First Steps After Your Restaurant Floods

2/20/2023 (Permalink)

Winter storms are a precursor to the tornadoes that Middle Tennessee is all too familiar with during springtime. And with peak storm season just a month away, it helps to not only prepare for it (especially after experiencing a flood in your Bellevue restaurant!), but it would also be beneficial to stormproof your restaurant for preventative purposes. When your restaurant floods, you must take immediate action to ensure that further damage doesn’t happen onsite. It only takes about 48 hours for mold to set in after a flood, so time is essential for disaster cleanup and restoration! 

What Should You And Your Restaurant Staff Do Immediately Following A Flood?

• The first step should always concern safety! Flooding can leave behind electrical hazards, debris, and in the case of your restaurant, gas leaks, so it is imperative that no one enter the building until it is safe to do so. 
• Any surfaces that have been in contact with food should be cleaned with drinking water. And, of course, you should advise all employees to wash their hands thoroughly and remove all protective clothing before walking into unaffected areas of the restaurant. 
• Don’t be fooled by appearances: wet materials can be very heavy! Be careful!

How Can You Prepare Your Restaurant For Future Storms?

• Board up windows, doors, signage, and other key areas of your restaurant before the storm hits. Securing your building is one of the best ways to prepare your restaurant for future disasters.
• Create a communication plan for crisis scenarios. This plan should include contact information available to your staff should they need it during inclement weather. Your contact list should include the following:
• Managers
• Police and fire departments
• Public health authorities
• Electric companies and gas utilities
• Test food temperatures using a calibrated thermometer and monitor food temperatures before, during, and after a storm. It is critical to note that any foods that look discolored or smell foul should be disposed of without question. 

When your restaurant is trying to get back to business after a flood, it isn’t just the operations side of things that is affected. Food preparation and preservation are literally the bread and butter of your Bellevue restaurant. Ensuring that your restaurant’s food is safe and unharmed would be one of your top priorities as a restaurant owner. Recovering from a flood is no easy feat; you don’t have to endure it alone. SERVPRO of Belle Meade and West Nashville is the water and storm damage restoration expert located near you! We have the advanced tools, highly trained team, and faster than average emergency response timing that is difficult to find in other disaster restoration companies in Bellevue. If you need us, don’t hesitate to contact us at (615) 242-9391. As business owners ourselves, we understand the joys and challenges of owning a business and are happy to help the Nashville community however we can!

This franchise is independently owned and operated.