coronavirus

Hong Kong Restaurant Group Shares Coronavirus Reopening Playbook

A Hong Kong restaurant. Photo: Chan Long Hei/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

A major Hong Kong hospitality group has released a “Covid-19 Playbook” to help other restaurateurs once they reopen. A resource for American chefs and restaurateurs who have looked for guidance — as Momofuku man Dave Chang has done on Twitter — the document details how Black Sheep Restaurants is operating in this new landscape, and offers detailed advice and strategies. Running 17 pages, it’s described as a “manual on how we are attempting to get on top of the situation, stay ahead of the curve, and come out the other end of it as a team with our values intact.”

The playbook includes best practices like handwashing and sanitation of all surfaces every 30 minutes as well as deep cleaning every ten days; how to help staff who may not be able to communicate in the local language; eliminating or limiting travel by team members between restaurants; and other advice. Among other things, Black Sheep says that owners should make all guests sign a health-declaration form, with contact details, and turn away those who decline to do so. Their restaurants are currently only seating every other table, but they say they also recognize that “physical distancing is going to be part of the ‘new normal’ for the foreseeable future.”

H.K. Restaurant Group Shares Coronavirus Reopening Playbook