blog

Since the stage of re-opening has come close, the Restaurant Canada gave some best practice for us.

• Physical Distancing

Customer Area
✔ Post signage promoting physical distancing
upon entry.
✔ Display signs in multiple locations that indicate
the maximum number of customers and staff a
restaurant can accommodate at any one time.
✔ Size of parties cannot exceed that of current
public health authority restrictions.
✔ Mark direction of travel, to designate entrances
and exits, pick up areas and washrooms.
✔ Unless otherwise required by local authorities,
redesign floor plans to demonstrate 50 per cent
posted capacity or greater if floor plans can
demonstrate required social distancing.
✔ Demarcate floor with markers for any areas where
a line up may occur (restrooms, pick up areas,
etc.) and/or provide directional signage to indicate
flow through the restaurant as well as outside.
✔ Where furniture cannot be removed to adjust
for physical distancing, mark certain tables and
chairs unavailable for use.
✔ Temporary table dividers may be installed to
make social distancing easier for restaurants with
communal seating or larger tables.
✔ Where practical, separate booth seating with
physical barriers.
✔ Bar seating should have physical barrier between
guest and bar or kitchen and one seat every six
feet. Alternatively, bar seating must be closed
until physical distancing requirements are eased.
✔ Washroom capacity may need to be adjusted to
allow physical distancing.
Staff areas:
✔ Train staff on physical distancing and how to best
serve food with the least amount of contact.
✔ Create separation from action stations or
open kitchens. Must separate guest from
the kitchen or plating team with high, clear
dividers if the distance between guest and staff
is less than six feet.
✔ Where possible, stagger workstations so
employees avoid standing directly opposite one
another or next to each other.
✔ Use, when possible, directional arrows on the
floor in kitchen settings to control flow of traffic
and reduce interaction and crossover between
cooking and clearing areas.
✔ Remind third-party delivery drivers and
suppliers of internal distancing requirements.
Provide separate entrance where possible.

Staff areas:
✔ Train staff on physical distancing and how to best
serve food with the least amount of contact.
✔ Create separation from action stations or
open kitchens. Must separate guest from
the kitchen or plating team with high, clear
dividers if the distance between guest and staff
is less than six feet.
✔ Where possible, stagger workstations so
employees avoid standing directly opposite one
another or next to each other.
✔ Use, when possible, directional arrows on the
floor in kitchen settings to control flow of traffic
and reduce interaction and crossover between
cooking and clearing areas.
✔ Remind third-party delivery drivers and
suppliers of internal distancing requirements.
Provide separate entrance where possible.

• Cleaning and Sanitation
✔ Use only approved hard-surface disinfectants that have a Drug Identification Number (DIN). A DIN is
an 8-digit number given by Health Canada that confirms the disinfectant product is approved for use in
Canada.
Cleaning Procedures
✔ Thoroughly clean the entire restaurant upon reopening.
✔ Avoid food contact surfaces when using disinfectants.
✔ Update cleaning schedules and logs to reflect increased cleaning for high touch areas including door
handles, front of house counters, restrooms as well as in the back of house.
✔ Clean and sanitize shared equipment such as credit card machines, point of sale stations, safety vests,
headsets, etc. after every use.
✔ When cleaning tables between every seating, any cutlery, salt and pepper shakers, sauce dispensers, or
other items must be removed and cleaned as well. Tables should be left empty until the new guest arrives
and only those items needed should be provided to customers.
✔ Clean and sanitize reusable menus. Paper menus should be recycled after each customer use.
✔ Make hand sanitizer available for staff and guests.
✔ Have deep cleaning response plan in place, in the event of an employee(s) testing positive for COVID-19.

• Health and Personal Hygiene

Customers
✔ Post signage at the entrance that states that no
one with a fever or symptoms of COVID-19 is to be
permitted in the restaurant.
✔ Consider policies where customers can be refused
entry if displaying signs of COVID-19.
Staff
✔ Appoint a Health and Safety Point Person for every
shift to ensure protocols are being adhered to and
education is provided.
✔ Have the supervisor do roll call and sign-in for
staff, provide separate pens, or have staff text the
supervisor when they start.
✔ Clean any sign-in devices between users.
✔ Stagger start times and/or minimize contact
during sign-in.
✔ Implement a pre-work screening “health check”
for employees at the beginning of each shift which
may include temperature checks.
✔ Do not allow staff on-site if they are sick or might
be sick; they should return home or stay home.
✔ Establish a clear policy for what is expected of
workers if they get sick, have symptoms, or if an
exposure is reported at the restaurant or store.
✔ Provide separate lockers or sealed bins/bags for
employees to store their personal items. Do not
allow staff to leave any items overnight.
✔ Limit the number of employees allowed
simultaneously in break rooms to allow for
physical distancing.
✔ With larger staffs, use communication boards or
digital messaging to convey pre-shift meeting
information.
✔ From the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health
and Safety (CCOHS) staff should:
o Practice physical distancing by keeping more
than 2 metres (6 feet) apart from coworkers
and customers as much as possible.
o Stay home if they are sick or might be sick
Follow the Public Health Agency of Canada’s
steps for self-assessment:
https://www.canada.ca/coronavirus.
o Wash their hands at the start of their shift,
before eating or drinking, after touching
shared items, after using the washroom, after
handling cash or credit/debit cards, after
touching common items, after each
transaction if contact was made, and at the
end of their shift. At a minimum staff should
wash their hands a minimum of every 30
minutes.
o Avoid touching their face.
✔ Where handwashing after each transaction is
not possible, establish clear procedures to have
separate staff handle cash transactions
than those serving customers