Café opening, closing and cleaning checklists (free template)

Our guide to checklists your staff will actually follow covers how to write a task two people do the same way, with a short sample. This post is the full template: every list a small café runs in a day, with who does each task, what counts as proof, and the food-safety rules behind the temperature and cleaning lines.

It's written for a café open 7 am to 4 pm, with an espresso bar, batch brew, a pastry case and one hot breakfast item. Every task has a Who (a role, not a name) and a Proof: a photo where seeing is the proof, a number for every reading, and a checkbox for the rest.

This is general information, not legal advice. Your inspector and your local rules have the final word. Updated September 24, 2026: the Food Code references were re-checked against the FDA's current copy.

What makes a café list different

Florida's Division of Hotels and Restaurants enforces the 2017 FDA Food Code (Rule 61C-1.001, F.A.C.), so the section numbers below come from the 2017 Food Code. Most café risk sits in five places:

• Milk. It's a time/temperature control for safety (TCS) food, kept in an under-counter fridge that's opened all day next to a hot machine. It has to stay at 41°F or below (§3-501.16(A)(2)), so the milk fridge gets its own reading, not just the walk-in.
• Opened milk. Commercially made, ready-to-eat TCS food that's kept more than 24 hours after opening must be marked: the day it's opened counts as Day 1, it's gone after 7 days at 41°F, and the mark can't go past the maker's use-by date when that date is set for safety (§3-501.17(B)).
• Milk pitchers and anything else that touches TCS food. Utensils and equipment used with TCS food are cleaned at least every 4 hours through the day (§4-602.11(C)).
• Grinders and the ice machine. The Food Code names coffee bean grinders, ice makers, ice bins and beverage nozzles: clean them as often as the manufacturer says or, with no instructions, often enough that soil and mold can't build up (§4-602.11(E)(4)). Checking the date weekly keeps it off memory.
• Scoops and cloths. An ice scoop that's used only for ice is kept in a clean, protected spot (§3-304.12(E)), not left in the ice. Wet wiping cloths are held in sanitizer between uses (§3-304.14(B)).

The template

Opening checklist (visible 5:45 to 7:30 am)

The opener photographs the walk-in thermometer's display, not the door. The pastry case photo is what a manager checks from home: full, labeled, allergen cards out.

Mid-shift checks (around 11 am)

Want the fridge checked twice? Add a group per check time (10 AM, 1 PM) with the same tasks.

Closing checklist (visible from 3:15 pm)

Weekly deep clean (Monday, carried through the week)

Temperature checks at a glance

The temperature log guide covers what to write down when a reading is out of range, and how sensors cover the hours nobody is there.

Adapt it to your café

• No hot food? Drop the hot-holding line and the reheating and cooling rows.
• Nothing in the pastry case needs refrigeration? Skip the case reading and keep the walk-in and milk fridge.
• Your manuals win. Backflush chemicals, burr cleaning, descaling and ice machine sanitizing follow the manufacturer's instructions. The Food Code points to the manufacturer for grinders and ice machines, too.
• Bigger team? Split the weekly list into two templates (Monday and Thursday) so no one shift gets all of it.
• Size it to the time you schedule. If the opener comes in 45 minutes before open, fifteen tasks is about the limit.

Load it into Mays

Each list above is one template in Mays. The block below has all four in plain text: a # line is a template name, a [bracketed] line is a group, and every other line is one task.

1. Go to Tasks → Templates and click Create Template. Type the template name and click Continue.
2. Click Add Task Group, click the new group's name (New Group) and type the group name.
3. Copy one task line, paste it into Add a task (press Enter) and press Enter. Repeat for each line. The box takes one task at a time: pasting several lines at once puts them all into a single task.
4. Every task starts as Checkbox. Click it and pick Photo or Number to match the Proof column.
5. On the Settings tab, choose the Frequency (Daily for the opening, mid-shift and closing lists; Weekly with one day ticked for the deep clean, plus Carry unfinished duties through the week) and set the Visibility Window.
6. On the Assignments tab, click your location and choose who does it: A role or department, or Specific people. Click Create Template.

The image at the top of this post is the opening checklist, built exactly this way.

# Café opening checklist
[Food safety]
Walk-in cooler at 41°F or below
Milk fridge under the bar at 41°F or below
Pastry case at 41°F or below
Opened milk dated; past-date cartons thrown out
Sanitizer buckets made and tested
Handwash sinks: soap, towels and sign
[Espresso bar]
Espresso machine at pressure, groups flushed
Grinders filled; first shots dialed in and tasted
Steam wands purged and wiped
Batch brew brewed and timer set
Ice bin full; scoop stored outside the ice
[Front of house]
Pastry case stocked, labeled, allergen cards out
Cups, lids, sleeves and napkins stocked
Drawer counted and starting cash entered
Tables, floor and entrance checked; door unlocked on time

# Café mid-shift checks
[Checks]
Milk fridge at 41°F or below
Hot-held food at 135°F or above
Milk pitchers washed (at least every 4 hours)
Sanitizer bucket changed and tested
Restroom: soap, towels, paper, trash
Condiment bar wiped and restocked

# Café closing checklist
[Espresso bar]
Groups backflushed with cleaner; baskets soaked
Steam wands soaked and wiped; tips clear
Grinder hoppers emptied and brushed out
Batch brewer, airpots and cold brew gear washed
Drip trays and knock box emptied and washed
[Food safety]
Opened milk and cold brew dated and in the fridge
Unsold pastries counted and logged
Walk-in and milk fridge at 41°F or below at close
Wiping cloths to laundry; sanitizer buckets emptied
[Close]
Counters, tables and chairs wiped and sanitized
Floors swept and mopped
Trash and recycling out, bins relined
Drawer counted and total entered
Back door locked, alarm set

# Café weekly deep clean
[Machines]
Ice machine cleaning date checked against the maker's schedule
Grinder burrs cleaned per manufacturer
Shower screens and group gaskets cleaned and checked
Kettle and hot-water tower descaled
Water filter change date checked
[Storage]
Behind and under the fridges cleaned
Syrup pumps taken apart and washed
Dry storage shelves wiped, oldest stock in front

Admins can skip the line-by-line paste. On the Task Templates page, click Import from Document, then paste the whole block into the Mays AI chat or attach it as a .txt file. Mays AI drafts the templates; review them in the Drafts list and click Approve & save. It uses AI credits.

A new template starts producing tasks the next day. To run one today, go to Tasks → Tasks, click Create Task and choose From Template.

Where Mays fits

• Photos are taken in the app's camera, so the walk-in photo is from this morning, not the camera roll. AI photo verification (an organization setting that uses AI credits) can flag a photo that doesn't show what the task asked for.
• Number answers keep every reading with the name and time of the person who entered it.
• Managers reject a task with a reason, and it goes back on the list to redo.
• The dashboard shows each location's checklists for today, with progress.

Get your café's lists running

Copy the block, build the four templates, and your team sees the opening checklist tomorrow morning.

Start your free trial: 30 days, every module, no card needed. Or book a walkthrough and we'll load your checklists with you.