After facing a 90 percent drop in sales during critical pandemic phases by coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in Mexico, various organizations have made known the new measures for restaurants to be adopted to protect the health of diners and workers and to reactivate the restaurant industry.
Find out here the most important recommendations and the technology needed in a restaurant to reactivate your business properly!
1. Hygiene measures for pre-opening
Before opening your restaurant, you should make a thorough cleaning of the entire establishment, guaranteeing the supply of supplies for washing and disinfection. Don't forget to include vents and kitchen hoods (which you will also need to periodically sanitize later).
Establish a cleaning protocol
Carry out a daily cleaning and disinfection protocol for areas, surfaces and objects of contact and common use. These should include washing with soap and water, as well as disinfecting with a solution certified to remove SARS CoV-2, such as 0.5 percent sodium hypochlorite.
This protocol includes a continuous cleaning of elements easily accessible to customers, employees and suppliers, such as lamps, tables, chairs, railings, handles, doors, lower part of the walls, horizontal surfaces and edges.
2. Safety and hygiene measures for personnel
The first thing you should do is evaluate the people who are part of a risk group in your work team, such as the elderly, pregnant women, people with a history of diabetes, hypertension, respiratory or immune diseases. You can consult more information in the IMSS risk calculator.
Frequent hand washing during the day
Train all your staff on the importance of washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds at each change of activity, emphasizing that this is the simplest and most effective measure to prevent the spread of viruses.
It is important that collaborators avoid exchanging handshakes, kisses or hugs with each other or with outsiders, in order to avoid the possibility of contagion.
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Daily temperature check
Recommended record staff body temperature at the time of entering the establishment and before the end of the shift. For this, non-contact thermometers or sensors are recommended. In the event that a collaborator has a temperature of 38 degrees or more, you must tell them to stay at home.
Provide protective equipment
From now on it will be necessary for restaurants to provide all staff, both kitchen and floor, face masks and face shield, which must be used throughout the working day. In the case of using disposable face masks, it is recommended to change them every four hours.
3. Measures for food preparation
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, there have been doubts about whether or not food can transmit the coronavirus. The truth is that, although it has been shown that there is no risk of transmission in food, they must take necessary measures to avoid the risk of manipulation.
Bookmark workflows
In a kitchen it can be difficult to maintain the recommended 1.5 meters for a healthy distance, so it is recommended that the distribution of work is as clear and organized as possible, relying on signs or marks on the floor to indicate the work sites of each collaborator.
Install gel dispensers
It is highly recommended that at each workstation, employees have 70 percent alcohol-based antibacterial gel dispensers. If this is not feasible, disinfection dispensers must be installed at the entrances to the production process.
It is also necessary to reinforce good hygiene practices stipulated in the Rule 251. Establishment of food or beverage service, Item 7, in order to avoid contamination in the process of food, beverages and their raw materials.
4. Measures for restaurants with dining room service
The dining room service was one of the most affected for restaurants since the declaration of the national emergency. Therefore, this is where the most important measures to consider for this reopening come in.
Keep an adequate distance between each table
2 to 3 arms of space (1.5 meters) between person and person is the measure of a healthy distance recommended by health authorities and it will be important that tables and chairs keep this separation distance in your restaurant.
Limit the number of people to a maximum of 10 per table. Cabinets or booths can be used, since they have natural physical barriers between diners at different tables.
Implement online reservation systems
Promoting online reservations among your customers will avoid waiting lines and will allow you to properly control the capacity. If you have a restaurant software With reservations function, controlling this activity will be even easier.
Implement a contact-free menu at each table
Now more than ever, restaurant technology may be the most important defense mechanism against the pandemic. To do this, you can implement various options that help you avoid contact with a letter of common use, for example:
Menu accessible via QR code
This technology is responsible for storing the file of your menu in an internet link and generating a QR code so that the diner can access from their cell phone.
You can currently find free QR menu generators or interactive tools such as e-menu QR that not only allow your guests to consult your digitized menu, but also order directly from their own cell phones.
Digital menu
Although it was already used in many restaurants to offer a better customer experience, in the new normal the digital menu It will help you reduce interaction and physical contact between waiters and diners, allowing the latter to order directly from their tables.
To avoid any risk, it will be necessary to disinfect the surface of the menu before and after each service, and preferably keep one per table.
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Manipulation of the elements of each table
Set up the table in front of the client, in order to minimize the time of exposure of the kitchenware to the maximum. You should eliminate unnecessary items such as napkin rings, acrylics, and decorations.
In the case of dressings, sauces and condiments, it is recommended that they only be delivered in individual servings when requested by the diner.
5. Measures for the general operation of the restaurant
One of the most important measures within the establishment is have antibacterial gel dispensers (based on 70 percent alcohol) at reception and at strategic points to offer to employees, customers and suppliers before entering and leaving the establishment.
Implement an online payment system
To limit contact between employees and customers, it will be advisable to implement electronic payment methods, either through a own online ordering platform, or, through a home delivery app.
Frequent cleaning of the establishment
Remember to frequently disinfect all digital devices, pens, bill holders, and Point of Sale after each use, as well as clean checkout area frequently.
Frequent cleaning of floors and bathrooms
Perform a routine cleaning of walls, walls and windows, as well as a thorough and general cleaning of the floor on a frequent basis.
Pay special attention to bathrooms, increase the frequency of cleaning in general and in more susceptible objects, such as handles, faucets and dispensers. Make sure you have disposable paper towel dispensers.
Safe home food delivery service
If you offer home delivery options, make sure the shipping containers are clean and sanitized. Establish designated pickup areas and invite your customers to use delivery without contact with the delivery person.
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A change for everyone
The return to the new normal It implies an investment of resources, time and efforts so that owners, work teams, clients and suppliers can adapt their operation and business models to the current situation.
For this reason, we have prepared the Guide for a safe home delivery for your restaurant, download it for free by clicking the following button and successfully operate your business in the post Covid-19 era.
