Post Shutdown-Restraurant Reopening Plan

cgrab

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cgrab
I talked to the little Mexican place we frequent (which coincidentally is called La Placita) about reopening. Here is the plan:
1. All employees wear masks for their safety
2. All patrons get a non-contact temperature check and are refused entry if they have a fever
3. The menu is posted out front and patrons use it or the digital menu on their phones
4. Patrons are seated 6 feet apart
5. Wait staff serve one table only and wash hands each time they go to the kitchen
6. Wait staff does not handle used dishes
7. Cleaning staff cleans tables after use so dishes may pile up
(in the past the wait staff would take dishes as they were emptied and bus their own tables)
8. Patrons tell the cashier what they ordered and pay by credit card (no touch)
9. If there is overflow, the temp taking host gives a number and patrons wait in their car to be called.

Would you go there, if you liked Mexican that is?
 
When you say patrons, I assume you mean parties. It's a little bit awkward to be 6 feet apart from your SO or family members. To answer your question, tough call. I won't know until I'm there. The bigger deal to me is bars. I like to hang out at the pub with my peeps.
 
The Mexican restaurant I go to each morning for my breakfast burrito here in Denver closed their dining room and only limit their orders to drive thru and take out. All staff are wearing gloves and masks and limit only 5 customers at a time in the restaurant. They’re still doing a booming business.
 
Sounds good to me. I actually looked up 'covid best practices for restaurants' and didn't find anything (except for safeserv's paid training) but I did locate this gem!
 
I talked to the little Mexican place we frequent (which coincidentally is called La Placita) about reopening. Here is the plan:
1. All employees wear masks for their safety
2. All patrons get a non-contact temperature check and are refused entry if they have a fever
3. The menu is posted out front and patrons use it or the digital menu on their phones
4. Patrons are seated 6 feet apart
5. Wait staff serve one table only and wash hands each time they go to the kitchen
6. Wait staff does not handle used dishes
7. Cleaning staff cleans tables after use so dishes may pile up
(in the past the wait staff would take dishes as they were emptied and bus their own tables)
8. Patrons tell the cashier what they ordered and pay by credit card (no touch)
9. If there is overflow, the temp taking host gives a number and patrons wait in their car to be called.

Would you go there, if you liked Mexican that is?

When I visited a Chinese University campus many years ago, the food workers in the cafeteria all wore gloves and masks. There was no virus concerns at that time, it was just their normal operation. I always wondered why we don't do that here. Food servers like at Chipotle, when they talk, are inevitably spitting into the food they are serving. It just seems better hygiene to cover your mouth when standing in front of a large food tray.
 
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How would we know that the cooks and wait personnel don't have Covid-19? Masks and gloves don't fix everything. Masks are often worn incorrectly (nose sticking out). Gloves are great unless they touch cell phones, money, credit cards, tables chairs used dishes etc. Lift the mask up and wipe your nose with your gloved hand when nobody is looking. Just because you put on gloves doesn't mean they stay clean magically. Most restaurants didn't do enough to keep sick workers home before coronavirus was an issue. I doubt anything has changed. I always cringe when I'm in a restaurant and hear someone coughing in the kitchen.
 
It's hard to eat at home on the road (!!!) but I've come to the conclusion my own health will be better if I double down on fresh foods and veggies and cook at home.
 
There is a restaurant here in town where the owners proudly advertise that they have the largest salad bar in town, and the second largest sneeze guard.....

But seriously, if everyone was as serious about not spreading germs before the current virus panic then common colds would not be common.
 
I talked to the little Mexican place we frequent (which coincidentally is called La Placita) about reopening. Here is the plan:
1. All employees wear masks for their safety
2. All patrons get a non-contact temperature check and are refused entry if they have a fever
3. The menu is posted out front and patrons use it or the digital menu on their phones
4. Patrons are seated 6 feet apart
5. Wait staff serve one table only and wash hands each time they go to the kitchen
6. Wait staff does not handle used dishes
7. Cleaning staff cleans tables after use so dishes may pile up
(in the past the wait staff would take dishes as they were emptied and bus their own tables)
8. Patrons tell the cashier what they ordered and pay by credit card (no touch)
9. If there is overflow, the temp taking host gives a number and patrons wait in their car to be called.

