Bar opening and closing checklist (free template)

The first ticket comes in at 4:05. The ice well is half full of last night's melt, the scoop is sitting in it handle-down, the limes were cut yesterday and nobody knows when, and the speed rail is two bottles short. The bartender fixes it all while the tickets pile up.

A bar opens and closes on the same habits every day, so it's a good place for a checklist. This post gives you the Food Code rules a bar runs into, an opening list, mid-shift checks, a closing list, a weekly list and a log for draft line cleaning. It works for a full bar, a beer-and-wine counter or the bar end of a café.

General information. Your state or local health department enforces its own edition of the Food Code, and its rules can differ. Section numbers and quotes below are from the FDA Food Code 2026. Alcohol service itself (licenses, hours, IDs) is set by your state.

The Food Code rules behind a bar

Rule	What it says	Section
Ice is food	"Ice for use as a FOOD or a cooling medium shall be made from DRINKING WATER."	§3-202.16
Bottle-chilling ice stays out of drinks	After ice is used to cool "PACKAGED FOODS such as canned BEVERAGES", "ice may not be used as FOOD." So the ice around the beer bottles never goes in a glass.	§3-303.11
The ice scoop	Between uses, utensils such as ice scoops that are used only with food that isn't time/temperature controlled may be stored "In a clean, protected location". Not in the ice. Never a glass.	§3-304.12(E)
Garnish without bare hands	Staff "may not contact exposed, READY-TO-EAT FOOD with their bare hands" and use utensils "such as deli tissue, spatulas, tongs, single-use gloves, or dispensing EQUIPMENT." Cut fruit in a drink is ready-to-eat food.	§3-301.11(B)
Glasses by the base	Cleaned utensils "shall be handled, displayed, and dispensed so that contamination of FOOD- and lip-CONTACT SURFACES is prevented."	§4-904.11(A)
Clean glass storage	Stored "In a self-draining position that allows air drying" and "Covered or inverted", in a clean, dry place, and at least 6 inches off the floor.	§4-903.11(A), (B)
Washing glasses by hand	"a sink with at least three (3) compartments shall be provided for manually washing, rinsing, and SANITIZING EQUIPMENT and UTENSILS."	§4-301.12(A)
The bar hand sink	It "shall be maintained so that it is always accessible for EMPLOYEE use" and "may not be used for purposes other than handwashing." No ice dumping, no glass rinsing, no fruit in it.	§5-205.11
Wet bar towels	Held between uses "in a chemical SANITIZER solution" and "Laundered daily".	§3-304.14(B)
Beverage lines, nozzles and ice bins	Cleaned "At a frequency specified by the manufacturer, or", without one, "at a frequency necessary to preclude accumulation of soil or mold." This covers soda guns, ice bins and "BEVERAGE and syrup dispensing lines or tubes".	§4-602.11(E)(4)
Staff drinks	A food employee "may drink from a closed BEVERAGE container", handled so hands, the container and clean items don't get contaminated. A lidded cup with a straw, kept off the bar top.	§2-401.11(B)

Garnish and temperature. The Food Code's list of foods that need time or temperature control names "cut melons, CUT LEAFY GREENS, cut tomatoes" and animal foods such as dairy (definition of Time/temperature control for safety food, §1-201.10(B)). So a cream or a melon garnish is held at 41°F or below like any cold food (§3-501.16(A)(2)). Cut citrus isn't on that list, but cut it fresh each day anyway; yesterday's lime wheels are a quality problem even where they're not a safety one. Ask your inspector how they treat house-made mixes and garnishes with dairy or egg.

Mixing ahead. A federal alcohol rule applies here, not the Food Code: "A retail liquor dealer shall not mix cocktails, or compound any alcoholic liquors in advance of sale, except for the purpose of filling, for immediate consumption on the premises, orders received, or expected to be immediately received, at the bar." And a mix made ahead may not be stored in "liquor bottles in which distilled spirits have been previously packaged" (27 CFR 31.233, 27 CFR 31.204). If you batch for service, keep it to what you expect to pour that shift, in a labeled container that was never a liquor bottle, and check your state's rules on top.

Broken glass near the ice well is its own procedure: the whole well gets burned and the bin cleaned. Our broken glass procedure has the steps.

The bar opening checklist

Bar opening checklist · [location] · date [date] · opener [name]

Before anything else

[ ] Hands washed at the bar hand sink. Soap and paper towels stocked; nothing sitting in the sink.
[ ] Sanitizer bucket made and tested: [sanitizer] at [ppm] ppm. Bar towels in it.
[ ] Three-compartment sink or glass washer set up and tested: [wash temp / sanitizer ppm].

Ice

[ ] Ice well empty and clean from last night. Filled with fresh ice from the machine.
[ ] Ice scoop clean, stored outside the ice in its holder, handle up. No glass used as a scoop.
[ ] Bottle-chilling ice (beer tubs, wine buckets) kept apart and marked Not for drinks.

Garnish and mixes

[ ] Citrus, herbs and other garnish cut today, in covered containers, with tongs or picks.
[ ] Dairy, egg and cut-melon garnish in the bar cooler at 41°F or below. Cooler reading: [°F].
[ ] Juices and house mixes labeled with what they are and the day made. Discard anything past [your days].
[ ] Any batched drinks: only today's amount, in labeled containers that were never liquor bottles.

Glassware

[ ] Clean glasses racked or stored upside down, dry, at least 6 inches off the floor.
[ ] No chipped or cracked glasses on the rack (out of service in the [bin]).

