Restaurant opening and closing checklist

Copy these lists, cut what does not apply to your kitchen and add what does. They are written for a pizzeria or quick-service restaurant, and each task is short enough to tick off in one go.

Opening checklist

1. Clock in and turn on the oven and the hood.
2. Record freezer temperatures: −18 °C (0 °F) or colder.
3. Record walk-in and prep cooler temperatures: 1 to 4 °C (34 to 40 °F).
4. Turn on menu and display screens.
5. Turn on the open sign and set out signage.
6. Check every tablet and payment terminal is online, including delivery app tablets.
7. Turn on and check all cooking equipment.

For the manager on opening

1. Walk the floor: clean, stocked, nothing out of place.
2. Check pre-orders, yesterday’s delivery app orders and new online reviews.
3. Confirm the shift is fully staffed.
4. Confirm the team is in uniform and following the hygiene policy.

Closing checklist

1. Finish tomorrow’s prep.
2. Record freezer temperatures.
3. Record walk-in and prep cooler temperatures.
4. Refill the drink coolers.
5. Clean and refill condiments, cups and lids.
6. Clean all cooking equipment and surfaces.
7. Wash the dishes and clean the sinks.
8. Sweep and mop the front and back of house.
9. Bring in outside signage and turn off the open sign.
10. Take out the garbage.
11. Count the cash drawer and fill in the cash-out form: leave the float, put the rest in the safe.
12. Lock every door and set the alarm.

Daily prep list

• Sauces and bases: house sauces and dressings, marinades and cooking oils.
• Proteins: portion proteins for the line; cook and cool batch-cooked items quickly (from 57 °C (135 °F) to 21 °C (70 °F) within 2 hours, then to 5 °C (41 °F) or colder within 4 more, or as your provincial code says).
• Vegetables: wash, cut and portion vegetables, salad and garnish.
• Line set-up: stock and label every line container with its prep date, and rotate stock first in, first out.

Temperature checks to record

Health inspectors ask for the record, not just the habit. Check each unit at opening and at closing, and write down what you did whenever a reading is out of range.

• Coolers (walk-in, prep, reach-in): 4 °C (40 °F) or colder.
• Freezers: frozen solid, around −18 °C (0 °F) or colder.
• Hot holding (sauces, soups, held food): 60 °C (140 °F) or hotter.
• Cooking: check the internal temperature of chicken, ground meat and whole cuts against your food code’s minimums.

In Canada, public health guidance commonly uses 4 °C for cold holding and 60 °C for hot holding. Your province’s food code, and your local inspector, are the rule to follow; the numbers above are a starting point, not legal advice.

Make the checklist stick

• One page, one shift. A list nobody can finish gets skipped.
• Name who does it. “Closing cook” is clearer than “team”.
• Ask for proof where it matters. A photo of the locked back door or a reading from the thermometer beats a tick.
• Review it monthly. Remove tasks nobody needs and add the ones that went wrong.

Running it in Mezbano

Mezbano turns these lists into checklists the team answers one task at a time on a phone, where a task can ask for a photo or a note. Temperature checks record every reading, and a reading out of range asks what was done about it. Today shows what is not done yet, a manager signs off the day, and the temperature records for any dates can be printed or downloaded for an inspector. A brand can start from ready-made starter packs with these checklists and checks, and record temperatures in °C or °F.