Free Restaurant Closing Checklist

Seasoned ​​restaurateurs know that after the last guest has settled their bill is when some of the toughest work really begins. Closing the restaurant for the day is a major team effort and a daily restaurant closing checklist can come in handy to make sure that no task is left unfinished.

No matter what type of venue you operate, a good closing restaurant checklist should include important duties for front of house staff, such as wiping down all menus and checkbooks, polishing glasses, rolling silverware, cleaning coffee machines, and more. Checking off these types of tasks ensures your dining room is in good shape for the staff who open the restaurant the following day.

Similarly, your restaurant closing checklist should also include a section for back of house staff, with tasks like cleaning prep areas, changing fryer oil, rotating inventory, mopping floors, and more. These tasks are particularly important to help mitigate food waste and to keep the kitchen clean.

While a closing checklist may seem like a formality, keep in mind that even seasoned staff can forget key tasks after a stressful shift. Using a closing a restaurant checklist that’s ordered in a logical way will allow your staff to multitask and get things done more efficiently. And the more efficiently they close up the restaurant, the faster they can get home to bed after a long shift.

To help you cover all your bases, we’ve created a handy closing restaurant checklist that can be used daily by front of house and back of house staff. This restaurant closing checklist comes in a handy PDF format so you can easily print it out for staff and save it for future use. We’ve also included an additional restaurant manager closing checklist for additional tasks such as running end-of-day reports in the POS, making sure payroll is paid, and locking up the restaurant.

Remember, there are a lot of moving parts when it comes to properly closing down a restaurant for the day. If you have a detailed closing checklist for every area of the restaurant, the tasks will be more manageable and your staff will know exactly what they need to do so you can officially lock up for the evening.