Would you go there, if you liked Mexican that is?

If they have good Margaritas, yeah I’d go
 
if everyone was as serious about not spreading germs before the current virus panic then common colds would not be common.
Who knows, maybe that will be a collateral effect when this is all over.
 
I like Mexican, not sure I’d be on board with the procedures you recommend .
 
I talked to the little Mexican place we frequent (which coincidentally is called La Placita) about reopening. Here is the plan:
1. All employees wear masks for their safety
2. All patrons get a non-contact temperature check and are refused entry if they have a fever
3. The menu is posted out front and patrons use it or the digital menu on their phones
4. Patrons are seated 6 feet apart
5. Wait staff serve one table only and wash hands each time they go to the kitchen
6. Wait staff does not handle used dishes
7. Cleaning staff cleans tables after use so dishes may pile up
(in the past the wait staff would take dishes as they were emptied and bus their own tables)
8. Patrons tell the cashier what they ordered and pay by credit card (no touch)
9. If there is overflow, the temp taking host gives a number and patrons wait in their car to be called.

Would you go there, if you liked Mexican that is?

That would honestly just scare the crap out of me. Just open like normal and try to allow the patrons to pay without touching anything (credit cards and especially pens - yuck). And/Or provide hand sanitizer at the table.
 
especially pens - yuck).

Had an awkward moment last weekend at an fbo. Used one of their pens to sign the bill and she indicated that I should not put it back in the 'cup' or penholder. She said I could 'keep it' or throw it away. I paused for a moment, staring at the pen. No trash can in sight. Why would I want a writing device that could kill me, or cause a pendemic in my hometown? She also stared at the pen. Seemingly in the earnest hopes that I would not return it to the cup and force her to call in a hazmat/bio-event team. We both stared at the pen for a further moment. Aha! I had a moment of inspiration. I grabbed some of their hand sanitizer and did my hands, the pen, the credit card. She smiled. I walked off and threw the pen into the airplane's trash, still not sure if it was a victim or culprit.
 
Had an awkward moment last weekend at an fbo. Used one of their pens to sign the bill and she indicated that I should not put it back in the 'cup' or penholder. She said I could 'keep it' or throw it away. I paused for a moment, staring at the pen. No trash can in sight. Why would I want a writing device that could kill me, or cause a pendemic in my hometown? She also stared at the pen. Seemingly in the earnest hopes that I would not return it to the cup and force her to call in a hazmat/bio-event team. We both stared at the pen for a further moment. Aha! I had a moment of inspiration. I grabbed some of their hand sanitizer and did my hands, the pen, the credit card. She smiled. I walked off and threw the pen into the airplane's trash, still not sure if it was a victim or culprit.

They’ve got us running scared of our own shadows. I’m 100% aware it could kill me, I’ve got a friend who’s uncle is on a respirator, but I think we have to start realizing that we’ve been doing all this stuff for years with other Viruses and colds and such and it’s part of the risk of being a human.
 
Had an awkward moment last weekend at an fbo. Used one of their pens to sign the bill and she indicated that I should not put it back in the 'cup' or penholder. She said I could 'keep it' or throw it away. I paused for a moment, staring at the pen. No trash can in sight. Why would I want a writing device that could kill me, or cause a pendemic in my hometown? She also stared at the pen. Seemingly in the earnest hopes that I would not return it to the cup and force her to call in a hazmat/bio-event team. We both stared at the pen for a further moment. Aha! I had a moment of inspiration. I grabbed some of their hand sanitizer and did my hands, the pen, the credit card. She smiled. I walked off and threw the pen into the airplane's trash, still not sure if it was a victim or culprit.

Sounds like you got the James Bond death pen.
 
I have eaten at some restaurants where Covid is the least of your worries.

Heh.

"Old man Wong isn't trying to shu the rat out of the restaurant, he's trying to catch it."
 
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