Restaurant Checklist

The restaurant startup checklist will help you identify, plan, and organize many details that take place during planning, investing, and development of any restaurant. The checklist combines small checklists, such as the restaurant operations checklist, the restaurant sanitation checklist, and the restaurant service checklist, to give you complete information about opening and managing your restaurant.

You can download this template in VIP Organizer or VIP Team To Do List database format.

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You can order complete (full) checklist or all complete (full) checklists in convenient MS Word and PDF printable format. BUY NOW! 

1. Restaurant opening checklist

• Considering space of your restaurant facility:
• Dining room takes about 40-60 percent of the restaurant's space.
• Kitchen space and preparation area take up to 30 percent of the restaurant's space.
• Storage space takes around 20 percent of the restaurant's space.
• Office space takes 10 percent of the restaurant's space.
• Investing in stock start-up inventory
• The range of inventory on your stock required to maintain operations in your restaurant for the first year will depend on the kind and size of the restaurant you are going to open. An expected amount of investment can fall between:
• $5,000 - $50,000 for food
• $3,000 - $19,000 for beverages
• $500 - $1,700 for paper products
• Hiring employees
• Take into consideration that the employees you hire to work in your restaurant will significantly define your restaurant's reputation. Depending on the size and kind of your restaurant you need to select staff considering the following personnel categories:

• Manager
• Cooks
• Dishwashers
• Bartenders
• Waiting staff
• Cleaning personnel

2. Restaurant maintenance checklist includes the following four checklists:

• Restaurant equipment checklist
• Restaurant equipment for kitchen and prep area:
• Oven, grill, deep-fryer and steam table
• Reach-in cooler and walk-in cooler
• Freezer and refrigerators
• Sauce pans, stock/soup pots
• Baking sheets, pizza screens and baking pans
• Spatulas, tongs, chef's knives, pizza paddle, ladles,
• Mixing bowls and pasta bowls
• Plastic inserts for coolers
• Entrée plates, appetizer plates, dessert plates, salad plates
• Metal or plastic shelves for walk-in cooler
• Cleaning rags and rubber floor mats
• Restaurant equipment for dining room:
• Ashtrays
• Cashier stands
• Cooking carts
• Countertop displays
• Dessert dishes
• Display mirrors
• Menu covers, check holders and reservation books
• Peppermills
• Serving trays
• Signs, menu boards and easels
• Table skirting
• Tablecloths and napkins
• Wine buckets and stands

• Restaurant cleaning checklist includes the following two checklists:
• Restaurant bathroom cleaning checklist:
• Scrub shower and stall
• Repair water leakage and replace leaking tiles or pipes
• Clean shower curtains and liners
• Sanitize bathrooms
• Clean and disinfect sinks counters, toilets, urinals, and mirrors
• Restaurant kitchen cleaning checklist:
• Wash kitchen hoods
• Clean exhaust coolers, fans, and filters
• Clean tables
• Wash grease traps
• Mop and wax floors and wash mats in kitchen and prep area
• Vacuum waiting areas
• Wash internal & external windows
• Brush dust windows, air conditioner vents
• Re-fill consumables, including paper products and soap

• Restaurant safety checklist includes the following general safe practices:
• Make sure pest control services are performed regularly by licensed contractors.
• Check if first-aid kits are fully equipped with all items, and they are available.
• Make sure at least one employee in each working shift is well-trained in administering first-aid.
• Make sure your restaurant has obtained all certificates of insurance
• Post emergency telephone numbers for medical service, fire emergency service and police on walls and tables, where appropriate.
• Make sure all chipped, cracked or broken utensils are taken out of service and discarded.

• Restaurant inspection checklist
• For stock:
• All food items are received from approved, certificated and licensed suppliers, in good condition and at proper temperatures
• All food items are labeled and stored off the floor
• All food items are covered and wrapped
• Food storage rooms are clean and organized
• For kitchen and equipment:
• Food cooking equipment is kept washed and sanitized after use
• The sanitizing rinse is done at the 3-compartment sink at the proper concentration
• Dishwashers are filled with the sanitizing rinse at the proper concentration and temperature
• Kitchen and prep area are kept clean and sanitized
• All chemicals are properly labeled and always stored separately from food
• For facility:
• Walls, floors, and ceilings are kept clean and in good repair
• Bathrooms are kept clean and stocked with soap, towels, and toilet paper
• Bathrooms are free of insects and disinfected
• All dumpster areas in bathrooms are kept clean and organized
• For employees:
• Your restaurant has the required number of certified personnel
• All employees wear clean clothing each working shift
• All employees, especially cooking staff and waiters, use hair restraints
• All employees always wash their hands before starting work, after using bathrooms, and after breaks
• Cooking staff always follows good hygiene practices
• All employees do not eat, drink, or smoke at kitchen and prep areas

3. Restaurant closing checklist

• Talk to kitchen manager to make sure that all food orders are completed and receiving of new orders is stopped
• Notify guests who are in dining room of the forthcoming closing
• Lock front doors after all guests have left the restaurant
• Turn off sound systems and any lights not being used
• Make sure cleaning staff tides up dining room, kitchen and prep area
• Collect and balance check-out sheets and tip sheets
• Close bar and kitchen at scheduled time
• Lock your office...You can order complete (full) checklist or all complete (full) checklists in convenient MS Word and PDF printable format. BUY NOW!