant is not so busy) is the best time to implement good routines with your staff. The heat from dishwashing will take care of viruses and bacteria on cutlery, crockery, and cookware, but put processes in place for disinfecting high touch point surfaces, insist on regular hand washing and gloves where necessary, and plenty of hand sanitizing points for your staff.
Since the front-of-house is the part of the restaurant your customers see, make sure it’s clean and your customers can see you are keeping it clean. Staff must regularly be disinfecting the areas that employees and guests touch frequently – such as door handles, rails, and countertops. Use food-safe sanitizers on tables in between guests, and a daily clean of all tables must be done.
3. A Simple Rejig
Rearrange your dining and welcome area to create more distance between customers. This is one way to limit the number of people in your restaurant at once. Perhaps even put markers or rope between tables, to keep a good distance from each table. Encourage contactless or cashless payment options too. Do away with self-service options, such as condiments or drinks stations, this will avoid cross-contamination between customers. Change your menus too, so that they can be disinfected or disposed of after each use.
4. Encourage Distance
If possible, install physical barriers where necessary – such as at the cashier station. Perhaps change to a reservation only model at first, this will help with overcrowding and give your staff time to completely sanitize tables and menus before new customers come in. You can also limit parties to 6 people or less.
5. Restrooms
Again, disinfecting touch points several times a day is best practice. A thorough clean and disinfection of the entire restroom need to happen daily. Don’t use air hand dryers in restrooms anymore, rather give your customers touchless paper towel dispensers, faucets, toilets, and soap dispensers, where possible.
6. Routine Cleans
Make a thorough list of what needs to be cleaned daily and weekly, and ensure it’s being done. Daily, you will need to clean and disinfect everything that comes in direct contact with people. Things such as walls, cooking appliances, handles, utensils, sinks, trash cans, bar, tables, seats, menus, counters, the restroom, and vacuum all areas.
While we are transitioning back to ‘normal’, there are bound to be many customers that are just too nervous to return to restaurants, so make sure you can offer curbside pickup, drive-through, or food delivery services. It’s important to understand that some of your customers may be cautious for months still. These services will also limit the number of customers in your restaurant, while still bringing in business. That’s a win-win.
Even when things are back to normal, we guarantee you that customers will be paying attention to how clean your restaurant is, and what best practices are in place. So, do your research and make sure you are using professional cleaning products and practices throughout your restaurant. This is one way to put the health and safety of your customer first. And believe us, they will notice.
A good first step is to call in the professionals. Why not use Restoration 1’s professional cleaning services before reopening your restaurant and ensure your workplace is hygienic and safe for all employees. Restoration 1 offers virus and disease clean-up services and will get you started on the road to a healthy workplace. You focus on work, we’ll focus on the cleaning.
When it comes to virus disinfection, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Contact your nearest location today, or learn more about our professional services here.
*Cleaning and decontamination services effectively address immediate conditions, but no chemical or process eliminates 100% of all organisms.
