As COVID-19 restrictions loosen up around the country and the world, more and more people are flocking to restaurants to get back a feeling of normalcy this holiday season. Spaced out outdoor seating helped with the social distancing aspect of preventing COVID spread, however as the cooler winter months approach it will be harder to entertain customers in outside seating areas as opposed to inside a heating dining area. Even with busy indoor dining it is possible to maintain a safe, healthy dining experience for your customers as well as your staff. Here are some tips to indoor dining in a post-COVID world:

1) Encourage Sick Employees To Stay Home - before COVID it was commonplace to expect employees in all different business types of come to work, even if they felt sick. The best way to prevent others from getting sick is to stay home if you feel any symptoms, especially in the restaurant industry where you are in close contact with patrons and fellow staff, as well as handling foods. Be understanding of your employees feeling ill and ensure them there will be no repercussions for calling out if they do experience any symptoms such as fever, cough, or difficulty breathing.

2) Encourage Increase PPE & Hygiene - it was not uncommon before COVID for employees handling food to do so bare handed, as long as they washed their hands after using the restroom. While this is still considered ok, you can encourage staff to wear gloves if they feel inclined to do so, which can help prevent spreading of germs across multiple surfaces and people. Remind staff that they should be washing their hands regularly using warm soap + antibacterial soap and to wash for at least 20 seconds. If your employees feel more comfortable working while wearing a mask you can provide them with medical grade N95 masks.

3) Increase Cleaning Procedures - one of the most effective ways to prevent transmission of germs and other contaminants inside a restaurant is to frequently stay cleaning. It should already be common place to clean, disinfect, and sanitize your restaurant ahead of opening, but increasing the amount of times this is done throughout the day can be greatly beneficial. Instead of just wiping down a table with a wet rag in between seating customers your staff can spray the table down quickly with disinfectant. Regularly disinfect and sanitize work surfaces and other high-touch areas throughout the day.

4) Promote Protective Measures - putting up signage on your restaurant doors, bathroom doors, inside the bathroom, etc. are subtle ways to encourage proper hygiene and safe practices for customers and staff. By placing the signs in subtle by high traffic areas you can emphasize the importance of taking safety measures to help protect the restaurant staff as well as fellow diners.

It may seem like overkill, but with the winter months coming and indoor dining about to get more busy, it is important to do whatever we can to help ensure that our staff and patrons are safe and healthy while at our dining establishments. Hopefully by implementing these safety measures over time these procedures will become more common place and together we can all help keep restaurants safe from spreading COVID, flu, and other common sicknesses. HoodMart provides our customers with a wide range of exhaust hood systems - from Compensating (Short Cycle) to Perforated Supply Plenum PSP - as well as all exhaust hood accessories such as no weld Grease Duct, hood filters, canopy hood lights, and curbs. Our walk-in selection offers coolers and freezers from quick ship to custom. If you have questions regarding the purchase of your hood system or walk-in, please feel free to contact one of our experts today by calling us at 1.855.411.6386 or by contacting us through our live chat system.