As a restaurant owner in a changing industry, keeping your customers safe is your top priority. But with so much to think about in regards to Covid best practices, it can be hard to know where to begin or what to prioritize. Even though so much has changed over the past two years of navigating the Covid pandemic, it’s still important to prioritize safety. And nowhere is this more true than in high-risk areas in your restaurant! But what are these high-risk areas? And how can you work with restaurant Covid protocols to make them as safe as possible? Read on to find out!
What Are High-Risk Areas?
High-risk areas are present in nearly every space, including most restaurants. Some examples are tight hallways or corridors, like those leading into your restaurant or to the kitchen or bathroom. They may also be areas that don’t have great air circulation, like bathrooms or storage rooms. In addition, high-risk areas are anywhere where a large volume of people pass through daily. If that sounds like it could apply to most of your restaurant, you’re probably right!
Restaurants, because of high customer volume and server and staff traffic, are one of the most high-risk areas for the spread of contagious viruses, not just Covid, but also the flu and even the common cold. These factors mean that keeping your customers safe, especially as the winter months are approaching, is more important than ever.
Restaurant Covid Protocols When Hosting Restaurant Events
One of the most important times to consider making your high-risk areas safer is during restaurant events. Restaurant events often attract a high volume of people, who are up and out of their seats more than typical restaurant diners due to the nature of restaurant events.
Bar trivia nights, for example, are super-profitable, low-cost events that many restaurant owners love to host. They can draw in reliable, loyal crowds and promote regular revenue boosts, even on slow nights. You don’t want to have to stop hosting trivia for bars and restaurants entirely! Luckily, you can learn how to host pub trivia while still ensuring that all of your customers and staff stay safe.
What Restaurant Covid Protocols Can Be Used in High-Risk Areas?
One of the best ways to make high-risk areas safer is to control the amount of staff and customers that are in these high-risk areas at any given time. This can mean having customers wait outside in their vehicles to be seated instead of in your entry corridor. You can also eliminate guests being out of their seats to serve themselves and buffets or salad bars. This can be done by having these dishes served to guests by staff members to decrease high-touch surfaces. Or, you can switch to having these items be ordered off your menu instead of available through the buffet.
We hope that these tips for identifying and eliminating the risks of high-risk areas are helpful to you! While working to make sure that your restaurant is as safe as possible for all customers and staff, these are important factors to consider. Best of luck!
