Decontamination and Cleaning Guidelines for Reopening Restaurants After Lockdown

4/29/2020 (Permalink)

Restaurant COVID-19 Decontamination and Cleaning Services

Americans sorely miss eating at their favorite local restaurants, and the Dallas area is no exception. Restaurant workers are likely looking forward to going back to what they do best - serving delicious meals in the comfort of a welcoming dining area.

As of now, Governor Abbott has declared that many businesses (restaurants included) are allowed to reopen May 1st at 25% of its established capacity. Texas counties with five or fewer COVID cases can fill up to 50% of their capacity.

Abbott said that businesses are to open at their own discretion. Those restaurants that are ready to open must do so with care and caution to ensure the health and safety of both guests and staff. 

Restaurant runners are already bacteria mitigation experts, but it’s wise to put together a best practices strategy including updated cleaning guidelines for virus spread prevention efforts.

Priority #1: What Every Owner and Employer Needs to Know

Right on time the National Restaurant Association recently released a publication on COVID-19 reopening guidance.

Restaurants need not navigate this process on their own. Comparing notes with others in the industry helps ensure that all your bases are covered. 

Below are some tips for cleaning and sanitizing as restaurants reopen from the National Restaurant Association:

• The entire restaurant facility should be thoroughly cleaned and sanitized (especially if it has been shut down for a while). Special attention should be given to decontamination of “high touch” areas. However, complete cleaning guidelines should also include sanitizing areas that are rarely touched. Ensure that disinfectant products are the appropriate strength and that they are used properly for best effectiveness.
• Ensure that disinfectants are not coming into contact with food.
• Disinfect everything at dining tables between patron uses, especially high touch areas. Discard any single-use items. Consider wrapping utensils and doing away with presets at tables.
• Remove citrus wedge bins and unwrapped straws from self-serve drink stations. Give lemons and limes to customers upon request in containers with lids. Provide wrapped straws only. Think of other germ-catching items around self-serve stations and make the necessary modifications.
• Sanitize reusable menus before each use and dispose of used paper menus.
• Establish a schedule that includes more frequent cleanings on the back end as well as the front end. 
• Check restrooms regularly. Clean and sanitize more often in relation to how frequently each is used.
• Make hand sanitizer readily available to guests. Consider installing touchless hand sanitizing dispensers.

This is only a preliminary list. Communicate with your staff to explore anything relevant that addresses the special hygiene needs of your restaurant.

Priority #2: Update Existing Policies and Procedures

Our way of life has completely changed this year and so must our practices. It’s more important than ever for management to do their part to prevent virus spread in public use areas.

To properly adjust to a new normal, make sure your updated protocol includes the following:

• Social distancing promotion with posted reminders and floor markers. Reduce the number of people standing around in waiting areas by offering wait alternatives (like texting them when it’s their turn).
• Clearly outline expectations for use of staff PPE (personal protective equipment like masks and gloves).
• Set clear guidelines regarding employee health practices including comprehensive sanitizing and disinfecting schedule/instructions.
• Promptly discard all expired food items.
• See to it that there are a sufficient number of sneeze guards at self-serve stations such as salad bars & buffets.
• Frequently change, wash, and sanitize eating utensils. Consider eliminating self-service silverware.
• Minimize the inventory “grab and go” food coolers.
• Make sure food handling certifications (including ServSafe) are current. Offer food handler refresher training.

Come together as a team to put together a comprehensive and updated safety protocol. Listen to feedback and concerns from your staff to account for the needs of your particular operations. Use clear and consistent communication to ensure everyone is on board with the updated practices.

Priority #3: Monitor Employee Health and Provide Proper Safety Equipment

Restaurants aren’t always able to control what customers do, but they do have a say in how their staff functions during shifts. 

Below are some recommendations on how to direct your staff to ensure they are in the best condition to serve customers.

• Make it clear that sick employees should not come to work. This is an FDA Food Code guideline.
• Monitor staff for signs and symptoms of illness. Pre-work screenings may be necessary such as taking temperature to make sure the employee doesn’t have a fever.
• Establish rules for staff who become ill. Per CDC guidelines, a worker with symptoms of COVID should self-isolate for 7 days, and is not ready to return to work unless symptom-free for at least 3 days (without the use of medications like fever reducers).
• Establish hand hygiene protocol including:
• How often they are expected to wash their hands, 
• Appropriate use of hand sanitizer. 
• Don’t touch the face with your hands.
• Update glove usage procedures:
• Refresh employees on the already established glove usage rules.
• Increase glove usage for food and money handling wherever appropriate.
• Place glove dispensers near sinks to remind employees to wash their hands before and after donning gloves.
• Use color-coded gloves to avoid cross-contamination - one color for food handling and one color for other purposes (such as cashiers who handle money).

Employees play the most important role in the hygienic maintenance of your restaurant. Take special care of them so that they can take care of your facility and your customers.

Priority #4: Implement Social Distancing

While government officials like Governor Abbott are starting to roll back some of the lockdown rules to allow restaurants to gradually open, they continue to be adamant about social distancing and protecting senior citizens. 

