Restaurant Cleaning Checklist

Servers wipe each table's caddy with sanitizer cloth from the three-bay sink (target 200-400 ppm quat or 50-100 ppm chlorine — verify with a test strip). Refill salt, pepper, sugar caddies; toss any sticky bottles for a deep wash in the dish pit.

Pull crumbs from the seam where the cushion meets the back — this is where mice live if anywhere does. Spot-treat stains; flip cushions weekly to even wear.

Use the FOH-only mop bucket — never the BOH mop in the dining room (cross-contamination from grease). Change water once it goes cloudy. Set wet-floor signs until dry.

Health departments hit restrooms first on inspection. Stock soap, paper towels, toilet paper; sanitize handles, faucets, stall locks; mop floor; empty trash. Initial the bathroom log on the back of the door.

Bartender wipes the bar top with sanitizer, polishes wine and rocks glasses with lint-free cloth, drains and rinses the speed rail wells, soaks the soda gun nozzle in hot water to clear sugar buildup.

Line cooks scrape the flat top while still warm (not screaming hot — burn risk), wipe with grill cloth, season lightly with oil. Pull and soak salamander racks in degreaser overnight. Do not pour grease into the floor drain — it solidifies in the trap and triggers a plumbing call.

Filter through the fry filter machine; skim crumbs nightly to extend oil life (typical 5-7 days before full change). Wipe the cabinet exterior; fryer-side spills are the #1 slip-and-fall source on the line.

Three-step process per FDA Food Code: wash with detergent, rinse, sanitize at 200-400 ppm quat. Test the bucket with a strip — concentration drops as the cloth absorbs sanitizer. Reach-in handles are a high-touch surface inspectors swab.

Cold-holding must be 41°F or below. Log the reading in the temp book; if any unit is out of range, flag for the manager and check whether product needs to be moved or pitched.

Per the 4-hour rule, TCS food held above 41°F for over 4 hours must be discarded. Move salvageable product to a working unit; pitch and document anything past the threshold; call your refrigeration vendor before locking up so the morning crew isn't blocked.

Drain all three bays, scrub with degreaser, rinse, leave dry overnight to prevent biofilm. Check the dish machine final-rinse temperature (180°F for high-temp machines) or the chemical sanitizer concentration for low-temp machines. Pull and clean the pre-rinse spray nozzle screen.

Drain old oil to the waste container, fill the well with water and fryer boil-out solution, run at 200°F for 20 minutes, drain, scrub, neutralize, rinse twice. Refill with fresh oil. Schedule before a closed day if possible — boil-out residue ruins the next batch if rinse is weak.

Backflush espresso group heads with Cafiza or equivalent; descale the brewer per manufacturer interval (varies by water hardness). Pull and soak portafilter baskets and shower screens. Cloudy shots and sour pulls almost always trace back to a skipped backflush.

Pull all product to a backup unit or deep-iced bus tubs. Wash shelving with degreaser, sanitize with quat, rinse the floor drain, scrub the door gasket (mold collects here). Reload FIFO — older product to the front, oldest use-by dates pulled forward.

FDA classifies ice as a food. Empty the bin, sanitize interior with food-safe sanitizer, sanitize the scoop and the holster bracket, run a fresh cycle. Quarterly the full machine needs a nickel-safe cleaner per manufacturer; weekly is bin and scoop only.

Brewers Association recommends every 2 weeks with caustic line cleaner; faucets disassembled and soaked. Skipped line cleanings produce off flavors guests blame on the brewery — and shorten faucet life.

Move product to backup freezer or insulated containers. Defrost evaporator coils, sanitize shelving, check the door sweep and gasket for ice damage. Coil ice buildup raises energy use and trips the high-temp alarm during summer pulls.

Pull hood baffles and run through the dish machine or a degreaser soak. Wash walls and ceiling tiles around cook line — grease aerosol settles here and is the #1 health-inspector finding above eye level.

Ice-water test for thin-stem thermometers (should read 32°F ± 2°F). Test ovens with a known-accurate probe at 350°F; document any unit more than 25°F off and schedule service. Inspectors ask for the calibration log.

Walk with the pest control vendor (Ecolab, Orkin, or local). Confirm the service log is current and stored at the host stand or manager office — health inspectors ask for the most recent visit. Note any sightings between visits in the log.

NFPA 96 frequency is by cooking volume: quarterly for solid-fuel/wood, semiannual for high-volume, annual for moderate-volume, annual for low-volume. Use a CSIA or IKECA-certified vendor. Insurance carriers and most fire marshals require the certificate of cleaning posted in the kitchen.

NFPA 17A requires semiannual inspection of the wet-chemical hood suppression system. Tag and date inside the cabinet; an expired tag is an immediate fire-marshal citation and possible insurance lapse.

Local FOG (fats, oils, grease) ordinances set the cadence — typically quarterly to annual based on trap size and 25%-rule. Keep the hauler's manifest on file for at least 3 years; many municipalities audit and fine for missing records.

Schedule with your equipment service tech — disassembling burners, vacuuming pilot ports, and testing gas pressure is not a line-cook task. Coordinate with hood cleaning so the kitchen is down once, not twice.

Compile the year's hood cleaning certs, Ansul tags, grease-trap manifests, calibration logs, and pest-control service reports into the inspection binder at the host stand. This is what the inspector asks for first; having it ready often shortens the visit by an hour.