Since I have been traveling this week, I have been partaking in one of my favorite pastimes, that is sampling the fine restaurants in the area. I say this because in a news bit on CNN there was a well-known restaurant that was shut down due to food poisoning. The news person said that there where over 30 persons admitted to the hospital. This got me thinking this type of scenario is usually associated with poor food preparation, or dirty kitchens that practice poor sanitation procedures. I will say that most restaurants that are inside a hotel seldom get themselves in this position. Since the hotel provides the cleaning of these restaurants, it is safe to say that they get cleaned on a nightly schedule. Now the stand alone restaurants are a different story. They have to clean the place as they go along, this usually consist of wiping down, and not much else. The standalone restaurants would have to contract out the cleaning to a kitchen janitorial service. This of course is expensive, and comes off the profits. I have visited some of those restaurants — if you were to walk in to their kitchen’s you would never eat there again.
I will give you a story from when I was in Memphis Tennessee. I do not know if the restaurant exists anymore. The name of the restaurant was Justin’s. The owners actually invited the customers to tour their kitchens. I took that tour. Their kitchens were immaculate, the stainless steel equipment sparkled. The floors were super clean. This place was a 4 star restaurant. Now today I have to wonder if the food places are practicing good sanitizing practices. I understand that today there are so many more food safety procedures that must be adhered to, yet some owners still try and take shortcuts. Back in the 70’s I was facilities manager for a strip hotel that had a 24 hour coffee shop, this food place never closed. The cleaners worked around the few customers in the early am hours.
I was not satisfied with the process, so I went to the General Manager and suggested that once a month we would close the coffee shop for a general cleaning. Well! You could have heard a pin drop, I could almost hear the casino come to a complete stop.
The hotel had the facilities to open a midnight buffet to accommodate the customers that wanted to have a late dinner. The general manager agreed after some semi heated discussion. So the race was on, I coordinated the kitchen workers and engineers and cooks so that they did not trip all over each other. Needless to say the project was a success, and to this day that hotel still shuts down once a month for cleaning. Once again standalone places don’t have that type of manpower. Yet these places need to be thoroughly cleaned at least twice a week (minimum). Getting customers sick usually results in law suits, which are expensive to defend. It would be cheaper to hire someone to clean the kitchen for you. Most customers assume that when they visit their favorite food establishment they are protected by the “A” card they see on display as they walk in. Ask to see the kitchen the next time you go to your favorite hangout. Cleaning a restaurant is an expense that most owners cut corners on. Take the time to check out these places that you frequent, remember that you take your family, as well as customers to these places. Here is something that I personally don’t do. I do not use fast food places, especially those that stay open 24 hours. I have seen these places at night, there are usually two very young kids attending. You will never convince me that these people will be cleaning the establishment.
I as whole will ask to see the kitchen if I go to new restaurant that I am not familiar with. That request has never been refused to me. Happy hunting and good eating.
About the Author
Alan Campbell has been in Las Vegas for over 30 years and has worked for the major strip hotels. He has spent some time in California, Los Angeles where he worked for the Radisson and Sheraton hotels. Alan considers the hospitality industry the best job in the world – it is the only place that both king's and Paupers will visit you.
The Hotel Guy
