Is your restaurant either closed or operating on limited take-out/delivery hours during the COVID-19 pandemic? If you answered yes, then it’s crucial that you implement proper security measures that protect your business while it’s left unattended.

The Canadian government is recommending that citizens practice social distancing, and local governments in Western Canada have closed non-essential businesses to the public. 

That means as a restaurant owner you have one of two options. You can either stay open for business and operate on limited opening hours, only selling food for delivery or take out, or you can close your restaurant for the time being until this pandemic is over. 

Whichever option you have chosen, it’s more than likely that your restaurant will be left unattended for a significantly longer period of time each day. Unfortunately, this makes your premises more enticing to criminals - particularly robbers and thieves. 

As a result, it’s more crucial now than ever before that you implement an effective security strategy for your business. Not sure how to improve the security of your empty restaurant? Sonitrol Western Canada has listed some tips here:

Protect or cash-in change

Whether your business has moved over to a takeout service or you have shut up shop, for the time being, the amount of cash you keep on-site should be at a minimum. That’s great news, the Canadian Government is actually recommending that businesses limit their use of loose change to stop COVID-19 from spreading.

It is possible, however, that you have cash leftover and to keep that cash safe from being stolen while your restaurant is unattended, it’s a great idea to either cash it in at a bank or install a highly-secure safe in your restaurant’s office.

Make sure you lock your restaurant up properly

You should always lock your restaurant up properly when you leave the premises, but since you’ll now be leaving the building for longer periods at a time making this a best practice is now more important than it ever was before. 

When closing your restaurant, make sure all doors are locked, all windows are closed and your alarm system is activated. It’s also important to only hand keys out to employees you truly trust - internal crime in the hospitality industry is a huge problem.

Ask a neighbour to check-in

If you have a business nearby that’s staying open and you are completely closing, why not ask them to check in with you every so often so they can give you an update on how your restaurant is doing?

You don’t have to give them a key. Simply ask them to look through the window every now and again to make sure everything is OK. If you have a proper security solution you won’t need this at all, but it helps to give you additional peace of mind when someone you know says your business is just fine.

Install a verified security solution

Is your restaurant using an outdated and ineffective CCTV system? Most restaurant owners believe that a traditional CCTV system is enough to protect their business from the threat of vandalism and crime. Unfortunately, this isn’t true at all.

Conventional CCTV cameras only record a crime as it takes place. You won’t see the crime until you get to your restaurant later that day, and by then it will be far too late to stop the crime and the damage to your business. You probably won’t even be able to make out who the criminal is from the recording.

That’s why you need to invest in a verified security solution. Verified alarm systems send live video or audio feeds to a security professional in a central monitoring station. This highly-skilled individual is able to verify whether the threat is either a false alarm or real. 

Once verified, real-time updates will be sent to your local police department. Unlike traditional alarms which have a response time of 45 minutes or longer, police respond to verified alarms in just 3.5 minutes - meaning crimes at your restaurant will be stopped as they are happening, preventing damage to your business.  

Are you interested in learning more about the benefits of verified security alarms for restaurants? Contact Sonitrol Western Canada today. Our team of security experts would love to answer any questions that you may have.