Purpose:
Provide restaurant founders with a foundation of operational systems and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure consistent service, efficiency, and scalability from day one.
Consistency isn’t an accident; it’s a habit we write down.
1. Core Principles
- Consistency = Quality: guests should get the same experience every visit — lunch on Tuesday tastes like dinner on Saturday.
- Clarity for Staff: clear instructions cut training time and mistakes. (Mystery is for the dining room, not the dish pit.)
- Accountability: SOPs spell out who does what, when, and how — so nothing “falls through the cracks.”
- Scalability: systems that work in one location should copy-paste to two, ten, or twenty.
2. Key Operations
- Opening Procedures
Unlock, lights on, temps checked, stations stocked, line prepped, FOH ready, pre-service meeting.
A quiet, orderly start makes a busy service look easy.
- Closing Procedures
Clean down, label & store, trash & grease, cash-out, sales reports, lockup checklist.
Leave it so tomorrow’s crew sends you love letters.
- Service Standards
Greeting times, table touch cadence, ticket times, coursing rules, allergy protocol, guest recovery steps.
Hospitality that feels natural because it’s practiced.
- Prep & Production
Daily prep lists, par levels, batch recipes, HACCP/temperature logs, FIFO labeling, waste tracking.
Great menus die without great prep.
- Inventory & Purchasing
Order days, vendor list, receiving checks (weights, temps, quality), cost tracking, weekly inventory, variance review.
Cash flow loves a disciplined stockroom.
- Labor & Scheduling
Staffing matrix by daypart, position duties, breaks, swaps, call-out protocol, on-call bench.
Right people, right place, right time.
- Cash Handling & Daily Sales
Drawer counts, comps/voids approval, deposits, EOD reports, sales vs. forecast, next-day notes.
Numbers tell the story; read them nightly.
- Cleaning & Maintenance
Daily/weekly/monthly cleaning lists, deep-clean rotations, PM schedule (hoods, grease trap, HVAC), vendor log.
If it’s not on a schedule, it won’t happen.
- Health & Safety
Hand-wash SOPs, sanitizer checks, illness policy, knife safety, slip/fall prevention, incident reporting.
Safe teams serve better — and longer.
- Training & Onboarding
Role cards, shadow shifts, skills checklists, certification tracker, 30/60/90 reviews.
Train the habit, not just the task.
- Tech Stack & Data
POS setup, menu programming, inventory tool, staff comms, file naming, backups, permissions.
Your systems should work together, not gossip behind each other’s backs.
3. SOP Toolkit (What We Set Up)
- Role-based checklists (opening, service, closing)
- Par sheets & batch recipes with yields and costs
- Station maps (line, expo, dish, service)
- Shift briefs template (goals, 86’d, VIPs, notes)
- Health & safety logs (temps, sanitizer, incidents)
- Daily dashboard (sales, labor, prime cost, guest feedback)
4. Implementation Plan
- Audit & Draft: map current routines; write clean SOPs.
- Train-the-Trainer: leaders first, then cascade to the team.
- Live Week Support: observe, adjust, fix friction points.
- Audit Cadence: weekly checks → monthly tune-ups.
- Improve: retire what doesn’t work; double-down on what does.
5. Deliverables Checklist
- Complete SOP library (PDF + editable files)
- Opening/closing/service checklists by position
- Prep lists, par sheets, and batch recipes with HACCP notes
- Inventory & purchasing procedures (order cycle, receiving, counts)
- Training & onboarding package (role cards, skills checklists)
- Daily/weekly dashboards for KPIs (sales, labor, COGS, waste)