Opening & Closing Procedures
Jerome and his brother Samuel were preparing to open Detroit Soul’s second location on Jefferson Ave in Detroit. Their original location on 8 Mile Rd had been a huge success, but had primarily been staffed by the brothers and their spouses. As they looked to hire new employees who could take care of restaurant tasks without their constant assistance, Jerome and Samuel needed standardization of basic operations within the front of house and the kitchen. This standardization will ensure their restaurant maintains consistent quality, safety, and efficiency, and can be easily translated to the second location upon its opening.
The brothers expressed interest in a low-tech solution for documenting their opening and closing procedures to help new employees address daily tasks. After observing Detroit Soul operations over two visits (and sampling the delicious food!), the operations team developed a set of laminated opening/closing checklists and fridge/freezer inventory trackers and asked employees to use them and provide feedback. After three iterations, Detroit Soul’s staff reported that the documents were effective in meeting their needs. The laminated checklists and trackers have been placed around the restaurant, where they are in daily use.
View the checklists we created, utilizing the colors selected by the Branding & Identity team:
Jerome Brown
Owner, Detroit Soul
"Working with the students from DNEP was a pleasure. The team not only worked on the scoped items of the project, they also suggested industry best practice options. On-site visits to the restaurant helped them connect to our needs. This project has increased employees' accountability of duties and reduced time and redundancy in our opening and closing procedures. Every business should consider this program."