New Restaurant Opening Checklist Template

What the New Restaurant Opening Checklist Covers

1. 1
   Phase 1

   Phase 1: Concept, Budget & Opening Date

   4 tasks

   Answer the setup questions on the first task: which rules apply and whether you need an alcohol or premises licence. Every due date counts back from the opening date.

   • Record the restaurant, the opening date and the opening team — the restaurant and its site, the target opening date that every due date counts back from, the owner who approves the budget and the go/no-go, the project lead and the head chef
   • Define the concept and the customer — cuisine, service style, seats, expected covers, average spend and opening hours; these drive the kitchen design, the menu, the staffing and the hours on any licence
   • Build the opening budget — premises, fit-out and kitchen equipment, licences and fees, opening stock, wages before opening, marketing and a contingency, with how each is funded
   • Owner approves the budget and the target opening date — before the lease is signed or any contractor is booked; a date that leaves too little time for licences or the fit-out is moved now, not in the last month
2. 2
   Phase 2

   Phase 2: Premises, Lease & Fit-Out

   7 tasks

   The kitchen layout, the extraction and the gas supply have the longest lead times and are the hardest to change later. Ask the local authority for advice before you commit to a site or change it.

   • Check the site can be used as a restaurant — ask the local planning or zoning office whether a restaurant is allowed in the unit, and whether extraction ducting, signs or outdoor seating need permission
   • Agree the lease terms with a solicitor — rent, length, break clauses, permitted use and hours, and who pays for the extraction, the gas supply and the fit-out
   • Brief the kitchen designer — the menu, covers and equipment list, and a flow from delivery to storage, preparation, cooking, service and wash-up that keeps raw and ready-to-eat food apart
   • Design the extraction and ventilation with a competent engineer — a canopy over every appliance that gives off fumes and heat, enough make-up air, a high-level discharge clear of neighbours, and ductwork and filters that can be cleaned
   • Plan the wash-hand basins, sinks and drainage — enough basins with hot and cold water for staff to wash their hands, separate sinks for food and equipment where needed, and a grease trap or grease removal unit so fat does not go down the drain
   • Install and commission the kitchen equipment — gas appliances fitted and checked by a qualified gas engineer, extraction tested, fridges and freezers holding temperature before food arrives, with certificates, manuals and the snag list kept
   • Complete the fire risk assessment for the finished premises — cooking, gas, escape routes, alarms and fire-fighting equipment, with every action closed before opening; get fire safety advice before the fit-out starts, not after
3. 3
   Phase 3

   Phase 3: Registration, Permits & Food Safety

   7 tasks

   The deadlines here are set by law and count back from the day you start trading. Your rules answer in Phase 1 adds the notes for your country.

   • US: submit the plans for health department review — before building or converting the kitchen: the intended menu, expected volume, layout, equipment specifications and evidence of a food safety management system
   • Register the food business or apply for the permit — with the local authority in the UK, or the health department in the US, early enough to meet the deadline that applies where you are
   • Write the food safety management system — HACCP-based procedures for your dishes and processes, or a pack such as Safer Food, Better Business for caterers, finished before the first food is prepared
   • Arrange pest control and waste collection — a pest control contract and commercial waste and recycling collections in place before the first delivery, with a bin store that keeps pests out
   • Set up the daily food safety records — opening and closing checks, fridge and hot-holding temperatures, cleaning schedules and the diary, ready to use from the first training shift
   • Make sure a trained person is in charge on every shift — the people who will run each shift, the food safety training each has and any certificate the rules require
   • Prepare for the first inspection — premises clean and finished, the food safety system and records ready to show, and a named person to walk the officer round
4. 4
   Phase 4 — If you need a licence

   Phase 4: Alcohol & Premises Licence

   6 tasks

   Shown only when the first task says you will sell alcohol, or in England and Wales sell hot food or drink after 11pm or put on entertainment. The licensee and age-check tasks appear only when you sell alcohol.

