7 Tips for Reopening Your Restaurant During COVID-19

At Prudential Overall Supply, we’re known for providing clean restaurant uniforms, but this is only one step in ensuring your facility is sanitary during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many restaurants are facing challenges as they’re allowed to reopen. These tips are intended to help adapt to the new norm, so your restaurant reopening goes more smoothly.

1. Perfect Your Takeout and Delivery Services

No-contact takeout and delivery yield the lowest risk of spreading the virus. A great takeout/delivery service reduces the demand for on-site dining, making social distancing easier. Also, providing multi-portion meals can generate revenue, save on packaging, and provide families with enough food for a few days.

2. Review Your Profit and Loss Statement

Looking closely at your Profit and Loss statement, or P&L, allows you to assess operating and labor costs. It also allows you to review menu items that are costing your restaurant. You can then focus on individual items that are selling and remove those that are not.

3. Practice Social Distancing

By reducing seating capacity, you can ensure social distancing of at least six feet between people. You can also stagger or rotate employee shifts and customer sittings. Install signs and tape or stick-and-stand mats to remind people to stay physically apart. If maintaining a six-foot distance is difficult, install partitions, sneeze, guards, and other physical barriers to improve safety.

4. Retrain Staff on Food Safety

All existing food safety laws, regulations, and rules still apply. In addition to reviewing these, instruct your staff on cleaning and disinfecting practices and the use of EPA-approved sanitizing products. Review the procedures for washing, rinsing, and sanitizing all surfaces. Also, create and promote a routine for your staff to follow and remind them of handwashing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

5. Create a More Thorough Cleaning Checklist

Revise your checklist to prioritize the most frequently touched surfaces. These include door and sink handles, kiosks, cash registers, bathroom stalls, condiment bottles and holders, receipt trays, countertops, and tables. Identify any other surfaces that require special attention to reduce the risk of virus transmission.

6. Require Employees to Stay Home if Sick

A more flexible sick leave policy should account for workers who become sick, have been exposed to coronavirus, or need to care for someone who is infected. Cross-training your staff can provide a back-up plan to deal with absenteeism. As a precaution, temperature screenings and symptom checks should be implemented before work or when someone doesn’t appear to feel well.

7. Provide Each Worker with a Clean Work Uniform Every Day

Coronavirus can survive on various surfaces, so having a clean uniform is essential. To ensure your uniforms are clean and that enough are available, it helps to rely on a uniform laundry company like Prudential Overall Supply. Prudential Overall Supply provides a cleaning service with a commitment to quality, safety, and customer satisfaction.

For more information on how to order restaurant uniforms, bistro napkins or kitchen towels contact us today at 800-767-5536.