Bottles and stock

[ ] Speed rail and back bar at par; pour spouts clean. Empties out to [recycling].
[ ] Beer, wine and mixers stocked from storage; oldest to the front.
[ ] Soda gun nozzle clean; soda and syrup lines on, no leaks. CO2 cylinder pressure: [psi].
[ ] Draft: taps clean, each line poured clear. Lines last cleaned: [date].

Front of the bar

[ ] Bar top, rail and stools wiped. Menus clean. Card reader and printer on, paper stocked.
[ ] ID checking tools ready: [ID guide / scanner]. Today's date for age checks posted: born on or before [date] is 21.
[ ] Bar drains clear, no fruit flies, floor mats down and dry.

Ready by: [time] · Manager check: [initials]

Mid-shift checks (every [2 hours])

[ ] Ice well topped up from the machine, never with ice that cooled bottles. Scoop back in its holder.
[ ] Garnish covered; dairy and melon garnish back in the cooler between uses.
[ ] Sanitizer bucket retested and changed when dirty or below [ppm] ppm.
[ ] Hand sink clear and stocked.
[ ] Glasses: clean ones racked upside down; dirty ones away from clean.

The bar closing checklist

Bar closing checklist · [location] · date [date] · closer [name]

Bottles and stock

[ ] Pour spouts off and soaked, or capped; bottle necks wiped. Nothing added to any bottle.
[ ] Opened wine and vermouth stoppered and dated; [which ones] in the cooler.
[ ] Empties out, or kept only for recycling or destruction.
[ ] Bar count done for [items], or the nightly spot count: [items counted].

Ice and garnish

[ ] Ice well emptied, washed, rinsed, sanitized and left to air dry. Lid off or open to dry.
[ ] Scoop and holder washed and sanitized.
[ ] Garnish: citrus and herbs out; anything kept is covered, labeled and in the cooler.
[ ] Juices and mixes: covered, labeled, in the cooler; past-date ones thrown out.

Equipment and lines

[ ] Soda gun nozzle and holster soaked and cleaned.
[ ] Draft: faucets capped or cleaned; drip trays emptied and washed.
[ ] Glass washer drained and cleaned, or the three-compartment sink drained.
[ ] Bar cooler at 41°F or below. Reading: [°F].

Surfaces and floor

[ ] Bar top, back bar, speed rail and cooler tops cleaned and sanitized.
[ ] Every wet bar towel to the soiled linen bag.
[ ] Drains flushed; floor swept and mopped; mats washed and up to dry.
[ ] Trash and recycling out.

Money and security

[ ] Register closed out; tips counted and recorded as your tip policy says.
[ ] Liquor storage locked; keys back to [place].

Closed by: [time] · Manager check: [initials]

The weekly bar list

Task	Day	Done (initials)
Ice machine: check the bin and the scoop holder, wipe the door seal (deep clean as the manufacturer says)	[day]
Soda gun: take the nozzle apart and clean it; check the lines for leaks	[day]
Draft lines: clean on the schedule your system's maker or your line cleaning service sets [every … days]	[day]
Bar cooler: empty, clean the shelves and door seals	[day]
Speed rail and shelves under the bar: everything out, cleaned	[day]
Floor drains and floor sink: clean, check for flies	[day]
Glassware: pull chipped glasses, reorder	[day]
Full bar inventory count	[day]

Draft line cleaning log

The Food Code leaves the frequency to the manufacturer, so the log is how you show you're following it.

Draft line cleaning log · [location]

Date	Lines cleaned (tap numbers)	Cleaner used	Done by (staff or service)	Faucets and couplers taken apart?	Next due
[date]	[1–8]	[product]	[name / company]	[yes / no]	[date]

Manufacturer's or service's cleaning schedule: [every … days] · Reviewed: [date]

Your bar checklist

[ ] Opening, mid-shift and closing lists printed or loaded, with a name on each
[ ] Ice scoop holder at the well; bottle-chilling ice marked apart
[ ] Garnish tongs or picks, covered containers, a cooler at 41°F or below
[ ] Glass storage upside down and off the floor; chipped glasses pulled
[ ] Hand sink used only for hands
[ ] Batching kept to the shift's need, never in old liquor bottles
[ ] Draft line cleaning schedule known and logged

Where Mays fits

The lists as checklists. Build Bar opening and Bar closing templates with the items above, scheduled Daily, and a Weekly template for the weekly list on the day you pick. A Photo answer shows the clean ice well at close; a Number answer takes the cooler temperature. Mays doesn't check a Number answer against its Min Value and Max Value yet, so put the safe range in the task name, such as Bar cooler (41°F or below). See Creating a checklist template, Scheduling and assigning checklists and Task answer types.
The draft line log as a form. Under Tasks → Types, build a form with Date / time, Text for the tap numbers and cleaner, Yes / No for the faucets and a Photo, then add it as a Custom form task on the weekly template. Every entry lands in Tasks → Data, with Export CSV. See Building custom forms and Task Data.
Par checks at open. An Inventory Count task lists the bar items with a Min Stock; anything under it becomes a Restock Order task for managers. See Inventory-count and restock tasks.
Problems for the next shift. A leaking line or a dead glass washer goes in the Logbook under Maintenance, flagged Needs follow-up. See The manager logbook.

What Mays doesn't do: it doesn't connect to draft systems, flow meters or the glass washer, and it doesn't remind you when line cleaning is due except through the checklist day you set.

Clean ice, covered garnish, glasses upside down, lines on schedule

Most of a bar's Food Code rules are about the ice and the glass: ice from drinking water, a scoop that lives outside the ice, garnish handled with tongs, glasses stored upside down and held by the base. Put them on the opening list, close the same way every night, and keep a log for the lines.

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