Phase 1 of reopening in Texas outlines that restaurants are to reopen with only 25%-50% capacity (depending on the number of COVID-19 cases in the county). This guideline supports our community efforts for social distancing.

Below are some suggestions for social distancing success!

• Post friendly reminders about social distancing best practices.
• Adjust your floorplan to reinforce the current state rules for restaurant capacity (such as a temporary removal of some tables and seating).
• Limit party size.
• Make sure tables are at least six feet apart.
• Rope off or install barriers between tables that can’t be moved (like booths).
• Encourage cooperation from your guests and have a trained employee monitor the capacity in the reception and dining areas. It helps to have a monitor who has excellent customer service and communication skills. Some customers may not respond well to restrictions.
• Reserve space for delivery personnel so that they can maintain space and expediently serve those who need to stay home (like our senior citizens).
• Post advisories that people who are sick or symptomatic are not allowed to enter your restaurant. Encourage those who are sick to order take out instead.
• Provide and instruct public-facing staff to wear face protection.
• If possible, install transparent barriers at counters for public-facing staff.
• Reduce physical contact by encouraging/incentivizing mobile ordering, use of POS tablets, and contactless payment. Ideally, the cashier should be minimally handling credit cards, currency, and machines.
• Furnish hand sanitizer dispensers for guests (contactless if possible).
• Design a strategy that prevents guests from congregating. This includes floor markings, encouraging people to wait elsewhere (in cars), opening additional entrances/exits, adjusting traffic flow from bathrooms. The goal is to keep people apart as much as possible.
• See to it that the staff aren’t working too closely together. Space them six feet apart whenever possible. This means staggered registers and making space between workstations.
• Limit how many employees occupy the break room at a time.
• See to it that the staff is aware of important social distancing policies with training and prominent notices.

Preventing the spread now means preventing future lockdowns. When everyone does their part, we can avoid more closures.

How Restaurant Operators Can Instill Customer Confidence

Stepping into a restaurant for the first time in months may feel a bit surreal. The first step of helping the public ease back into a favorite American pastime is to reassure patrons that the establishment is safe. 

Here’s how to do that.

• Conduct a complete and thorough cleaning (such as SERVPRO of North Irving commercial cleaning services). The confidence a sparkling clean restaurant brings will shine through from the management to the staff and finally to the customers.
• Be transparent about your cleaning practices. When customers see staff diligently following conscientious cleaning guidelines, they will see first-hand evidence of your attention to cleanliness.
• Communicate your updated health, safety, and cleaning policies around your establishment and on social media. This lets people know exactly what measures are being taken to prevent the spread of illness.

Easing into this new normal is an adjustment for all involved. With a little empathy and thoughtful communication, you put your customers at ease through the reopening process.

Follow Your State or City’s Guidelines on How to Reopen

Governor Abbott announced that restaurants will be allowed to open at limited capacity starting May 1st. While this is expected to override any local government orders, it may be wise to adhere to what local officials advise. 

Each state (and cities within each state) has a different timeline for when they plan to reopen businesses (such as restaurants). 

Local advisories may not be enforceable per state override, but it still serves as cautionary guidance based on the data specific to your city. Check in regularly with updates from the City of Irving and Dallas County. 

The National Restaurant Association is also keeping the industry updated with reopening information.

SERVPRO of North Irving Coronavirus Cleaning and Decontamination Services for Restaurants

We have no doubt that you put full trust in your staff to do quality cleaning. However, your staff may not have the use of the best disinfectants in the industry (like our SERVPROXIDE) or have enough PPE to go around.

SERVPRO of North Irving has the professional deep cleaning experience and all the equipment needed (PPE included) for our IICRC trained technicians to comprehensively sanitize your restaurant for reopening.

What we have to offer:

• 24/7 service for biohazard cleanup emergencies or overnight scheduling that works around your operating hours.
• SERVPRO is the most recognized cleaning, decontamination, and restoration company in the country. Our disinfectants are trusted by international airports and federal agencies to clean their properties. We have effective disinfecting services for any sized facility and for any kind of situation (such as grocery store cleaning).
• Professional bioremediation services to clean, disinfect, and sanitize the property while also protecting our MVPs - our technicians. Other cleaning companies may offer lower prices, but they may do this by reducing PPE supplies to their staff.  We practice uncompromising safety and hygiene standards.
• We apply CDC-recommended & EPA-registered disinfectants on all porous and non-porous surfaces, including walls up to 8 feet. 
• We hand-wipe all moisture-sensitive surfaces with a disinfectant-wet towelette. 
• We hand-wipe all high-touch surfaces. 
• Receive a certification of your property’s cleanup as completed by SERVPRO. 
• Social media announcement from us announcing your restaurant has been cleaned and is ready to re-open.
• Refresh services include:
• Carpet cleaning
• Upholstery cleaning
• Air duct cleaning with new a/c filters
• HEPA air scrubbing

SERVPRO of North Irving is honored to serve the community alongside our revered restaurateurs. We’re here to support the safe and efficient reopen of our cherished eateries. (Learn more about our biohazard cleaning prices!)

Call us today at (972) 986-7677 or complete our super easy contact form anytime!