Things you need to know before reopening your cafe or restaurant
We’re living in a post-Coronavirus world now where there haven’t been many new cases and cafes and restaurants are starting to reopen. However, things haven’t gone back to normal. The pandemic has ushered in a New Normal, where people are taking extreme steps to maintain safety and sanitation at all times. For restaurants and cafes that are reopening in the coming days, there are new health and safety measures in place. Here’s a guide to preparing your establishment for reopening.
1. 10-person limit
Some states have a 10-person rule for dine-in customers while Western Australia allows 20 people, both with the condition of enforcing a distance of 4 sq.m apart. Unfortunately, this limit affects an establishment’s profits since they’ll serve fewer people than they did before. To minimise losses, you can open your restaurant for lunch or dinner earlier to accommodate more people. You can also schedule your appointments into two or more batches to make sure you maximise the 10- and 20-person limit.
Tip: Make sure to post your new rules on social media and outside your store so that your customers will be informed. You can also put out signage outside your store on banners like this.
2. Sanitisers
Sanitisers will take the place of tabletop condiments in this post-Coronavirus world. Make sure that everyone inside your establishment has easy access to sanitisers by putting them in visible areas such as the entrance, tables, and counters. Don’t forget to also sterilise tabletops, counters, menus, and any surfaces that people come into contact with at least twice a day. Lastly, it goes without saying that customers and staff should be able to wash their hands so make sure that hand soap is available in the sink at all times.
Tip: Using a custom branded sanitiser is a good branding opportunity. Buying branded items in bulk is also a lot cheaper than buying mass-produced items in the supermarket.
Recommended items: Pleat-Wrapped Soaps 40g, 50ml Hand Sanitiser Gel, and 1L Hand Sanitiser Gel
3. Staff
Take care of your servers and food handlers by educating them about new hygiene practices to prevent the spread of the virus. Remind them to wash their hands often, particularly before touching food and after handling money or coming back from the restroom and don’t forget to remind them to avoid touching their faces. As an added precaution, you could make them wear masks and gloves to ensure their safety and the customers’ safety as well.
Tip: Your managers should educate them on updated food handler hygiene practices.
Recommended items: Disposable & Reusable Masks (which you can customise for additional branding opportunity) and Disposable Latex Gloves
4. Takeaway and deliveries
Some places will just offer takeaway and delivery services as they are more profitable than the current dine-in situation. If you’re retaining your takeaway and delivery services, here are the steps you should take.
- Make sure that you are using appropriate takeaway packaging to avoid spillage and possible contamination.
- Promote cashless payments to minimise contact.
- Your delivery driver should also minimise contact with the customer, dropping off the package by the door and stepping away when the customer collects the food.
Tip: Many consumers are still apprehensive about dining in so expect plenty of takeaways and deliveries even with the dine-in option now available. Stock up on takeaway packaging and drinkware.
Recommended items: Kraft Tyvek Cooler Lunch Bag, Wheat Straw Eco Cutlery Utensil Set, and Colored Calico Bag No Gusset
4. Sidelines
Find other ways to recoup and survive the income of loss of having fewer dine-in customers. Aside from offering takeaway and delivery services, you can also supplement your profits by introducing online cooking classes, at-home cooked meals, and ready-to-cook meals and drop-off catering for families.
Recommended items: Savoy Apron for cooking classes and at-home chef service and Large Natural Jute Cooler Bag – 19ltr for ready-to-cook meals and drop-off catering service.
Get ready to reopen your cafe or restaurant with us!
If you need a branding boost for the reopening of your cafe or restaurant, let us help you! Just send us your requirements through this link and our Account Managers will get back to you as soon as possible.
