The hospitality industry has always had strict cleaning standards when it comes to health and safety in restaurants and bars. Clean hands and surfaces have been the norm, especially when dealing with food and beverages.
However, since the pandemic, these health and safety standards have been increased substantially in order to prevent the spread of illness and ensure increased safety of all staff and customers in an operational bar or restaurant.
According to an article by Brad Pierce in Bar Business Magazine, cleaning basic surfaces will no longer pass health and safety protocols. It is imperative that bars and restaurants implement higher standards of cleanliness of their establishments, including surfaces that aren’t typically cleaned on a regular basis - this includes door handles/knobs, dispensers, lighting, art and fixtures, bar stools and chairs, the list can go on
Not only do these surfaces need to now be cleaned more frequently, but they need to be cleaned with an industrial-grade disinfectant that will kill any virus that could be living on any surface. According to the FDA, food facilities are required to use EPA-registered “sanitizer” and “disinfectant” products in their cleaning and sanitizing practices.
It is important to not overlook any area of your bar or restaurant when it comes to cleaning. To ensure that your staff know where and what to clean, we would recommend putting together a checklist of all surfaces and areas that need to be cleaned. To assist you in creating your cleaning checklist, we would recommend that you download and review the Reopening Guide produced by the National Restaurant Association. This guide includes resources and guidelines for cleaning and sanitizing, monitoring employee health, food safety and more!
Monitoring the health and hygiene of staff has also become an increased requirement of bar and restaurant managers. Not only do they need to keep an eye on staff performing cleaning duties constantly throughout the day, but they also need to take an active interest in the overall well-being of their employees. If an employee shows up to work under the weather or with a fever, a manager should be notified immediately and the employee should be sent home. For those who are healthy and working, constant hand sanitization and wearing a mask must be mandatory while they are in your establishment. For additional tips to consider when planning out your restaurants cleaning checklist check out the guidelines that the Ontario Government has outlined specifically for restaurants and bars.
The requirement to increase your establishment’s cleaning and sanitization regime will most likely also include some changes to customer experiences. Condiments that are used by customers are normally wiped down either after each use or at the end of the day, but now that there is a pandemic, restaurants are starting to provide customers with pre-poured condiments when requested. This allows restaurants and bars to restrict additional contact points that could be contaminated.
Keeping your restaurant's sanitization under control is no easy feat. In order to keep customers and staff safe and healthy, be sure to assign staff with cleaning tasks to help the process run from open to close.
If you have any questions about creating operational processes for your restaurant during this time, please do not hesitate to reach out to one of your regional Sculpture Hospitality Consultants.