   • Decide the licensable activities and hours — alcohol for drinking on or off the premises, late-night hot food or drink, music or other entertainment, and the days and times for each
   • Appoint the designated premises supervisor or licensee — the person named on the licence as responsible for alcohol sales, with the qualification and personal licence the rules require
   • Apply for the licence — the application form, fee, plan of the premises and operating details, sent to the licensing authority and to anyone else the process requires
   • Display the application notice and deal with any representations — the notice shown where the public can read it for as long as the rules say, and any objections answered or taken to a hearing
   • Receive the licence and record its conditions — every condition on the licence copied into the opening procedures and the staff briefing, and the licence kept at the premises
   • Set up age checks and a refusals log — an age-checking policy, a refusals log and a briefing on the licence conditions for everyone who serves alcohol
5. 5
   Phase 5

   Phase 5: Suppliers, Menu & Allergens

   7 tasks

   Allergen information is a legal duty in both countries. Record the allergens in every recipe before the menu is printed, not after.

   • Write and cost every recipe — a standard recipe for each dish with ingredients, quantities, method and portion, and a cost per portion that the menu price covers
   • Choose suppliers and set up the supplier records — reputable suppliers for each food, with delivery days, minimum orders and contacts, kept as the record of who supplies each food
   • Record the allergens in every dish — from the recipes and the supplier specifications, including sauces, garnishes, oils and anything added at the pass, in one allergen matrix
   • Decide how customers get allergen information — written on the menu, or a matrix or folder on request with a clearly visible notice saying how to ask, plus how a server passes an allergen order to the kitchen
   • US: add a consumer advisory for raw or undercooked dishes — dishes such as cooked-to-order burgers, raw oysters or raw-egg dressings marked on the menu with a disclosure and a reminder
   • Trial every dish and sign off the menu — each dish cooked at the planned portion, timing and plating, adjusted, and the menu and prices checked against the recipes and the allergen matrix before print
   • Place the opening stock orders — dry, chilled and frozen deliveries timed for after the fridges are holding temperature, checked on arrival and put away straight away
6. 6
   Phase 6

   Phase 6: Hiring & Training

   6 tasks

   Food safety training comes before anyone handles open food. Book the training shifts early enough to run a soft launch with the full team.

   • Plan the roles, hours and wage budget — front-of-house and kitchen roles for each service, the hours each covers and what they cost against the budget
   • Recruit the team — adverts, interviews and paid trial shifts, with offers and start dates that leave time for training before the soft launch
   • Set up as an employer — payroll, the tax registrations and the insurance you need before anyone starts work
   • Check every hire’s right to work — before their first shift, with a copy of the documents and the date of the check kept on file
   • Run the food safety induction for every starter — illness reporting, handwashing, personal hygiene, cleaning and allergens, before anyone handles open food
   • Train each station and the systems — kitchen stations, the steps of service, the till, the booking system and the allergen order route, practised on training shifts
7. 7
   Phase 7

   Phase 7: Systems, Soft Launch & Opening Day

   6 tasks

   The soft launch tests everything with real guests while mistakes are cheap. The owner’s go/no-go holds the opening day tasks until it is given.

   • Open bookings and publish the opening details — the booking system, opening hours, map and directory listings, website and social posts with the opening date
   • Set up the till and card payments — menu items and prices that match the printed menu, allergen and modifier buttons, card terminals, staff logins and the end-of-day report
   • Run the soft launch — invited guests or limited covers over one or more services, with the full food safety and allergen procedures, and feedback collected from guests and staff
   • Fix what the soft launch found and re-test it — slow tickets, equipment faults, menu or till errors and gaps in training, each put right and checked on a training service
   • Owner gives the go/no-go to open — registration or permit in place, any licence granted, fire risk assessment actions closed, staff inducted and soft launch fixes done
   • Run opening day — a pre-shift briefing on the menu, allergens and roles, the opening checks done, a manager on the floor all day and every problem written down
8. 8
   Phase 8

   Phase 8: First-Month Review

   4 tasks

   The first month shows what the plan got wrong. Review it while the opening is fresh, and agree the changes for month two.

   • Review the first week — covers, sales, ticket times, complaints, food waste and the problems logged on opening day
   • Compare the first month’s costs with the budget — food cost, wages and the final fit-out spend against the opening budget, with the reasons for any gap
   • Review the food safety records and any inspection — gaps in the daily records, corrective actions and complaints, and the report or rating from any inspection so far
   • Owner signs off the first-month review — the changes for month two agreed: menu, rota, hours, suppliers and prices, each with an owner