7 Safety Precautions for Restaurants During the Pandemic

Restaurants are still hubs where COVID-19 is sure to spread. How do you get back to business during a pandemic?

The New York Times just reported the spread of COVID-19 is still rampant in restaurants. Recently released data shows an increase in outbreaks throughout the country, all centered around restaurants.

The three largest examples the Times suggests are in Louisiana, Maryland, and Colorado. Louisiana has seen nearly 25% of its close to 2,400 cases related to restaurants; contact tracers in Maryland found 12% of cases connected to eateries; almost 1 in 10 coronavirus cases in the Rocky Mountains can be traced back to residents dining out.

With nearly 16,000 restaurants in the country officially closed for good, restaurant owners can’t hesitate to open doors to customers. That’s why safety is of the utmost importance. Hospitality excellence dug through resources in the Center for Disease Control, and from sources who know foodservice best.

Find out our best safety precaution tips to operate a restaurant during the pandemic…

1. Tell employees to stay home if they don’t feel well

This starts with education. Go over the signs in a socially distant meeting. Let your workers know if anyone is feeling a cough, trouble breathing, feverish, or if they’ve recently been in contact with someone feeling ill to stay home. It’s not worth risking any other staff member or your customers’ health.

The CDC has previously reported most people can recover from COVID-19 without medical attention. It is recommended to avoid leaving the house for anything unless symptoms are bad enough to seek treatment in a hospital.

2. Mandatory times to wash hands

Anyone who comes in contact with garbage, before, during, or after preparing must wash their hands. Not only that. It’s important employees know to wash their hands with soap for at least 20 seconds. There should be a few mandatory times throughout a shit that employees must wash their hands.

It is also beneficial to install hand sanitizer stations with at least 60% of alcohol throughout the facility. If anyone coughs or sneezes, it should be done in tissue and disposed of right away. That’s a good opportunity to wash hands with soap and water again.

3. Make faces masks mandatory

There should be a “no mask, no entry” policy for all restaurant employees. Not all face coverings will work. Bandanas, gaiters, or single fabric face coverings aren’t enough. The CDC recommends surgical masks and two-layer cloth masks are most effective. Employees should also be educated that masks need to fit around ears and cover the nose to fit properly.

4. Cleaning needs to be habitual

As if cleaning should’ve been a regular chore on the job in a restaurant. Now it just needs to be second nature. Additional cleaning supplies should be available throughout the entire facility. There should be a constant inventory of paper towels, cleaning products, and disinfectant wipes should be at arm’s length everywhere.

There are even upgrades owners and managers can make to minimize spreading germs. Installing only foot pedal trashcans and door handles help employees avoid touching surfaces with their hands.

Keeping proper ventilation with outdoor air often helps. Some restaurants have gone as far as installing Ultraviolet lights and filters in the air conditioning.

5. Reduce or eliminate shared objects

Stock up on disposable utensils, plates, cups, and condiments. Any way to reduce customers and guests touching the same items is good practice. Any food preparation equipment used in the back of the house needs to be cleaned and disinfected regularly throughout shifts. A strange request may be to ask guests to supply their own pens to avoid using a server’s pen. Restaurants with the means can opt for remote Point of Sales technology to accept payment by Square readers on iPhones and iPads.

6. Create distance

Move the tables. Separate registers, food pickup, garbage cans, and any other items and places people can gather by. Some restaurants have gone a step further than just moving tables. Putting up plastic partitions and sneeze guards add barriers between guests and restaurant staff.

Add tape to guide everyone on where to stand, at certain touchpoints. If there is potential to have people build-up, this can help avoid the potential of a crowd.

7. Set timer rotations

Some restaurants have created timing systems to allow parties to sit for no more than an hour and a half. They’re operating at a fraction of capacity and can track how long a table can sit. This technique helps operate smarter to keep business coming in without risking going over state and country mandated laws. It’s also a good test of your back of house and front of house staff to get down flow to work as efficiently as possible.