COVID Reopening Guidelines

Review CDC and OSHA federal guidance and implement procedures to safeguard employees and customers.

• CDC: Interim Guidance for Businesses and Employers to Plan and Respond to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
• CDC: What Grocery and Food Retail Workers Need to Know about COVID-19
• OSHA: Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19
• OSHA: COVID-19 Guidance for the Manufacturing Industry Workforce
• OSHA: COVID-19 Guidance for Retail Workers

Review federal, state, and local capacity and distancing requirements, group meeting limitations, and any restaurant- or bar-specific rules requiring your compliance.

• Federal: Opening Up America Again
• Alabama:
  • Order of the State Health Officer (Amended May 8, 2020)
  • Guidelines for Safeguarding All Businesses
  • Guidelines for Restaurants and Bars

Review The Alabama Restaurant Promise

• ARHA: The Alabama Restaurant Promise
• The is particularly relevant for establishments with a restaurant or other food service.

Inspect and inventory personal protective equipment (PPE), sanitizers, and other health/safety needs.

• Order now to fill any gaps and ensure ample stock for reopening.
• Review appropriate taproom sanitizers before ordering.
• Review information on food/beverage service and coronavirus.

Restart your draft system

• BA: Best Practices in Preparation for Re-opening After Extended Draught System Shutdown

Consider any preventative maintenance that may have been overlooked during the period of shutdown or reduced brewery operations.

• Examples include refilling floor, sink, and equipment drain traps, fire suppression, pressure release valves, etc.

Properly destroy out-of-code beer

• You must contact the ABC Tax and Trade Practices Division at ABCBoard–Audit@abc.alabama.gov prior to destroying product.
• The ABC is also implementing heightened safety protocols during the COVID-19 response.

Restart liability insurance if suspended.

• If you suspended your liquor liability insurance based on ABC guidance, reinstate your coverage prior to opening.

Plan to pay any excise taxes that were deferred

• If you have been deferring federal, state, or local excise taxes during the shutdown, develop a plan to return to good standing.

Implement guidelines for staff safety, distancing, and PPE usage.

• Employers must post the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) notice for their employees. See related FAQs regarding this poster.
• Train staff to correctly wear, maintain, and dispose of appropriate PPE, namely disposable gloves and a face covering over the nose and mouth.
• Consider high-traffic/shared areas. Can these areas be managed, cleaned regularly, and limited in use?
• Will you measure and record staff temperatures before their shifts? Send someone home due to a cough? Encourage open communication about mental and physical health? Have a policy and SOPs for these items and be consistent?

Host training sessions on all updated standard operating procedures (SOPs) and policies BEFORE reopening:

• Openly communicate new floor plans, menus, and notes, schedules, and shift policies, sanitation and documentation procedures, curbside/to-go and gift card programs, tipping and schedule changes, and staff hygiene and uniform standards. Have a sign-in sheet to verify employees have been informed and trained on these procedures.
• How are your employees accountable for maintaining these SOPs?
• How are you tracking the daily maintenance and completion of these crucial procedures? Written logs? Scheduled checks? Individual assignments?
• Communicate via email/video/phone frequently. Give your staff a way to communicate their concerns, ideas, and feedback regarding these policies and procedures.
• Openly communicate sick leave policy and health of staff coming in for shifts.
• Identify hard-to-cover positions and implement cross-training to prepare for possible sick leave, outages, and coverage issues.
• Create talking points and COVID-cautious FAQs for your operation for all staff answering phones. Practice questions and discuss when to involve a manager or owner.
• Refer to Serv-Safe for staff training and service recommendations.

Post handwashing signs near all sinks.

• The CDC has easy-to-print signs available, as does ServSafe.

Make hand sanitizer available in public spaces.

• Make sanitizer available to customers and staff. Install more dispensers as needed.
• Proper handwashing with soap and water is more effective than hand sanitizer according to CDC guidance.
• Staff should be encouraged to wash hands rather than sanitize whenever possible.

Create SOPs for staff handwashing and sanitizing.

• Ensure that you maintain an ample supply of sanitizing products. Getting behind on orders/supplies could mean downtime for your business.
• Train staff on location and restocking for handwashing stations, sanitizer, etc.
• Make this critical process visible and convenient.
• Times to consider requiring handwashing:
  • Before handling and running food and drink.
  • After bussing a table.
  • Before pouring beer.
  • After handling cash or credit cards.
  • Between interacting with different parties.
• Establish handwashing procedures for all staff.

