It’s Friday night and you’re taking your favorite person out to dinner for their birthday. You’ve picked the perfect restaurant. The reviews are outstanding, the menu is enticing, and it’s right within your budget. When you walk into the place, there is a strange off-putting smell. Hmmm… maybe just a passing waft? You get seated. It’s a clean restaurant “at-a-glance”, but the corners and edges of the table seem grimy. Now you’re thinking, “What does the kitchen look like?” Does this scenario sound familiar?
People will judge your restaurant and they will judge it harshly. Is that fair? You bet it is. The truth of the matter is that when you are serving food, your environment should be squeaky clean. If it is not, people can get sick. Even if there is not a huge risk to food safety, the funky smell in the carpet will put people off of their food. The potential for the customer to return could be lost forever. Even worse, they will spread the word. Don’t risk this outcome.
Use this list to keep your restaurant clean and business flowing!
#1. Make sure all your employees take cleanliness as seriously as the owner does.
It’s important for everyone in the business to know how serious this subject is. To instill this value, you can have your kitchen staff take a food safety class. Going through the experience will give them a better perspective. Create a cleaning chart where everyone has a different cleaning task every day. This way you’re not scrambling with your whole staff at 3am to get it all in one go. Here’s a handy checklist to get you started!
#2. Provide the proper cleaning tools.
It’s not enough for your employees to care for and know how to keep a clean restaurant. They will also need the proper tools for the job. Make sure you have plenty of the right type cleaning supplies. We’ve seen restaurant employees’ clean tables like their lives depended on it, but they were using a harsh chemical that was stripping the finish off of the surfaces! This can be tough to get right, but education, labeling, and resources go a long way to a well done job.
# 3. Study that health inspection for a clean restaurant.
Most likely you’ve had a health inspection before, so you should know what to expect. Study those elements and make sure they are ready at all hours of the day. Not only will you pass the inspection, it will ensure that your area is most definitely food-safe and clean. Here is a resource to Ohio’s laws regarding food safety and cleanliness.
#4. Clean the front of the house as you would the back.
We know it’s not as important health-wise, but from a business standpoint it’s crucial. Restaurant customers expect a clean environment where they will be eating. When it is not, they will question the whole establishment, even for one dirty table. Make sure you dust every surface; this includes pictures and wall hangings. Grime is a very frequent culprit in restaurant corners and cubbies. Leave no stone unturned. “Mood lighting” will not make dirt disappear.
#5. Call the pros to clean the carpets and floors.
It might not be obvious at a glance, but busy carpets get grimy fast. Workers don’t have time to vacuum multiple times a day, so chances are a lot of dirt is embedded deep down. You might not see it, but it can give off an off-putting smell. Professional carpet cleaning or floor polishing is necessary at least once or a few times a month depending on traffic.
Bottom Line for How to Maintain a Clean Restaurant
We’ve seen our share of “not-so-obvious grime”. It’s definitely there, and we’ll shock you with the difference that is made after we extract it. Olmec is experienced in working on restaurant floors and other commercial entities. If your business is booming, give it the love that it needs to keep booming.
We routinely clean & restore commercial floors at numerous properties across the greater Cincinnati area. Check out this video on a restaraunt that we do carpet cleaning for every month. You can find an Olmec Restoration truck in Lebanon Ohio, Hamilton Ohio, Blue Ash Ohio, and Liberty Township Ohio plus many cities in between. Give us a call today to schedule a free personalized estimate for your commercial property.
Check out some of our commercial client testimonials!
“Olmec provided excellent carpet cleaning service for our large commercial building. They were accommodating with price and scheduling. The process was seamless. Our carpets were cleaned well and smell fresh!”
~ Northeast Church of Christ
“The customer service with Olmec is second to none, and they did a fantastic job with the floors of our school!”
~ St. Joseph’s Catholic Church
“We can’t thank you enough for all your hard work. The floors look fantastic!!”
~ Woodhouse Day Spa