The opening shift
Openers arrive before the doors do. How much before depends on your prep, but 60 to 90 minutes for the kitchen and 30 to 60 for the floor is common. Every opening shift should have one person responsible for the checklist, usually the opening lead or manager. A typical opening checklist covers:
- Alarm, lights, walk-in and equipment temperatures logged.
- Prep list done and stations stocked.
- Till counted and the POS opened.
- Floor set, restrooms checked, specials briefed.
The closing shift
Closing takes longer than people expect, often 30 to 60 minutes after the last table. Schedule closers to the real end of the work, not the time the kitchen stops taking orders, or the timesheet won't match the schedule. The closing lead owns:
- Kitchen breakdown, cleaning and food storage.
- Side work checked before servers leave.
- Cash-out and deposit.
- Locking up and setting the alarm.
Avoid scheduling the same person to close and then open the next morning. A midnight close and a 9 AM open leaves very little sleep once you count the commute.
An example day
A Friday, lunch 11:30 to 2:30 and dinner 5 to 10
Example day
- 11:30 AM Lunch
- 3:30 PM Handoff
- 10 PM Last seating
| Shift | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| Opening cook | 9 AM | 4 PM |
| Opening lead | 9:30 AM | 5:30 PM |
| Closing cook | 3 PM | 11:30 PM |
| Closing lead | 3:30 PM | 12 AM |
| Closing server | 4 PM | 11:30 PM |
| Dish / close | 5 PM | 12 AM |
An example week
The example below shows only the opening and closing roles. Add your mid-shift servers and cooks around them. Sunday is lunch only in this example, so it has no late closers.
| Employee | Role | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carmen | Opening lead | 9:30–5:30 | 9:30–5:30 | off | off | 9:30–5:30 | 9:00–5:00 | 9:00–5:00 |
| Ray | Opening cook | 9:00–4:00 | 9:00–4:00 | 9:00–4:00 | 9:00–4:00 | off | 9:00–4:00 | off |
| Beth | Closing lead | off | 3:30–11:30 | 3:30–11:30 | 3:30–11:30 | 3:30–12:00 | 3:30–12:00 | off |
| Omar | Closing cook | 3:00–11:00 | off | 3:00–11:00 | 3:00–11:00 | 3:00–11:30 | 3:00–11:30 | off |
| Lena | Closing server | 4:00–11:00 | 4:00–11:00 | off | off | 4:00–11:30 | 4:00–11:30 | off |
| Tariq | Dish / close | 5:00–11:30 | off | 5:00–11:30 | 5:00–11:30 | 5:00–12:00 | 5:00–12:00 | off |
For how to staff the rest of the week around these shifts, see how to schedule restaurant employees.