Restaurant opening and closing checklist by station

Split the open and the close by station. The front, kitchen, bar and phone and online ordering each get a short list, the station lead initials each line, and the manager signs the sheet. The kitchen list carries the food safety checks from the FDA Food Code, such as cold food at 41°F or below and hot food at 135°F or above.

The station lists below are ours. Change them to fit your menu and your health department. The Food Code rules are quoted from the 2026 FDA Food Code, which the FDA released on September 17, 2026. It is a model code: your state or county decides whether to adopt it, and your inspector may still work from an earlier edition. For holidays and changed hours, use our holiday hours checklist.

Which Food Code rules belong on a daily checklist?

These are the rules that turn into a daily task. The section numbers let you find each one in your local code.

Check	What the 2026 Food Code says	When to check
Person in charge	The permit holder shall ensure that a person in charge is present during all hours of operation (2-101.11)	Before the doors open, and at each shift change
Staff health	Food employees must report symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, and sore throat with fever to the person in charge (2-201.11). The permit holder shall provide a written employee illness policy, available on request (2-501.11)	As each person clocks in
Handwashing sinks	A handwashing sink shall be maintained so that it is always accessible for employee use, and used only for handwashing (5-205.11). Each needs soap, towels or a dryer, and a sign telling food employees to wash their hands (6-301.11, 6-301.12, 6-301.14)	Open, mid-shift and close
Cold and hot holding	Time/temperature control for safety food held at 41°F or less, or at 135°F or above (3-501.16)	Open, then on a set schedule
Cooler thermometers	Most units holding that food need a built-in thermometer that is easy to read, with its sensor in the warmest part of a cooler (4-204.112)	Open and close
Reheating	Cooked and cooled food reheated for hot holding must reach 165°F for 15 seconds, within two hours (3-403.11)	When soups and sauces go into the hot well
Date marks	Ready-to-eat food held over 24 hours is marked for use within seven days at 41°F or less, counting the day of preparation as day 1 (3-501.17)	Open: pull anything past its date
Cooling	Cooked food cooled from 135°F to 70°F within two hours, and to 41°F or less within six hours in total (3-501.14)	Close: log anything still cooling
Sanitizer and cloths	Wiping cloths for counters are held between uses in sanitizer and laundered daily (3-304.14). A test kit that measures sanitizer strength must be on hand (4-302.14)	Each new bucket, and at close
Food-contact surfaces	Surfaces and utensils used with that food are cleaned at least every four hours through the day (4-602.11)	Through the shift, and at close
Deliveries	Refrigerated food at 41°F or below when received (3-202.11). The person in charge makes sure food delivered while you are closed is checked and stored at the right temperature (2-103.11)	Open, when the overnight order is in the walk-in
Trash and pests	Trash cans kept covered when full or not in use, with tight lids outside (5-501.113). The premises routinely inspected for signs of pests (6-501.111)	Open and close
Bar ice	Ice used to chill bottles, cans or equipment may not then be used in food or drinks (3-303.11)	Open, when the wells are filled

Decide how often you take holding temperatures during service, write the times on the sheet, and keep to them.

What should each station check at opening?

Kitchen

• Read and log every cooler, freezer and hot well. Probe one item in each as well as reading the thermometer.
• Check the overnight delivery: temperatures, damage, and that it is put away.
• Pull food past its date mark. Check the labels on anything prepped yesterday.
• Stock each handwashing sink with soap and towels. Clear anything stored in it.
• Mix sanitizer buckets and test them with strips. Log the reading.
• Reheat house-made soups and sauces to 165°F before they go into the hot well.
• Walk the prep list against the reservation book and last week's sales for the same day.
• Look for droppings or insects in dry storage and under equipment.

Front of house

• Check the dining room, host stand and restrooms: clean, stocked, lights on.
• Count the cash drawer and sign for it.
• Turn on the POS terminals, card readers and printers. Print a test ticket to each kitchen printer.
• Read the day's 86 list and specials at lineup, with prices.
• Check the reservation book for large parties and allergy notes.

