6 Restaurant Sanitation Best Practices to Keep Visitors Safe

As restaurants reopen it’s important we keep staff and visitors safe, follow these 6 sanitation best practices to make this a reality:

1. Make Handwashing Mandatory

Simply suggesting the importance of handwashing isn’t enough. Ensure every employee washes their hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds after any of these situations occur:

• Upon arrival at the restaurant
• After touching a shared surface
• Between each order
• After going to the washroom
• After eating a meal
• After clearing off a table
• After cleaning the restaurant
• Before leaving at the end of the day

Stock up on soap, hand sanitizer and clean towels for each handwashing station around the restaurant. It is important to refill the stations throughout the day to ensure there are supplies available. Ensure that there are multiple stations easily accessible and fully stocked. Adding posters behind each station with statistics on the importance of washing hands to prevent the spread of COVID-19 will a good reminder to your staff.

2. Equip Employees with PPE

The purpose of a mask is to protect yourself and the people around you. In a restaurant setting, there is typically a high turnover rate so it’s important to keep every staff member and client protected. CleanRiver has PPE products, including; 3 ply masks and face shields available for purchase, contact sales@cleanriver.com for more information.

3. Send Home Staff with Symptoms

If any staff members aren’t feeling well or showing symptoms of COVID-19, send them home! Encourage staff to take sick days or get tested to ensure their well-being and to avoid the spread between other employees and diners. Here are symptoms to look out for:

• Fever
• Dry cough
• Tiredness
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Chest pain or pressure
• Loss of speech or movement

Take this self-assessment, if you’re still not sure.

4. Practice Physical Distancing

Ensure all staff members work at least 6 feet apart, if necessary, place tape X’s on the floor in the kitchen to show where employees should stand. Avoid direct contact by placing meals on a surface before the next individual picks it up.  In terms of the actual dining area, only have every other table open for service versus every table in the restaurant. This exposes the server to less people, and decreases the chance of spreading the virus. Also, be sure to place the plate on the table before the next person picks it up to avoid direct contact.

5. Sanitize, Sanitize, Sanitize

Researchers have yet to determine how long COVID-19 can survive on surfaces, but to be safe it’s important to clean the entirety of the restaurant as frequently as possible. Wipe down every surface, clean every dish and sanitize high-traffic areas. Ensure tables, chairs and toilets are wiped down after each use. Be sure to have hand sanitizer readily available to visitors, by setting up Sustainable Sanitation Stands throughout your restaurant. Our portable, no-touch hand sanitizer stand ensures your facility, employees, and visitors stay safe and protected from high traffic areas. It is 100% recyclable at end of life.

6. Introduce Recycling Bins with PPE Stream

If you have yet to initiate a recycling program to your restaurant, read CleanRiver’s 7 Step Recipe For A Successful Restaurant Recycling Program to find out how. In order to add PPE collection to your recycling program, you can either add a separate stream to your already existing CleanRiver bin or purchase a separate unit. We have launched a few new products, including the Excel Dome Top PPE Station and Excel Top Deposit, to help people dispose of their PPE effortlessly. Check out our line of Sanitation Solutions for more products and information. It's important we work together, look out for the well-being of one another, as well continuously adjust to specific needs your restaurant might have. Stay safe! __________________________________________________________________________________________

Looking for more environmental tips? Check out these other blogs: 

• How to Recycle Pizza Boxes & 6 Easy Steps to Set Up a Pizza Recycling Station
• 6 Foolproof Steps To Launch A Hotel Recycling Program
• The 6 Things Your Recycling Program Is Probably Missing

CleanRiver Recycling provides a variety of innovative, flexible and customizable recycling solutions. To determine the right solution to meet your needs, use the CleanRiver product selector. If you have additional questions that weren’t answered in this blog post please call us at 1-866-479-4038 or email solutions@cleanriver.com