Whether you own or operate a restaurant, safety is always one of your top priorities. You’ve trained every member of the kitchen to follow proper food safety protocols while they work, and you’ve also taken measures to prevent slips and falls around the dining room.

That being said, there’s always room for improvement, and in today’s post, we’ll take a look at five easy ways you can make your restaurant a safe place for your patrons and employees alike.

When you’ve finished reading today’s post, be sure to head over to The Mad Matter’s online catalog to look through our extensive collection of floor matting options! We carry everything from commercial kitchen mats to anti-fatigue mats, and our friendly customer service team is always happy to answer any questions you have about our products.

How to Make Your Restaurant Safer

Be Proactive

This is an all-purpose tip, but we’re leading with it because it applies to each of the following sections. Restaurants are fast-paced and dynamic environments, which means that you can’t wait to address any safety hazards that arise during the day. All it takes is one customer getting food poisoning or an employee hurting themselves to tarnish your restaurant’s reputation, so always be proactive and address the following safety concerns as soon as you notice them.

Purchase New Commercial Kitchen Mats

The kitchen is the first area you should inspect. Your kitchen workers arrive early to prepare for the day and stay late to clean up, and they have to have everything they need to be successful on the job. Your dishwashing station, for instance, should have at least one commercial kitchen mat with plenty of tread to prevent any slips or falls from occurring. Prep areas and cook stations should be outfitted with similar mats, and you may want to purchase anti-fatigue mats for those who stand in the same place throughout the workday.

Replace Your Runner Mats

Runner mats are one of the easiest ways to keep various areas of your restaurant safe. You probably have a waitlist during peak business hours, and placing one or two runner mats in the waiting areas can keep your guests from slipping and falling while they wait to be seated.

Carpet is notoriously difficult to maintain in restaurants, so you probably have hardwood or some sort of synthetic tile in the dining room. While these materials can make it easy to clean up after the last guest leaves, they can also become slippery if someone spills a drink or tracks in water from the parking lot. We recommend investing in a few runner mats that you can place around the restaurant, and we offer a wide variety of options that can be matched to your establishment’s atmosphere and color scheme.

Invest in Anti-Fatigue Mats 

As we briefly mentioned in the second section, anti-fatigue mats can be a welcome addition to any space in which your employees are standing for long periods of time. Your hosts and hostesses spend the majority of their shift at a stand near the entrance, and investing in an anti-fatigue mat for this area can help them stay energized and ready for your busiest nights. You can also purchase them to place near your POS systems, allowing your servers to get a bit of a break while they go from table to table.

Evaluate Your Bathrooms

Much like your dining room, your bathrooms’ floors are made of tile or an easy-to-clean material that can easily become slippery. It’s inevitable that water will splash to the floor when people wash their hands, and you don’t want your restaurant to be the site of an accident. We have a great selection of runner mats that you can place in your bathrooms to keep the space safe, and each of the mats we offer can be easily cleaned as needed.

Shop With The Mad Matter Today!

We hope that today’s entry will help you make your restaurant safer for guests and employees alike. Keep an eye on our blog page, as we plan to add even more helpful resources for restaurant owners and operators in the coming weeks and months.

Browse our catalog if you’re ready to order commercial kitchen mats and runner mats, and don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you would like assistance with your order!