Lack of preparation can result in a cascade of problems from which you cannot easily recover once you open your doors. You might roll your eyes at the notion that running a restaurant is like flying an airplane or performing surgery. Unlike an inflight mechanical failure or a misstep during a medical procedure, a restaurant can always survive a shift in which a number of things go wrong. Yet, guest and staff retention are the lifeblood of every restaurant. Your concept can only survive so many bad shifts.
The key to a great shift has many factors, not the least of which is mise en place – "everything in its place". And that needs to happen not only in the kitchen, but everywhere in the operation.
Kitchen, staffing, and food or equipment problems create stress on the back of the house and result in slow service and less-than-optimal food quality. Unclean restrooms can ruin an otherwise pleasant meal. Even untended trash in the parking lot signals poor management and an unsanitary kitchen. Improperly set thermostats create customer and staff discomfort. And the list goes on.
If you are committed to success in the business, perhaps the above is most likely “preaching to the choir”. Your challenge is more likely how to ensure consistent, effective, and efficient execution of opening and closing procedures every shift. In this article, three experienced operators-turned-advisors share their experience and wisdom.
Aircraft crew and surgical team members rely on checklists to ensure that every step of preparation is covered prior to takeoff and the first incision. We cannot overemphasize the importance of a checklist, particularly in opening and closing.
We are only human. Even if managers or staff members have gone through the process countless times, they are prone to overlooking a critical step. Distractions, interruptions, and time pressure contribute to mistakes. For new staff, checklists relieve much of the stress of learning the job.
Most simply described, a restaurant opening checklist specifies the tasks employees must complete daily to ensure the restaurant is ready for service. A restaurant closing checklist specifies tasks employees must complete daily to ensure the restaurant is clean, prepped, and ready for service for the next shift.
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