The sanitation of every restaurant matters as much as the quality of the food. Owners should always look for ways to improve and strive for excellence.
Your restaurant might have a five-star rating, and you can’t seem to keep the line from reaching the door. All that is great, but it should never stop you from looking for areas of improvement.
The key to keeping business booming is always looking for new ways to enhance the current space and the customer experience. Start with a sparkling clean dining experience. Here’s how to improve sanitation in your restaurant.
Focus on the Kitchen
Diners may not enter your kitchen, but they know that is where their food comes from. Therefore, this area needs to be pristine and downright spotless. A clean kitchen equals a successful restaurant.
Naturally, this area can get messy, especially on busy nights. Try and keep the staff organized. When they see a mess, they must clean it up as soon as possible. Sanitize the refrigerator and freezer often. Unfortunately, a lot of restaurants neglect this task, but you don’t need to be like them. A clean kitchen will keep the food fresh and germ-free.
Wash the Linens
You should constantly wash the tablecloths, napkins, and any other items that are privy to the eyes of customers. Washing the linens daily will cause the materials to wear down. Instead of washing them every day, keep a large supply to swap out and save your wash day for the middle of the week.
Encourage your staff members to wear a clean uniform to every shift. Showing up with stains from the night before is not attractive. Apply this rule to the wait and kitchen staff. Even if some staff are not in the public eye, they should adhere to the restaurant’s standards.
Cater to the Diners
Diners want to know how important hygiene and sanitation are to your establishment before they eat. They don’t necessarily need you to throw a list of sanitation facts in their face, but they do appreciate subtle hints that cleanliness is a priority.
Think about how you can prevent the spread of illness and consider installing portable hand sanitizer stations. They will keep the restaurant clean and stop the spread of germs. Plus, sanitizing stations allow patrons to clean their hands at any moment, not just when they go to the bathroom.
Keep a Schedule
It’s vital that you keep a cleaning schedule. The restaurant business is not the same as your house. In a home, you might only need to do a deep clean once or twice a month and do small cleanings every other week or so.
In a restaurant, you need to do a deep clean every day after clearing out the food, workers, and diners from the day. Don’t get lazy! No matter how tired you or your staff may be, clean before closing so there is not too much to do in the morning.
Sanitizing your restaurant requires all hands on deck. If you really want to see improvements, make it a group effort.
