How to Reopen a Restaurant After a Coronavirus Shutdown

As areas across America slowly establish a new normal, restaurant owners are working to figure out how they can protect the health and safety of their employees and customers.

Restaurants are, by design, communal spaces, which makes adhering to social distancing best practices a challenge. Still, there are recommended restaurant coronavirus safety precautions from healthcare officials, restaurant associations, and government officials that can help reduce the risk your operation will contribute to the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

Obviously you should follow any government guidelines that apply to your facility and what's gathered here isn't meant to encompass all available advice on operating a restaurant during a pandemic. You can use the information below as an easy reference of some ideas you can incorporate into your own plan to reopen a restaurant after a coronavirus shutdown.

For further direction, contact or visit the website of your state's restaurant association or health department, which you can find cataloged in our post on COVID-19 resources for foodservice. The National Restaurant Association created guidance for reopening restaurants¹ that is available through a free download and offers advice for operating a restaurant in the time of COVID-19.² The U.S. Centers for Disease Control also has resources for business owners and employers³ preparing to serve the public.

Additionally, some states and organizations offer guidance on how to reopen a restaurant in those areas. For example, the Texas Restaurant Association⁴ created the "Texas Restaurant Promise," guidance restaurateurs are supposed to vow to follow. Similarly, Tennessee's reopening commission⁵ created the "Tennessee Pledge," which asks businesses to follow best practices voluntarily in order to protect customers and staff (the state's governor opted not to mandate any of the recommendations). That document includes an entire section of restaurant guidelines.⁶

Tips for Keeping Customers & Employees Safe in Every Area of Your Restaurant

Table of Contents

Before You Open
Waiting Areas
Front of House
Back of House
Serving

Before You Open

If you haven't been in your kitchen in a while, check all perishables and be prepared to dispose of a lot of food.

Use restaurant equipment startup checklists, ⁷ including ones for specific types of equipment such as our ice machine restarting guide, and direction from manufacturers to get your kitchen back in working order.

Reach out to the trash hauler that services your dumpsters to ensure they're still picking up and/or ask them to resume service.

Ensure all hand washing sinks are operational, with soap dispensers filled with hand soap, and paper towels in paper towel dispensers or air hand dryers.

If possible, set up hand sanitizer dispensers throughout your facility and ensure they're filled with hand sanitizer. If you cannot secure sanitizer that works in a dispenser, supply spray bottles filled with a liquid hand sanitizer.

Clean and sanitize as much of the operation as possible using commercial cleaning chemicals and disinfectants, with particular focus on high-traffic areas and touchpoints for guests and employees.

Hang social distancing best practices signs and handwashing directions in appropriate areas for both employees and guests. Additionally, safety message mats can help people keep a safe distance from others.

Stock up on face masks and face shields, and gloves for all employees.

If possible, install cashier shields between customer areas and employees at host stands, cash registers, and other contact areas.

Conduct training with every employee to cover the measures your operation will take to reduce the risk of virus transmission and the practices expected of workers as part of that effort. If possible, video record the training, do it virtually, or invite employees in small groups to participate.

Space out tables and seating as mandated by state or local officials. In most areas so far, that requirement is no closer than 6 feet with seating for no more than six, along with limitations by percentage of total occupancy or a specified number of guests.

Seek guidance from a restaurant association, business organization, and/or an attorney on what you can do to restrict access to your property by guests who are ill.

Waiting Areas

Only reopen indoor waiting areas if customers can be spaced at least 6 feet apart. You may want to use crowd guidance systems to designate waiting areas outside.

Station the host's stand outside or just inside a vestibule, with a social distancing mat or marks on the ground telling customers where to stand as they wait to add their names to the list.

Encourage parties to keep only one person in the waiting area while others remain in a vehicle or other remote area until their tables are ready.

If practicable, encourage customers to call in orders in advance and allow a short time before coming to the property to reduce time on site.

Require or encourage waiting customers to keep face masks on at all times.

Text customers when their tables are ready or announce parties over an intercom, if possible, to allow them to spread out.

Some states recommend doing temperature checks of customers before they enter a facility. Medical-grade infrared thermometers are great for doing those checks while keeping your distance.

Some operators are also instituting health surveys for guests that ask if they have any symptoms of COVID-19 or have been in close contact with someone who has the disease.

Front of House

Limit party sizes to no more than six and ask guests not to linger in areas where they may be closer than 6 feet from others.

You may want to cordon off bars, waiting areas, and other spaces where people typically congregate to keep them from doing so.

Sanitize contact surfaces at and around tables between each turn using appropriate cleaning solutions, with separate buckets and cleaning cloths for different surfaces (e.g. seat bottoms, tables, counters, railings).

Sanitize restrooms at least every 2 hours. As part of that, ensure soap dispensers are well stocked with hand soap and paper towel dispensers have plenty of paper towels. If your restrooms are equipped with hand dryers, sanitize the exterior of each and ensure they work properly.

Clean and sanitize any tabletop items, such as condiment caddies or dispensers and napkin holders, between each turn. High chairs and booster seats should also be sanitized between uses.

Require or encourage customers to wear masks and only remove those to eat and drink. Some states and localities are mandating the wearing of masks by all people in public spaces, including foodservice operations, so you may want to help customers comply with such mandates by providing disposable face masks for them to use.

Provide utensils that have been rolled into napkins or are otherwise completely covered.

Let customers know what you're doing to help keep them safe through signs in your facility, a note on your website, or some other means.

Back of House

Set a maximum number of employees who can be in any given area at a time based on their ability to maintain proper distances. This includes the break room.

Space work stations at least 6 feet apart.

Require all employees to wear face masks and gloves at all times.

Again with guidance from an industry organization or attorney, you may want to perform daily health checks on employees before they enter the facility. Those may include questions about any symptoms they may be experiencing and temperature checks.

Place hand sanitizer near work stations and in accessible areas, and encourage employees to use it frequently.

Place containers of gloves and disposable masks, if you provide those, near handwashing stations so employees can put them on immediately after washing and drying their hands.

Encourage employees to take their own temperatures at home before coming in and let them know they should stay home if they are sick.

Serving

Use paper menus that are disposed of after one use or sanitize menus after each use.

All servers should wear face masks and disposable gloves at all times, and these gloves should be traded for a new pair any time they may be soiled.

Where necessary, increase the distance between customers and employees. For instance, if customers pick up their orders at a counter, direct employees to put the items down on the counter, then step away from it before announcing that the order is ready.

If possible, switch to contactless payments through card-tap systems, pay-by-app, or tabletop tablets that are sanitized between turns.

Resources

National Restaurant Association issues guidance for restaurants readying to reopen. National Restaurant Association. Accessed May 2020.
Coronavirus Information and Resources. National Restaurant Association. Accessed May 2020.
Workplaces and Businesses: Plan, Prepare, and Respond. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed September 2023.
Texas Restaurant Promise. Texas Restaurant Association. Accessed May 2020.
Tennessee Pledge. Office of the Governor. Accessed May 2020.
Restaurant Guidelines. Office of the Governor. Accessed May 2020.
Foodservice Equipment Start-up Checklist. The Hansen Group. Accessed May 2020.