Coronavirus: Hygiene regulations for restaurateurs

Update: Corona easing in gastronomy

29.06.2020 — The five-square-meter rule was recently repealed in Hesse, but hygiene measures still apply. Saarbrücken, on the other hand, is waiving the mask requirement and the buffet ban, and self-service will take place again from today.

Coronavirus: Which hygiene regulations must be observed by restaurants

Notwithstanding the current easing, the following regulations remain in place.

• Minimum distance of 1.5 meters between tables
• Families or members of the same household can sit closer together at the same table
• Since June 17, groups of 10 people have been allowed to visit restaurants
• Mouth and nose protection is still mandatory when entering and leaving the restaurant, as well as for guests and waiters when you are not at the table or moving around the dining room
• Ventilation and cleaning plans must be adjusted
• Contact details of guests are recorded in case of a later infection so that they can be traced

Back to business step by step

Reopen despite regulations. In order to successfully meet the above requirements, it is important to have a good plan in all areas of the company. In addition to the respective hygiene regulations in individual federal states, here are a few tips that are beneficial when reopening.

• Keep access limited, keep a minimum distance when queuing
• Table setting: The tables are either removed from the guest room or placed only to a limited extent. (Note: Here too, the running distance of 1.5 m must be maintained.)
• Reservation tool to get an overview of the number of guests (partly required by law, see here.)
• If there is no reservation, the placement of guests is mandatory
• The less on the table, the better — it is recommended to remove objects that do not necessarily have to be on the table, this should help with quick and easier cleaning
• Sufficient purchase of hygiene products: liquid soap, disposable towels and hand sanitizer
• Floor markings for guest room, entrance and exit
• Training staff on rules of conduct and hygiene measures with guests
• Cashless payment method (if not already available)
• Digital menu and registration simplify contactless interaction with customers and reduce the risk of infection

Sanitary and break rooms

Both staff and guests benefit from a well-organized cleaning plan for the bathrooms and break rooms. The more thorough the better.

• Provide adequate hygiene products
• Regular cleaning of sanitary rooms with documentation
• Mask requirement for guests and staff
• Maintain a safe distance through floor marking or access by personnel

personnel

Since personnel are also not immune from the virus, extreme caution should be exercised here as well. The following can help protect your employees:

• Mouth and nose masks must be worn by staff, including in the kitchen area, if the minimum distance cannot be maintained
• If employees have Covid-19 symptoms, inform the health department immediately
• Staff shift planning
• No direct contact with guests or staff with each other
• New instructions on hygiene measures and rules of conduct are needed

Communication with guests

Especially now with the new regulations, communication with guests is important, as they must now comply with the new measures and rules of conduct.

• Communicate the new measures and rules of conduct to your guests through posters or directly
• Ask customers to make a reservation instead of a spontaneous visit
• Recommendation of cashless payment
• Possible weekly newsletter about new measures

More tips that can make it easier to operate and deal with staff and guests

In order to keep the risk of infection as low as possible, it is recommended to clean the tables, chairs and, if necessary, menus and tablecloths after every change of guests. This also includes work surfaces, work utensils and clothing. Among other things, all objects lying on the tables should be removed for common use, including the decorations. Another tip is to change the menu to either digital or laminated, so cleaning is easy. The sanitary rooms and guest rooms should be subjected to intensive cleaning after closing time, which is documented in order to trace the infection chain in the event of a Covid-19 case.

To ensure that the safety distance can be maintained, it is a good idea to restructure personnel into shifts. This allows employees to move around the guest rooms without obstacles. Since opening hours are also constantly changing due to the Corona easing, it is important to keep customers constantly up to date through newsletters, for example. It is also recommended to adjust orders to the number of guests. As a result, costs can be kept low. Since the registration requirement is currently causing problems for restaurant owners, the declaration of consent to data collection is very important.

conclusion

In this article, you now have an overview of the measures you can take if you want to reopen your restaurant or make it more hygienic. Although the corona measures are restricting normal operations, there is hope for improvement. Because there is more and more easing and therefore also a bit of normality.

Here you can find helpful links

Checklist for restaurants — https://www.tuvsud.com/de-de/-/media/de/product-service/pdf/sonstiges/lebensmittel/fsi-checkliste-3-gastronomie.pdf?la=de-de&hash=BD3C5832FE24DCB1C03AC56BB7E6079B

Coronavirus Catering FAQ — https://www.dehoga-bayern.de/coronavirus/faq-fragen-und-antworten/

Hygiene concept for Bavaria https://www.dehoga-bayern.de/coronavirus/wiederhochfahren/hygienekonzept-gastronomie/

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