Monthly Restaurant Inspection

Look from the sidewalk first — that is the guest's first impression. Check glass for streaks, fingerprints, and decal condition. Confirm window signage is current; no expired specials or removed events.

Cycle every exterior bulb, including the building-mounted signage. Operate the front door through a full open-and-close cycle: hinges quiet, closer does not slam, deadbolt throws and retracts cleanly.

Plants should look correct for the season. Mulch, ground cover, and rock cover should be full and debris-free; cigarette butts at the entry are the most common find.

Take a wide shot from across the street and close-ups of any visible wear (chipped paint, faded signage, weathered planters). Photos go in the inspection file so trends are visible month over month.

Cycle through service scenes — lunch, dinner, late night — and confirm each preset is correct. Replace burned-out bulbs or note them for the maintenance list; mismatched color temperature is the most common find here.

Look for traffic patterns on wood, missing grout in tile, stained concrete, and curled rug edges (trip hazard). Note anything that needs the next deep-clean or refinish cycle.

Every table operable and stable, every chair clean and damage-free. Check banquette and booth upholstery for tears and worn corners; pull tables out from the wall to check the legs and mounting hardware on built-ins.

Server stations should be free of personal belongings and POS cabling tied down. Look behind the station for water damage from the hand-sink — a slow leak there rots the cabinet over a few months.

Each undercounter reach-in should hold 41°F or below. If the unit relies on a built-in display, verify against a calibrated probe thermometer; built-in displays drift over time.

Faucets wiped, mirrors polished, partitions sturdy with locks that latch. Bathroom smell is the inspection's tell — if it smells off on the inspection walk, it smells off to guests.

Hand sinks need hot water that reaches 100°F within a reasonable time. Slow hot-water delivery to restrooms is a frequent health-inspector finding and a guest complaint trigger.

Confirm at least one accessible stall per restroom, a clear path of travel (no stacked supplies blocking the route), and compliant signage at the door.

Bar top oiled or sealed, back-bar liquor and wine dust-free. Bottles on the speed rail should have clean pour spouts and intact covers; sticky speed rails are a fruit-fly accelerant.

Note the last beer-line cleaning date. Lines should be cleaned at least every two weeks; the bar log should show the most recent clean. Check soda gun heads for syrup buildup and confirm hot and cold flow at every faucet.

Run a glass through a full cycle. Verify final-rinse temperature reaches 180°F for high-temp machines, or sanitizer concentration per spec (typically 50–100 ppm chlorine) for low-temp.

Health permit and liquor license should be posted in public view and current. Capture expiration dates so the GM has at least 30 days' notice before renewal — state ABC renewals can need paperwork weeks in advance.

Push the test button on each emergency-light unit and confirm battery backup runs for at least 90 seconds. Burned-out exit signs are an automatic fire-marshal citation.

No taped paper on walls — floor plans, allergen notices, and staff bulletins should be framed or in proper holders. Confirm OSHA poster and wage-and-hour poster are current and posted in the staff area.

Furniture clean, paint touched up, umbrella cranks operable and bases stable. Patio heaters tested with current propane fittings; a leaky regulator on the patio is a fire-marshal find.

Walk-in cold-holding requires 41°F or below. Read the unit's external display, then verify against a probe thermometer on a middle shelf. A discrepancy greater than 2°F means the display has drifted and the unit needs calibration. Check gasket condition and confirm the fan and door closure are operating.

Torn gaskets force the compressor to run harder and drive cold-holding temperatures up. Coils with dust buildup are a common cause of slowly rising line reach-in temps over the course of a month.

Hood filters should be on the bi-weekly soak schedule; pull one and check the underside for grease buildup. Reference the grease-trap pumping log — overdue traps create back-of-house slow drains and a foul exit smell.

Look at the Ansul system tag inside the hood — semiannual inspection is required by NFPA 96 and most local fire codes. Fire extinguishers carry annual tags; a K-class portable is required on the cooking line.

Three-bay sink should be set up wash-rinse-sanitize with sanitizer at the correct ppm (test with strips). Floor drains need screens and should not back up; pull the screens and rinse the trap.

Dry storage 6 inches off the floor, FIFO dating visible, no swollen or rusted cans, and no evidence of rodents — gnaw marks on packaging, droppings, or sebum trails on shelving.

Breaker panels need 36 inches of clearance — no boxes stacked in front. Confirm the OSHA 300A summary is posted (Feb 1 – April 30) and that tip-credit notices and food-handler certifications are visible in the staff area.

Dumpster corral and grease-bin pad should be power-washed monthly — sticky residue is a pest magnet. Verify the corral gate latches and the bin lid closes fully; an open lid drives rodent activity.

Propane stored upright in a ventilated cage, away from ignition sources. Sanitizer, degreaser, and other chemicals stored below food and in their original labeled containers per OSHA HazCom.

Email the GM with the specific permit and the renewal deadline. Health permits often require an inspection visit before renewal; liquor license renewals can require state ABC paperwork submitted weeks in advance.

Open a same-day ticket with the refrigeration contractor. Move TCS items to a backup reach-in or walk-in until the unit is verified back in range; document the move time so the cooling log holds.

Call the licensed fire-suppression contractor — the Ansul inspection has to be performed by a certified company, not in-house. Same for K-class and ABC extinguisher recertification.

Capture the overall result, attach notes on any items flagged during the walk, and sign. The signed inspection goes in the operations folder; trends are reviewed at the monthly ops meeting.

For each Fail line item, open a work order with the responsible vendor or the maintenance lead. Set a re-inspection date before the next monthly walk so the same items do not roll forward.