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Beyond the Menu: 5 Must-Have Security Measures for Restaurants

Dealing with the public obligates restaurants to incorporate strict security measures and standards. Protecting customers and staff is paramount, and with public visibility, safeguarding their assets and equipment also requires adopting enhanced restaurant security measures. 

Some essential measures restaurants can embrace to improve premises, staff and customer protection include the following. 

1. Access Control

A restaurant with an access control system alleviates the chances of unauthorized people entering areas they shouldn’t. By working together, restaurant ownership and management can devise plans for the most efficient and cost-effective access control measures to suit the establishment’s needs.

While preventing access pertains to internal areas protecting storage rooms and offices, it’s also vital to prevent premises break-ins. Keypad and keycard access are common in restaurant scenarios, meaning employees require individual codes or cards to enter the premises and other permitted areas. Only owners and management codes would allow entry to individual offices containing high-end equipment like the safe. 

As technology grows, web or cloud-based access control systems become more prominent. Entry permissions are setup and stored on the internet instead of in physical computer systems, meaning a restaurant owner can securely control and view data and permissions without being on the premises. As an access control option, web-based monitoring is low-cost and can further enhance security standards.

Smartphone mobile security access takes things even further. Mobile-based access control means a manager or owner can lock or unlock individual areas, grant one-off permissions and monitor the restaurant’s status from anywhere with the touch of a few buttons.

2. POS Video Surveillance

Although home security and alarm systems deter property crime, installing security cameras with an advanced point-of-sale (POS) system is another valuable measure for restaurant security. As police solve less than 15% of burglaries, surveillance cameras that record movement outside and within a restaurant’s designated areas are essential to maintaining a high-security standard. Linking these to a POS system affords even more far-reaching control.

Quality POS systems may be pricey, but they elevate restaurant security to prevent theft and fraud. Some include biometric authentication technology and image capture, which can improve a restaurant’s payroll by eliminating the risk of unscrupulous staff members clocking in for each other. POS systems can identify fraud issues like repeated voided sales and track inventory to pinpoint employee theft.

While outside video surveillance is essential, positioning additional security cameras in the bar and dining area, over POS systems and monitoring the safe allows management to have constant control over every restaurant area. 

3. Locking Mechanisms

While increasing the quality of restaurant locks may not stop criminals, reliable and sturdily constructed locking mechanisms offer deterrents to break-ins, theft, and vandalism. Padlocks are versatile and perfect for securing doors, gates and lockers. Potent combination and keyed padlocks deter unplanned, quick and easy access to these areas.

Level locks’ conformance with ADA accessibility standards makes them ideal choices for restaurant security. With push-down handles, built-in mechanisms and rigid designs, intruders find them challenging to negotiate, although applying a large amount of force to the handle’s torque could break the lock.

Deadbolts are more potent external protectors than standard padlocks. Due to their durable value, restaurants regularly use them inside their access doors. Standard single-cylinder deadbolts include lockable thumb turns inside and key cylinders outside, while double-cylinder deadbolts offer twice the protection and need keys on either side of a door. Deadbolts also come in electronic and smart variations for added security.

No matter the type of lock, if it’s solid and durable, it improves a restaurant’s physical entrance security.

4. Safes

Restaurants always have safes on-site. Criminals know this, so employing strong security measures means their safes are strong, well managed and extra-secure. Short of spending money on a safe room for added insurance to minimize risks, eating establishments settle on a secure restaurant safe to protect valuable documents and currency.

Some types of safes are better than others in commercial scenarios. While a standard cash box with a key or combination lock will suit petty cash requirements, it should be secondary to a primary safe. Before banking, many restaurants keep cash for short periods, so drop safes offer suitable security storage measures. 

Drop safes allow employees to quickly add cash during their shifts, with the safe’s built-in guards preventing thieves from removing anything through the deposit slot. Key cabinet safes are essentially heavier and more involved cash boxes, but only persons with combination codes can retrieve their keys from inside to open the cabinet. 

The most secure restaurant safes are wall safes like those found in many hotels. Hidden within room boundaries, they are unidentifiable to those entering the room for the first time. Taking extra precautions might prompt a restaurant owner to install a fireproof safe that will withstand external high temperatures.

Safe storage means company and employee contracts, ownership deeds, and other essential documents stay secure while protecting access and computer codes. If a restaurant keeps cash on-site, a secure safe is a must-have security measure.

5. Credit Card and Payment Protection

Technological advancement in payments protects scams and fraud in restaurants more than previously, but the risks are still present. Restaurants will only avoid liability for losses if their payment security is up-to-date, so owners incorporate excellent POS systems incorporating EMV chips and client pins to process credit cards securely. 

They institute server processing methods so customers remain in their seating areas, with only designated employees processing payments. Any complimentary on-site Wi-Fi to customers includes stringent firewalls and exceptional commercial antivirus software for added security. Conscientious restaurant owners will also change their vendor passwords regularly.

Maintaining a Secure and Proactive Restaurant Environment  

Experienced restaurant owners and managers could likely share lessons they’ve learned in the industry, many of which relate to security. While learning on the go offers value, applying must-have security measures means a restaurant’s brain trust is less likely to need practical experience to rectify errors. 

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