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The last thing you want to spread through word of mouth about your restaurant is food poisoning. Make food safety a top priority in your commercial kitchen to prevent food-borne illness from entering the community.

Sanitize Equipment

One of the most important things in a kitchen, besides your fire detection and suppression New York system, is the cleaning equipment. Each surface must be sanitized properly with hot, soapy water and commercial strength cleaner. Counters, dishes, utensils, bowls and more need to be cleaned thoroughly each day. Don’t forget to clean your large restaurant equipment as well. It’s best to have a cleaning schedule to ensure everything is completely sanitized.

Train Employees

Training your staff is essential for food safety. Every employee needs to know the procedures for cooking and cleaning in your kitchen. Provide training on proper handwashing, sanitizing and cleaning to prepare your employees for every situation in the kitchen. Encourage your employees to follow the procedures without rushing, even when the restaurant is busy.

Wash Food

Bacteria, such as salmonella, can gather on the skins and peel of produce. Even if you’re peeling a vegetable for the main dish, you must have employees wash the item first. Fruits and vegetables should be washed in cold water with an FDA-approved produce rinse. This will prevent bacteria from entering the interior of the produce, which can lead to illness.

Use Gloves

Employees should have gloves available while preparing food, but they need to know to change gloves regularly. After preparing raw meat, gloves should be changed before touching anything else in the kitchen. Boxes of gloves should be readily available so your employees keep the food you’re serving free from contaminants.

Cook to the Correct Temperature

Illness can be spread easily when meats are not cooked to the proper temperatures. E-coli can easily spread through undercooked ground beef and salmonella can be present in raw chicken. Use meat thermometers to guarantee your employees are cooking meat to the correct temperatures.

Store Food Safely

Raw meat should always be stored separately from other foods. Make sure you place raw meats in the bottom of the refrigerator to prevent the meat from dripping onto produce and other items. Once vegetables are cut do not leave them at room temperature. The FDA recommends a refrigerator temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit or less and a freezer temperature of 0 degrees.

With proper training in food safety, your employees will prevent the spread of food-borne illness, keeping the focus on the delicious food you serve.

Getting into apartment flipping can be lucrative and personally rewarding. It can also be a big hassle with many complications. Being able to visualize the completed project is a must. Start with a big picture in mind and then focus in on the details that will make the property an amazing place to live.

Location is Key

Experienced apartment building investors like Steven Taylor Los Angeles know that the biggest consideration for flipping is location. A property that needs almost no refurbishment isn’t going to make you enough money if it’s in a part of town where no one wants to live. On the other hand, a junky apartment complex in a sought-after neighborhood is almost always worth the money you put into making it habitable.

Reimagine the Space

Unless you demolish the building, there is little you can do about its orientation on the piece of land. However, you can reimagine the land the building sits on. Consider moving the entrance to a less busy side street. Determine whether the upkeep and liability of a pool is worth the money or if it could be filled in and landscaped, creating a beautiful greenspace for residents. If there are several courtyards, perhaps one could be fenced and turned into a doggie play area. Hedges can be added for privacy or and overgrown areas trimmed for security. In other words, although the building stays put, the atmosphere around it can change completely.

Modernize the Property

Landlords like Steven Taylor LA know the importance of modernizing the entire property from the inside out. Often this might include updating units to be on a more efficient HVAC system. Sometimes it means replumbing. If you want to be able to ask for rent that is in line with other newer properties, you have to offer a compatible living space. If the newer units across the street advertise stainless steel appliances and covered parking, you need to up your game. Added security features like solid wood doors, deadbolt locks, peepholes and code-access gates could make your property stand out. In addition, installing engineered hardwood floors, recessed lighting and shutters (rather than plastic mini blinds) could ultimately make your renters feel like they are getting more for their money.

Becoming a landlord is ultimately about whether you can make money; however, because you’re dealing with real people and not just facts and figures, it’s also about creating a great place to live for your tenants. Finding the right balance between the two is the road to success.