The Complete Restaurant Preventive Maintenance Checklist

Restaurant maintenance lacks the glamor of other aspects of the restaurant business, such as developing new dishes or serving well-presented food. However, maintenance is critical to ensuring that customers have a quality experience in your restaurant.

Restaurant maintenance involves checking, repairing, and replacing equipment or systems. It involves proactively inspecting and fixing issues before they result in downtime or an experience that is less than optimal. For example, restaurant preventive maintenance would require checking the air conditioning system at regular intervals and repairing worn components before the system quits. Or it may require removing debris from the vents of ovens to prevent a breakdown.

When considering how and when to perform maintenance on your restaurant equipment it helps to start with the frequency the tasks should be completed and where. A restaurant preventive maintenance checklist is a great place to start and iterate upon to meet your individual needs. 

What Areas Are Included in Restaurant Preventive Maintenance?

Everything about your restaurant impacts the customer experience, so restaurant preventive maintenance management must include all your company equipment, such as ovens, walk-ins, and point-of-sale systems. A comprehensive preventive maintenance program will help you save money in the long run by improving uptime and overall customer satisfaction. When developing your restaurant’s preventive maintenance strategy, consider these areas: 

• Building systems; for example, the HVAC system
• Front of the house; for example, the furniture or the point-of-sale equipment
• Back of the house; for example, the oven
• The building exterior; for example sidewalks and awnings

Each of these areas has tasks to be performed daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually.

Daily Restaurant Maintenance Tasks

Maintenance tasks that restaurants should perform daily touch every part of the facility and are the typical checklist that one might think of when thinking of an opening or closing checklist. 

Back of the House 

• Cleaning, brushing, and scraping fryers, racks, and grills
• Emptying and degreasing drip trays
• Cleaning the inside and outside of ovens and ranges and checking the door seals
• Cleaning debris and wiping spills in refrigerators
• Sweep or mop the floors or walk-in refrigeration units
• Record internal temperatures in refrigerators and warewashers
• Clean and sanitize all components of food preparation equipment
• Drain the water from the warewashers and clean them with warm water.
• Clean all utensils, countertops, bowls, coffee makers, and kitchen tools

Front of the House

• Cleaning the furniture and all the POS equipment
• Remove the soda machine nozzles and clean and sanitize them
• Empty ice from the bin and clean and sanitize it and the ice chute
• Clean stains from walls or carpets

Building Systems

• Check for, identify, and repair any frayed wires
• Inspect timers and power supply units

Building Exterior

• Ensure ADA parking spots are clear of debris
• Ensure sidewalks are clear of debris or hazards
• Ensure all doors and locks are functioning properly

Weekly Maintenance Tasks

Similar to daily tasks, weekly preventive maintenance tasks are also often included in opening and closing checklists. However, these tasks often need more oversight to ensure they are being completed to keep your restaurant running smoothly. 

Back of House

• Replacing old oil in the fryer
• Deep cleaning fryers and ovens or ranges
• Clean the intake fan on a combo oven
• Change the filter paper in the fryer or clean out the filtration system
• Season the grill or griddle
• Check to ensure door hinges appropriately align in walk-in refrigerators and freezers
• Polish the stainless steel exterior of the range or oven, warewashers, and steamers or kettle
• Clean the dishwasher filter
• Test the water temperature and rinse pressure in the dishwasher or warewasher
• Ensure drain lines are clear
• Empty and clean overflow water trays in the refrigeration unit
• Remove interior shelves in the refrigeration unit and clean the exterior and interior
• Replace coffee machine filters
• Pour drain cleaners down sinks
• Clean stains off the walls
• Reorganize stock rooms
• Grease range valve knobs
• Check refrigerant level
• Ensure temperatures in the storage room are up to code

Front of House

• Disconnect and clean syrup connectors on beverage dispensers, letting them air dry before reinstalling
• Inspect the condition of the furniture
• Look for cracks in the floor that might be a tripping hazard

Building Systems

• Check inlets, circuit breakers, panelboards, and electrical distribution systems
• Check refrigerant lines on HVAC systems

Building Exterior

• Mowing the grass
• Weeding

Monthly Maintenance Tasks

Monthly restaurant preventive maintenance tasks have less of a direct impact on the health, safety, and satisfaction of your guests and staff and instead heavily impact the longevity of your equipment and tools. 

Back of House

• Checking for and eliminating grease buildup on the range exhaust and fan.
• Remove the ice and thoroughly clean the bins
• Descale the coffee machine
• Wash floors and walls behind the equipment
• Sharpen knives
• Check fryers for gas leaks
• Inspect gaskets for any tears

Front of House

• Empty the ice from the top bin of the soda dispenser and clean and sanitize the bin and chute
• Clean the condenser on the soda dispenser

Building Systems

• Confirming that warning lights work correctly on systems
• Survey all machinery and moving systems

Building Exterior

• Cleaning windows

Quarterly Restaurant Tasks

Quarterly, or seasonally, restaurants should take additional precautions to ensure that all equipment, tools, and furniture are maintained for health, safety, and efficiency. These tasks are often more mundane than the daily, weekly, and monthly, but still equally important. 

Back of House

• Clean the condenser coil on the refrigeration unit
• Inspect the compressor and clean the fan blades on the refrigeration unit
• Clean and replace filters
• Clean and organize stockrooms
• Descale the combi oven
• Replace water filtration cartridges on the ice machine (every six months)
• Clean condenser and clean and sanitize interior bin on ice machine (every six months)
• Visually inspect griddles and ranges, looking for cracks; replace any worn knobs
• Test refrigeration temperature controls
• Check refrigerant levels

Front of House

• Check the appearance of signs and replace them, as necessary
• Ensure floor mats still provide the right amount of cushion and safety
• Tighten hardware on dining room furniture
• Tighten restroom stall hardware

Building Systems

• Ensure the HVAC system sits level
• Inspect fan blades on the HVAC system
• Clear debris around outside HVAC units

Building Exterior

• Planting
• Inspect the building enclosure for possible signs of failure

Who is Responsible for the Preventive Maintenance Checklist?

Responsibility for the items on the restaurant preventive maintenance checklist falls to different people within the organization, depending on the location of the asset and frequency of the task. For example, chefs and other members of the kitchen or back-of-the-house team will be responsible for most daily and weekly tasks. Likewise, front-of-the-house staff will be responsible for most of the daily and weekly tasks in their areas.

However, facilities maintenance staff are typically responsible for the monthly, quarterly, and annual preventive maintenance tasks in both the front and back of the house. The facilities management team is responsible for exterior and building systems tasks, regardless of their frequency.

Your Preventive Maintenance Partner

Building and facilities maintenance is critical for restaurants to continue offering an excellent customer experience. Proper asset management requires preventive maintenance, with tasks being performed at specific intervals. Ongoing monitoring and maintenance can prevent downtime, extend the life of assets, and control costs. Restaurants must maintain assets in the back-of-the-house and front-of-the-house and the building’s exterior. They also must maintain systems, such as electrical and HVAC.

ServiceChannel partners with restaurants to help them improve their customer experience while also lowering operating costs. ServiceChannel can help ensure kitchen equipment continually operates optimally and provide a clear picture of maintenance. ServiceChannel can also help you find the best providers for your assets. Contact us to learn more about our restaurant preventive maintenance tools and services.