The food and beverage (F&B) industry has suffered the full brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some businesses turned to food delivery as a means of survival, while some ceased all operations temporarily in order to minimise their losses. However, with the circuit breaker now lifted, it’s time to mount a comeback. When the “safe transition” phase (also known as the ‘second phase’) arrives, your F&B outlet should be ready to welcome your regular customers back. Here are some of the measures you can take to ensure that your restaurant is safe distancing-compliant while caring for the health and safety of your employees.
Prioritise Hygiene Above All Else
The Covid-19 pandemic is an invisible foe, hence the reason why hygienic practices are more important than ever, especially when your business caters to the masses. With the restaurant and its employees’ health and safety at stake, a change in the regular cleaning routine is required. Cleaning and sanitising the furniture should be done each time a customer finishes their food and decides to leave.
Make things easier for your staff by investing in furniture that is easier to clean. Plastic dining chairs and any dining chair with PVC seats are great options in these circumstances. Unlike fabric, plastic and PVC do not absorb stains. When it comes to dining tables, laminate tables are the safest option. Laminate tables have a thin, synthetic top layer that feels like plastic. Much like plastic and PVC, laminate tables do not absorb stains made by food or drinks and are much easier to clean as well.
Invest in ‘Flexible’ Furniture Pieces
Chairs and tables are the two main furniture for F&B businesses. In order for safe distancing measures to be implemented successfully, smaller dining tables and movable booth seats are highly recommended.
Why smaller dining tables? Social distancing tips on the web suggest keeping a safe distance of 1 metre, even if you are dining in at a restaurant. If you are accommodating a group of four or more, you can simply combine multiple tables together to fit them, while helping them maintain a healthy distance. When it comes to individuals or pairs, you can use the dining table as it is. Large dining tables do not offer such flexibility.
Why movable booth seats (also known as banquette seats)? Most restaurants incorporate booth seats in their dining area as these cushioned seats provide comfort, style and even exclusivity to diners. As long as the booth seats are built modularly and not mounted to the floor or the wall, there’s always the flexibility of changing your dining layout. Given the situation, having the flexibility to shift booth seats whenever required is a game changer. Banquette seats like the Strap Booth 1 or Strap Booth 2 are standalone and modular, allowing you to shift and combine them if and when necessary. Less seats and space are wasted with this new arrangement.
Consider Wooden Furniture
According to Healthline, the Covid-19 virus has been proven to linger longer on surfaces like stainless steel and glass. The virus can linger up to 7 days on stainless steel, but only up to 2 days on wood. This is why businesses should strongly consider investing in wooden furniture. As an alternative to purchasing an entire table, there’s always wooden tabletops to consider.
As for seating options, you should consider wooden dining benches and wooden dining chairs. Do you know why wooden dining benches and chairs are great investment options? This goes back to regular cleaning routines, where waiters and waitresses have a tendency to only wipe and sanitise the tables. As new cleanliness standards and routines will be introduced, minimise the risks and safeguard your employees by investing in wooden benches and chairs.
In the next few months, many people will be asking questions about social distancing and searching for tips on how to social distance properly. Let your restaurant be top of mind during phase 2 by equipping your restaurant to be post-circuit breaker ready now. Browse our comprehensive collection of restaurant furniture now.
