NCR CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE RESOURCES
Restaurant deep clean checklist to cover all you need for front of house and back of house
This article is part of our blog series, “Reopening your restaurant: What you need to know,” and gives you some ideas for managing and potentially reducing your expenses as you fully reopen your restaurant after the crisis.
Published May 13, 2020
Cleanliness and sanitation have always been essential to running a successful restaurant. But due to the current pandemic, it’s critical. One very important element in the reopening strategy for your business is a complete restaurant deep clean. Done properly, it will help keep your staff and customers safer.
Make sure to include not just the normal areas that need to be cleaned often, but also areas that might have remained untouched for months – which now need to be cleaned every day. For the restaurant deep clean, leave no stone unturned and no nook and cranny untouched. Once everything is cleaned and sanitized, consider implementing a daily checklist to keep it that way. Below is an example of such a checklist.
Front of house checklist items could include:
Daily cleaning checklist:
All entry door handles, inside and outside
All monitors and iPads, POS screens and printers
All table condiments
All check presenters
Coffee, tea and espresso machines
All water pitcher handles
All trays
All table tops between guest
Bar top area between guests
All ice scoop handles
All restroom surfaces—door handles in and out, sink fixtures, toilet fixtures, etc.
All tongs for bread/muffins and bread knives
All chair backs before and between guest seatings
For your front of house operations:
Enforce use of gloves by your bartenders for any bar prep
Use only tongs or skewers for cocktail garnishes
Make sure soap and paper towels are available at all restroom and service area hand sinks
Place hand sanitizer at your greeter stand
Back of house checklist items could include
Daily cleaning checklist:
All kitchen door handles inside and out
All walk in/freezer door handles
Sending all knives, tongs, spatulas, etc. through the dishwasher immediately after use
Sanitizing cutting boards before and after use
Sanitizing prep tables before and after using
All mixer, slicer, robo coupe, stick blender, etc. handles before and after using
All dish machine handles and buttons before, during and after service
Making sure soap and paper towels are available at all hand sinks
All ticket rails and expo counter before, during and after shift
All printers before, during, and after shift
All oven and stove knobs before, during, and after shift
All reach-in and drawer handles before, during and after shift
Ensuring that there is ABSOLUTELY NO BARE HAND CONTACT WITH READY-TO-EAT FOOD.
Daily cleaning checklist for managers:
All computer keyboards and monitors, copier buttons, etc.
All thermostats
All phones
All office door handles
All office counter tops
Frequently asking employees to stop what they are doing, and go wash their hands.
Monitoring all employee activity—any time you see an employee touch their face, hair, cough, sneeze, etc., you ask them to immediately go wash their hands.
