With the COVID-19 virus making restaurant cleaning and disinfecting a top priority, managers must ensure that employees are consistently keeping the workplace clean and safe for everyone. Opening and closing checklists are helpful tools to encourage staff accountability and keep the day-to-day running of the restaurant running smoothly.
The positions responsible for opening and closing the restaurant are arguably the most important of the day. There are a thousand things to do and it is useful to draw up a clear checklist of the operations to be carried out by the staff. The opening and closing checklists help to ensure that the essential operations for maintaining cleanliness, order and safety in the establishment, for employees and customers alike, are carried out correctly.
Better yet, checklists are inexpensive to create and easy to use. Most telegram free number philippines restaurants divide the operations to be performed during opening and closing into three categories:
Restaurant Opening Checklists:
Indoor team
Kitchen and preparation team
Managers
Restaurant Closing Checklists:
Indoor team
Kitchen and preparation team
Managers
If designated employees are not responsible for performing each operation, they must ensure that someone has done so.
This article will walk you through the tasks to include in each of the three checklists. These checklists reflect guidelines provided by health organizations, but we recommend checking with your local authorities to ensure that the operations you include are in compliance with applicable local and national laws and regulations regarding COVID-19 prevention. You can also modify your checklists to better fit your specific needs.
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What is an opening and closing checklist?
A restaurant opening or closing checklist is a list of tasks that restaurant employees must complete at the beginning or end of the workday. These checklists are typically printed on paper or provided digitally for smartphones, tablets, or computers. Team members responsible for opening or closing check off tasks on the checklists as they are completed.
Typically, restaurants create specific opening and closing checklists for each team and the operations they are responsible for: the front-of-house team, the kitchen and prep team, and the management team.
What are the benefits of opening and closing checklists?
Having a system in place to ensure cleanliness before and after the service day, especially since the outbreak of COVID-19, is in everyone's best interest: customers, employees, and owners.
Here are some of the main benefits of using checklists for opening and closing a restaurant:
Useful reminder
Running a restaurant efficiently requires that everyone on the team work together to achieve a common goal. However, when there are many staff and a lot to do, some tasks can get overlooked, even the most obvious ones, like cleaning door handles. Checklists help ensure that no task, big or small, is overlooked.