Restaurants reopening in COVID-19 - example for how to organize restaurants before reopening for successful business

Amid the pandemic COVID-19 waves, restaurants are occupying the frontline in the food chain. Hygienic and social distancing rules directly reflected in the restaurants to switch as takeout shops. After a long haul of COVID-19 pandemic wave, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) instructed guidance and best practices to reopen the restaurant business.

Most of the countries have permitted to reopen restaurants with necessary precautions and following COVID-19 guidance.

Reopening guidance for the restaurant industry

The National Restaurant Association and other industry representatives developed a set of guidelines to help restaurants by reopening in the not yet completed pandemic wave manner. The NRA guidelines emphasize the following practices in restaurants:

1. Food safety
2. Cleaning and sanitizing
3. Employee health monitoring and personal hygiene
4. Social distancing

The first three are well-known, and mostly all are followed to ensure customer satisfaction and to deliver the best products. The detailed guidelines are available at the National Restaurant Association – COVID-19 response guide. However, the new term "Social distancing in restaurants" is a stunning factor and owners were fuzzy about how to follow it easily.

Social distancing at restaurants during COVID-19

The most general suggestion from CDC are:

1. Floor plans to remain at least six feet apart from the customers
2. Physical barriers such as sneeze guards and partitions at cash registers
3. Providing hand sanitizers

Social distancing at restaurants in South Korea

South Korea, this country, is always following an excellent strategy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic wave. Mostly they had good results.

Aiming the "social distancing at restaurants," they had come up with a new idea.

They executed a partition plan in the food table. Such implementation of partition in the food table ensures the restriction in each customer's contact with other customers.

The photograph depicts the implemented partition in the entire restaurant table to promote the social distancing at the food table.

How to build a partition in the food table?

Most of the restaurants struggle to develop a floor plan and seat arrangements to maintain six feet distance according to the CDC temporary regulations due to COVID-19.

How did South Koreans develop partitions in the food table?

They had simple recyclable cardboard arranged according to the partition size and table arrangements to separate the customers. Recyclable cardboard can be a simple solution.

Follow the steps to make cardboard partitions:

1. Buy cardboard according to the length of the table
2. Here I considered a table with six feet long and five feet width
3. Two cardboards (one with 6 feet length, one with 5 feet length)
4. Height is up to your wish (usually 2 feet is enough to avoid the contact with others)
5. Cut the cardboard as shown in the below figures (dotted line)

6. Connect the two cardboards through the cut marks

Now, you have the simple cardboard partition for your food table.

Making this partition, you are ensuring the social distance policy at your restaurant.

I hope you had an idea to make partitions and guidance to reopen the restaurant business. Enjoy your business and satisfy the customers by providing a safe atmosphere.