“Nothing in the world is worth turning one’s back on what one loves.” 

Albert Camus, The Plague

If your shop is still operating, I wanted to share with you a compiled list of tips from around the industry that can help you stay safe and keep your staff and customers safe while we all try to figure out how the fuck to make payroll. Many thanks to Counter Culture, who shared the original version of the document that I reworked for Phoenix.

If this is a tl;dr situation: Wash your damn hands. Don’t touch your face. Be safe. Be excellent to each other always. Social distance is key, but practice empathy: we get through this together or we don’t get through this at all.

And call your Senators and Representatives to demand that we are a part of the federal stimulus plan. Break the goddamn switchboard: 202.224.3121.

If you are closing your shops for an indeterminate amount of time, please heed this important advice from Andrew Sinclair of Mad Lab Coffee Roasters:

If you *are* closing down for an undetermined amount of time, make sure you: A. Drain your espresso machine’s boiler. B. Unplug it. C. Close the water line going to it.

Otherwise when you open back up your first call may be to a technician.

Without further ado:

Transaction changes

• Minimize cash handling; enforce glove/hand washing/sanitizing after cash handling.
• All Pastries handled with disposable paper or gloves.
• Register will be sanitized after every customer, sanitizing touch screens, or utilize paper films.
• Encourage contactless payment when possible.
• Temporary hold on serving beverages in reusable cups/outside vessels. 
  • Optional to honor any discount for anyone who presents a cup.
• Ask each customer at time of order if they would like cream or sugar in their coffee.
• Verbally offer to each customer that they can use disposable paper to tip and sign iPad (or disable signature option if tipping doesn’t matter)

Policy changes

• Staff beverages should be off floor and remain covered/lidded.  
• Staff will wash hands thoroughly and frequently with soap and water.
• Staff to take temperature before reporting for shift.
• Staff to take 5-14 days in self-imposed isolation if they have traveled or may have been in contact with the virus. 
• Staff is instructed to stay home if they have fever, cough, or other flu symptoms (inform manager immediately, per handbook)
  • Share handbook policy about sick leave w/ staff
• Hand Washing/sanitizing after every cell phone use.
• Sanitize surfaces and door knobs and front door every 30 to 60 minutes
• Hours of operation will be in line with city ordinance.
• Create fliers for bathroom policies (ex: close toilet lid before flush)
• No use of pitcher rinsers for tasting cups.
• Staff accountability: hold each other accountable while clocked in. 
• Practice no contact greetings: no hand shakes, high fives or hugs.

Interaction changes

• Provide sanitizer at the entrance for all guests.
• Encouraged social distancing, made recommendations for 1 meter of space rule. 
  • Create info cards or fliers at share tables.
  • Remove half of chairs and tables in cafe to impose distance. Remove all bar stools near barista work areas.
  • Ideally, switch to to-go only
• Create a space separate from the espresso machine/pastry case for pick up.
• Move the condiment counter behind the bar/Staff to handle lids for cups. Add any requests to drink order.
• No self serve water.
• Admin hours that can be done off-site, should be done off-site
• Create schedule structure with few/zero overlapping employees from shift to shift to reduce interaction with wider staff.
• Minimize mingling during shift handoff
• No reusable hand towels.
• Provide only wrapped straws and disposable utensils.
• Mark 6-foot spacing in the queue to enforce social distancing

Spending changes

• No mid-shift to make scheduling without overlaps easier and create staff redundancy in case of illness. One in, one out.
• Brew batch coffee to order within 2 hours of close to minimize waste.
• Inform customers that we can fulfill special orders of 5 pound bags of coffee, Chemex/Hario/Aeropress, etc.
• Keep retail coffee, instant coffee and other take home goods for people fully stocked.

Further reading & resources

• https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/index.html
• https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-business-response.html
• https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/cleaning-disinfection.html
• https://mapitforward.org/blog/preparing-professionally-for-a-coronavirus-outbreak  
• https://sprudge.com/coffee-coronavirus-live-updates-161203.html
• https://www.vox.com/2020/3/10/21171481/coronavirus-us-cases-quarantine-cancellation
• https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html