Host training sessions on all updated standard operating procedures (SOPs) and policies BEFORE reopening:

• Openly communicate new floor plans, menus, and notes, schedules, and shift policies, sanitation and documentation procedures, curbside/to-go and gift card programs, tipping and schedule changes, and staff hygiene and uniform standards. Have a sign-in sheet to verify employees have been informed and trained on these procedures.
• How are your employees accountable for maintaining these SOPs?
• How are you tracking the daily maintenance and completion of these crucial procedures? Written logs? Scheduled checks? Individual assignments?
• Communicate via email/video/phone frequently. Give your staff a way to communicate their concerns, ideas, and feedback regarding these policies and procedures.
• Openly communicate sick leave policy and health of staff coming in for shifts.
• Identify hard-to-cover positions and implement cross-training to prepare for possible sick leave, outages, and coverage issues.
• Create talking points and COVID-cautious FAQs for your operation for all staff answering phones. Practice questions and discuss when to involve a manager or owner.
• Refer to Serv-Safe for staff training and service recommendations.

Update your visitor capacity based on local, state, and federal guidance.

• Create customer policies aligned with guidelines that you can cite and enforce.
• Create an SOP for head counts. Do you have door staff? Does your manager take a head count hourly?
• Dialogue with your staff so they feel comfortable and are equipped to handle guests who are not adhering to your guidelines.

Communicate your new policies/procedures with customers before they come in.

• Make sure any new policies are listed on your website and promoted through social media, especially those related to limiting service, group size, or visiting hours.
• Adjust signage prior to reopening with your customer policies.
• Brewers Association Crisis Communication Template.
• Signage should include things like handwashing signs for patrons in public restrooms.

Create SOPs for heightened and frequent taproom/public space cleaning.

• You will need to thoroughly clean more than once a day.
• Include ALL necessary details, specific/approved cleaning materials, timing, etc.
  • See Brewers Association’s Sanitizer Recommendations During COVID-19 Virus Concerns.
  • Address all frequent touchpoints including wait area benches, walls, tables, chairs, barstools, salt and pepper shakers, coasters, condiments, coat hooks, restrooms, doors including front door, restroom door, staff doors to office, kitchen, and breakroom.
    • Sample List of High Touch Items
  • What is your cleaning schedule and who is responsible for completing cleaning tasks? Who is ensuring completion of these tasks?
  • Create a log that employees must sign to verify cleaning is being done at the specified intervals.
• Periods of inactivity can cause sewer lines to dry out, introducing the potential for odors and allowing contaminated air into the building. Pour a gallon of water down every drain every two weeks to keep sewer traps operational
• CDC Recommendations for Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Facility.
• EPA Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2

Enforce social distancing with taproom, bar, and brewpub layout.

• Set all tables/chairs in accordance with the recommended or required social distancing guidelines.
• Mark appropriate bar and open space seating/standing distances.
• For bar service, clearly demarcate where patrons order and ensure social distancing from other patrons.
• Implement measures to direct customer and staff flow within public spaces.

Review all public areas for space that will make it difficult to promote and monitor social distancing. Close or restrict areas and reduce access to items as necessary.

• Consider these areas:
  • Outside smoking sections.
  • Large/open spaced rooms.
  • Side or back rooms.
  • Game or lounge areas.
  • Music or entertainment spaces.
• Does your patio have several access points? Can you close all but one in order to control the flow of traffic and number of people in that space?
• Remove games and other shared entertainment items that cannot be sanitized.

Review and update SOPs for beer service.

• Pages 57-60 of the Draught Beer Quality Manual provide guidance on these practices (i.e. No contact between faucet nozzle and glass, no submerging of faucet nozzle into the customer’s beer, growler exchange programs, etc.)

Create SOPs for handling transactions.

• CDC guidance on taking payments (found here) includes:
  • Do not touch your face afterward.
  • Ask customers to place cash on the counter rather than directly into your hand.
  • Place money directly on the counter when providing change back to customers.
  • Wipe counter between each customer at checkout.

Create SOPs for bussing tables.

• Create a policy to reduce touch points and enforce distancing.

Review and continue with COVID-cautious policies for selling beer to-go.

• To-Go Practices at the Brewery
• Handling and Filling Growlers

Consider how to provide guests water.

• Consider the best method for your brewery to reduce shared touchpoints and promote social distancing.

Create SOPs for handling merchandise items.