Is your restaurant or commercial kitchen planning to serve on Thanksgiving day? 2020’s COVID-19 crisis will bring many changes to the holiday season, but it’s safe to assume that customers will still look for commercial kitchens to help with their Thanksgiving meals. If you decide to participate, here are just a few ways you can prepare for the holiday rush:
Plan for COVID-19 precautions.
This year’s Thanksgiving for restaurants will be very different. Despite the high volume you’ll need to maintain social distancing and sanitization guidelines. We recommend putting a plan in place before the big day and communicate it to customers early. If you take orders in advance, be sure to let customers know exactly what to expect and how they can stay safe.
Adjust your service hours.
Thanksgiving is a day of high volume for commercial kitchens, but that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your own holiday experience. Typically the rush comes mid-day, which means you may have the option to close early and give your employees the chance to have their own Thanksgiving celebration. Talk with management and employees to determine the best operating hours for the big day.
Clear your schedule.
A commercial kitchen’s worst nightmare is being understaffed on Thanksgiving Day. However, your employees will be incredibly disappointed if you call them in or schedule them last-minute. In order to avoid this catastrophe, schedule your Thanksgiving staff well in advance. If you can’t close early, make sure that you offer additional compensation or a bonus for working on the holiday. A bit of appreciation and giving goes a long way toward boosting morale and maintaining your employees long-term.
Prepare your kitchen for specialty items and services.
Many restaurants serve specialty items or offer to-go dishes for people to enjoy around their dinner table on Thanksgiving. While this will help boost sales, it can also cause mayhem in the back house if you’re not prepared. Stock up on ingredients and train your staff thoroughly for these new items and services so that Thanksgiving boosts your reputation rather than hurts it.
Schedule your maintenance ahead of time.
Aside from being understaffed, the worst thing you can allow to happen on Thanksgiving is for an essential piece of equipment to fail. If your refrigerator needs repairs or your HVAC system goes out, you’ll have no choice but to shut down on the biggest day of the year. Don’t let this happen to your business — call your local MaintenX team for a maintenance audit before the big day.
MaintenX can help your commercial facility run at peak performance all year long. To learn more about our preventative maintenance services, contact us today.
