Five easy spring-cleaning tips to refresh your pizzeria: Making Dough with Diane

It is time for your pizzeria’s annual spring cleaning and to look for easy ways to renew your spaces. As the weather warms up, there is no better time to make sure your spring-cleaning plans are well organized and underway. Spring is an excellent time to renew your spaces, eliminate the clutter and thoroughly clean your pizzeria. 

Get your employees involved and make it as easy and fun as possible. Play lively music, order refreshing drinks and tasty food and get cleaning. It’s the perfect opportunity to get your staff together for team building and bonding. Be sure to reward your staff accordingly.

Refreshing your pizzeria operation will create a safer, cleaner, brighter environment that will attract customers and build trust. Here are five easy spring-cleaning tips to refresh your pizzeria.

1. Deep-clean the outside of your shop
Don’t overlook the importance of a clean exterior. Get the front façade of your pizzeria operation a serious power wash to rinse away the winter mess. Pizza operators often focus more on the interior than their facility’s exterior, but keeping your pizzeria’s exterior squeaky clean is just as important. As all the snow melts away, the building roofs and exteriors, sidings, gutters, windows, shutters, surrounding sidewalks, awnings, signage, entryways, outdoor furniture and parking lots of your pizzeria are probably covered in dirt, grime, mud, salt and all kinds of residual winter elements. If you have a patio or other outdoor seating areas, it’s time to get them ready. Power wash tables, chairs, the patio and fence.

2. Tackle the behind-the-scenes and declutter your entire space
A clean space equals a clear mind. Start by getting rid of the clutter. Take stock of and organize your inventory and take time to reduce clutter and throw away items you no longer need. Go through your office, organize cords and cables, go through all the piles of papers on your desk, file away important papers, shred the rest, and tidy up and replenish office supplies. Most operators I have worked with unnecessarily hold on to old files for years. Trash old project files. Go paperless. Moving from paper to digital is practical, means less clutter and is good for the planet.

Kitchen areas are particularly prone to clutter because of all those kitchen gadgets and tools. Try to weed out unnecessary tools and gadgets. Get some good jars and storage containers for your dried goods and spices. Give away the cookbooks that you are never going to use. Think about making your space more functional by organizing items more efficiently. How can you best use your kitchen space? Do you have excess storage containers or should you buy new ones? Check your storage containers, jars, or container lids without the corresponding mate. Do you have kitchen utensils or tools that you have duplicates of or never used? How about old spices and expired food? Throw out these chipped and cracked dishes, mugs or glasses. How many aprons do you have, and how many do you need? What about threadbare and ratty dishcloths and dishtowels? Throw away your smelly sponges and get rid of your gnarly potholders. What about scratched, non-stick cookware? Decluttering is great for your pizza operation, as well as for ensuring the peace of mind of customers and the team. Start a decluttering scavenger hunt today.

3. Clean the front and back of the house area
Take a walk around your pizzeria and look at things from your guests’ point of view. Pizzerias often include a takeaway coffee station, an area for a birthday celebration, or a café, so make sure to deep-clean your pizzeria’s customer-facing areas. Strict cleanliness and hygiene standards apply when working with and selling food. Have your carpets steam cleaned, degrease the hood and toss out things you don’t need. It will improve the visual impression, create a hygienic environment and leave an overall positive impression.

Make sure all appliances and equipment units are thoroughly cleaned and functioning properly, in addition to sweeping and mopping, cleaning and sanitizing flyer and grill areas, walk-in refrigerators and freezer areas, counters, tables, chairs and kitchen hoods. Use a duster to get to those hard-to-reach areas under appliances and large equipment units like worktables, shelving, cooking and preparation equipment, refrigeration units, storage shelves, pantries, closets, and other pieces of furniture. Vacuum under rugs and floor mats. 

Clean and sanitize trash bins. Clean windowsills and blinds with a damp cloth to allow fresh air to circulate. Dust light fixtures and any ceiling fan with a microfibre cloth. 

A wet/dry vacuum can be used to quickly remove dry, loose food from the display counters and ovens. The surface of the glass sales counter needs to be cleaned using a combination of vinegar, baking soda and warm water or a glass cleaner and microfibre cloth. This chemical-free cleaning solution can be used to clean floors, walls and much more.

Check all the items in your pantry, shelves, and storage areas for expired items, and rotate through them so that the oldest products are at the front. Replace air filters and vacuum vents to minimize dust and ensure fresh air flows through your workplace. Deep-clean and sanitize staff break rooms and bathrooms. Dirty bathrooms signify a business not caring about the little things.

4. Inspect the refrigerated storage areas, HVAC, and ovens
You should thoroughly walk through and inspect your pizzeria’s air conditioning and refrigerated storage areas. Get rid of debris and change any filters on your HVAC units. Don’t forget to check the gaskets on your refrigerators and freezers. I always advise my clients to have a professionally certified HVAC technician look closely at all their equipment. Your ovens and other top-of-the-line equipment deserve a deep cleaning to avoid an unclean environment and future equipment malfunction.

5. Re-organize your furniture and displays
Consider a simple rearrangement of your furniture or pizza displays: it will allow your space to feel even more renewed. 

Don’t forget that new and unique changes can entirely alter how your customers see your pizzeria and, as a result, will encourage them to visit your pizzeria more often. Make sure that your restaurant is a place where customers can relax and have some great food.   | CP

Diane Chiasson, FCSI, president of Chiasson Consultants Inc., has been helping foodservice, hospitality and retail operators increase sales for over 35 years by providing innovative and revenue-increasing food service and retail merchandising programs, interior design, branding, menu engineering, marketing and promotional campaigns. Contact her at 416-926-1338, send her an email at chiasson@chiassonconsultlants.com, or visit www.chiassonconsultants.com