Right now, many of our dining rooms are closed due to safety concerns and regulations put in place to protect us all from coronavirus exposure. With many businesses looking to utilize the PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) funding to bring their valuable teams back on staff, and with the reality that many will be unable to have their patrons in their operations, staff everywhere have a unique opportunity to do some work on their restaurant dining spaces.
We teamed up with the foodservice experts on our Contract and Design team, many of whom we straight up stole from the front lines of restaurant operations – our numbers include a former Chef de Cuisine and a regional restaurant manager – to compile projects you can start on RIGHT NOW.
Consider putting your front-of-the-house staff to work on the projects below.
Front-of-the-House Dining Room Deep Cleaning Projects
Shampoo Carpets & Rugs
During normal operations, there is rarely a good time to get this done. Mainly because dry time for a deep shampooing can quickly overlap your next service time. Perhaps you can plan this around a holiday, but in reality, how many holidays are we really closed for? And if we are, the days surrounding that holiday can be some of the busiest of the year. That being said, carpet cleaning always gets put off until we can find the down time. Likely, you have two years of traffic debris and spills embedded in your carpets and rugs right now. Go take a look.
Well, now you have the time, don’t you?
You can hire out this service if it’s still available in your area OR you can check for rental equipment if you don’t own it yourself. Most home repair stores like Menards, Home Depot, Lowe’s, etc. are considered “Essential Services” during the COVID-19 outbreak – call ahead to see if they have rental equipment like Rug Doctors or similar carpet cleaners. You can also check their websites for moderately priced units that may suffice. Pull all your tables and seating to the side and give your carpets and rugs a much-needed deep cleaning.
If your front-of-the-house entryway rugs are tattered, you might consider replacing them.
Furniture Tightening and Touch-Up
While you have all the furniture pulled to the side as the carpet dries, take this opportunity to inspect the chairs, stools, and tables for quick fixes and make sure your front-of-the-house looks its best.
- Tighten the bolts, nuts, and screws on seating, on table bases, and where the tops attach to secure anything that has become a little wobbly
- Touch up scuffs on chairs and tables – make sure you are using appropriate materials on areas where food is served
- Markers and shoe polish can help cover up gashes and scuffs on wood legs
- Nail polish has been used in some cases to match the color on some pieces, get creative but make sure whatever you use won’t transfer to clothing
- Rubber cement or some quick tailoring can repair seat cushions
- Replacement button tops and barstool covers can be a minimal-effort fix
Front-of-the-House Wall Cleaning & Painting
For similar reasons to those mentioned under carpet cleaning, painting can be put off, um, indefinitely, am I right? Rarely do we have the time to let the fresh paint odor dissipate before the next dinner rush comes along. Again, now you have that time.
Pull your booths and tables away from the walls and clean thoroughly around them – especially the walls. It’s incredible how stained the walls next to seating areas get. Not to mention all the nicks and scratches from patrons shuffling around and bored children unleashing their pent-up creativity with flatware while their parents aren’t looking.
Address all the front-of-the-house public areas including entryways, hallways, restrooms, as well as the dining room. Paint is relatively cheap and a very quick way to improve the appearance and cleanliness of your restaurant. When you think about it, as our customers return, all of us will be thinking about cleanliness in a way we never have before. Any place that looks unsanitary will be considered questionable. After a quick coat of new paint, take pictures of the work you’ve done for use on your social media. Let your patrons know now that you are actively working to create a safe and sanitary place for them to come back to. Nothing says spiffy clean like a fresh new coat of paint.
Clean and Sanitize Beverage Service Stations and Wait-Staff Stations
These front-of-the-house areas are often within view of our patrons but taken for granted by our employees. Since we look at these areas everyday, we’re blind to the gradual degradation of their cleanliness over time. It only takes a customer one time to walk by your waitress station on the way to the restroom to spot something and say “ewww”.
- Clean the drains at your beverage station. Clean the drip trays and the actual drains and slop lines (this will help with any “funk” you may be smelling).
- Clean around the sides and BEHIND the soda machine
- Deep clean your coffee makers and all the airpots and decanters
- Clean the menu boxes, there is crud in the bottom
- Clean the ice bins and water dispensers
- Clean and reorganize the host/hostess stand
- Clean underneath marine edges
- Basically, clean anything you do not have a recent memory of cleaning
For almost all of your non-porous surfaces, QA Sanitizer is an effective cleaning solution that’s CDC-approved.
You see, there is plenty to do to keep your front-of-the-house staff occupied. A super-clean restaurant will leave a lasting impression when our customers are able to come back to us. And remember, if you applied for the PPP through the CARES Act, all the labor costs for these improvements may be forgiven! All this on Uncle Sam’s dime!
It’s an opportunity if you really think about it! Seize the day, clean your darn dining room!