Front of house is usually cleaned nightly after close. The crew wipes tables, chairs and booths, cleans the host stand and menus if asked, details entrance and window glass, empties trash and cleans the floors. Restrooms deserve the most attention, since guests judge a restaurant by them. That means toilets, urinals, sinks, mirrors, partitions and floors cleaned every night, with dispensers restocked so the morning crew does not open to empty paper towels.
Kitchen floors need a different approach than dining room floors. Grease builds up on tile and grout and makes floors slippery, so the crew uses a degreaser, scrubs with a deck brush or machine, and rinses so the film does not dry back onto the surface. Drains and floor sinks get attention as well. Food contact surfaces, grills, fryers and other cooking equipment are usually the kitchen team's responsibility unless the scope says the cleaning company handles them.
Some work belongs to other specialists. Kitchen exhaust hood and duct cleaning follows a schedule set by fire code requirements and the hood company, and grease traps are pumped by specialist haulers. A nightly cleaning crew does not replace either one. Local health department inspections do happen, so a written scope that spells out who cleans what, and when, avoids the common mistake of assuming the cleaning company covers tasks no one actually assigned.
Keeping Twin Cities restaurants clean through every season
Minneapolis restaurants fight the same winter problem as every other building, only with more foot traffic. Salt, sand and slush come in with every guest from late fall into spring, leaving white residue on dining room tile and wet floors at the host stand. That residue ends up tracked into restrooms and toward the kitchen as well. Restaurants in the North Loop, Northeast Minneapolis and Uptown, and in suburban centers in Edina and St. Louis Park, often ask for extra entrance mopping and more frequent floor care through the colder months.
Restaurant cleaning almost always happens late at night or early in the morning, in the hours between the last guests leaving and prep starting. Tell the provider your closing time and when the kitchen crew arrives, since that window sets the crew size. Places that host brunch or open early may need the work done right after close, while dinner-only spots often have more room in the morning.
Sample restaurant cleaning schedule
| Task | Frequency |
|---|---|
| Dining room tables, booths and chairs | Nightly after close |
| Restrooms cleaned and restocked | Nightly after close |
| Kitchen floor degreasing and drains | Nightly or several times a week |
| Entrance and window glass | Nightly to weekly |
| Deep scrub of kitchen tile and grout | Weekly to monthly |
| Walls, vents and high dusting in the dining room | Monthly |
| Hood and duct cleaning by a specialist | On the schedule set by the hood company |
Read this as a baseline, not a commitment. After walking your office and hearing how people actually use it, your provider will revise it.
Typical scope of work
- Dining room tables, booths and chairs
- Host stand and entrance area
- Restroom cleaning and restocking
- Kitchen floor degreasing and scrubbing
- Floor drains and floor sinks
- Entrance doors and window glass
- Trash and recycling removal
- Mopping and detailing dining room floors
The final task list and schedule get agreed between you and the provider during the quoting process.
What changes the cost of restaurant cleaning
- Size and seating
- The size of the dining room, the number of booths and tables, and how many restrooms the restaurant has all change how long the crew needs each night.
- Kitchen scope
- Floors only is a smaller job than floors plus walls, prep areas or equipment exteriors. Spell out exactly which kitchen tasks belong to the cleaning crew and which stay with staff.
- Grease level
- High-volume kitchens with fryers and grills build grease faster, so floors take more degreaser, more scrubbing and sometimes a machine instead of a mop.
- Service window
- A short gap between close and morning prep may need a bigger crew to finish in time. Late-night or early-morning hours can also affect scheduling and the quote.
Related services in Minneapolis
- Floor Care in Minneapolis
- Disinfection Services in Minneapolis
- Commercial Window Cleaning in Minneapolis
- Janitorial Services in Minneapolis
Cleaning for other types of business in Minneapolis
- Church Cleaning in Minneapolis
- School and Daycare Cleaning in Minneapolis
- Warehouse Cleaning in Minneapolis
- Industrial Cleaning in Minneapolis
Service areas
Businesses throughout the Minneapolis area send us restaurant cleaning requests, including from Downtown Minneapolis, North Loop, Northeast Minneapolis, Uptown, St. Paul, Bloomington and beyond. See all areas.