Bar

• Fill the ice wells from the ice machine with a clean scoop.
• Cut garnishes and label them with the date and time.
• Test the glass washer's sanitizer and log it.
• Count opening stock for the bottles you track.

Phone and online ordering

• Call the restaurant from a mobile phone. Check it rings where it should and that no after-hours greeting plays.
• Open your ordering page in a new browser window and check it says you are open.
• Turn delivery apps on, and check their hours match yours.
• Check that online orders print or reach the kitchen screen: place a small test order and void it.

On Toast, a snooze for the rest of the day lifts at the start of the next business day, per its order volume guide. Its online ordering status guide separates snoozed from turned off, and says a change in Toast Web that is not published does not reach guests. The ordering page itself is the thing to check.

What should each station check at closing?

• Kitchen: log final cooler and freezer temperatures. Cool leftover hot food in shallow pans and write down the time and temperature. Label and date everything saved. Clean and sanitize every food-contact surface. Empty, clean and cover the trash, and close the dumpster lid.
• Front: run the end-of-day report, count cash against it, and lock the drawer away. Close open checks and settle card batches. Wipe menus and tables, restock the host stand and roll silverware for tomorrow.
• Bar: empty and clean the ice wells. Cover or throw out garnishes. Count closing stock. Lock the liquor.
• Phone and online: turn off or snooze online ordering and each delivery app. Switch the phone to its after-hours route and check the greeting gives tomorrow's hours.
• Manager: walk every station, sign the sheet, set the alarm and lock up.

Our call forwarding checklist covers moving the phone between routes, and our voicemail greeting guide has after-hours scripts. If an answering service or AI takes calls while you are closed, check it gives the right hours for tomorrow. Maple Voice answers hours and FAQ calls around the clock and can transfer calls to staff, per its plan page. If the internet goes down at open, our POS offline guide covers what keeps working.

What does a one-page sheet look like?

Print this, fill in the readings, and keep the sheets. It is our example. Add the lines your health department asks for.

When	Station	Check	Reading or note	Initials
Open	Manager	Person in charge named for each shift
Open	Manager	Staff asked about illness symptoms
Open	Kitchen	Walk-in, reach-ins and freezer read and logged	°F each
Open	Kitchen	Overnight delivery checked and put away	°F
Open	Kitchen	Food past its date pulled
Open	Kitchen	Handwashing sinks stocked and clear
Open	Kitchen and bar	Sanitizer tested	Strength
Open	Kitchen	Hot well items reheated to 165°F	°F
Open	Front	Drawer counted, test ticket printed
Open	Phone and online	Test call, ordering page open, apps on
Mid-shift	Kitchen	Holding temperatures on your schedule	°F
Close	Kitchen	Cooling food logged with time	°F and time
Close	Kitchen	Surfaces cleaned and sanitized, trash covered
Close	Bar	Ice wells emptied, garnishes stored, stock counted
Close	Front	Cash counted against the report, batches settled
Close	Phone and online	Ordering off, phone on its after-hours route
Close	Manager	Walk-through done, sheet signed, doors locked

How do you keep the checklist in use?

1. Give each station lead their own section, and have the manager sign the whole sheet.
2. Write the actual reading and its unit on each line.
3. Write down what you did when a reading was out of range, such as moving food to another cooler.
4. Read last week's sheets on Monday. A cooler that reads high every afternoon needs a repair call.
5. When an inspector writes something up, add a line for it.

Our guide to kitchen food safety tech covers sensors and digital logs that take cooler readings for you.

Published by Maple, which sells AI phone answering and ordering to restaurants. This AI-assisted guide quotes the FDA's 2026 Food Code and Toast's help pages, and adds original station checklists and a sample sheet. The checklists are ours. It is not legal advice. Your health department sets the rules where you operate.