The National Restaurant Association in the US has released ‘Always Ready: Public Safety’, a resource guide for restaurant operators and employees responding to public safety incidents.

The guide is designed to help restaurants identify risks, improve preparedness, and support staff and guests during and after an incident.

It states that businesses cannot remove every potential threat. However, restaurants can strengthen safety through planning, employee training, and defined response procedures.

The publication is organised around three stages: preparation, incident management, and recovery.

Preparation includes identifying vulnerabilities, improving site security, updating procedures, and training employees.

During an incident, operators are advised to follow emergency protocols that focus on protecting life, maintaining communication, and coordinating with first responders.

The recovery phase covers support for employees and guests, incident documentation, engagement with insurers and authorities, and the safe restoration of normal operations.

The guide also addresses crisis communications, recovery planning, insurance issues, and longer-term reputation management.

Always Ready: Public Safety is the fifth publication in the National Restaurant Association’s Always Ready preparedness series.

The series includes resources for fires, foodborne illness events, natural disasters, public safety incidents, and utility outages.

National Restaurant Association president and CEO Michelle Korsmo said: “For restaurant operators, safety preparedness is good business.

“Having a plan in place when the unexpected happens safeguards their ability to make informed decisions during fast-moving and volatile situations.

“With restaurant-specific tools, this Always Ready guide from the National Restaurant Association equips operators to prepare in advance for public safety scenarios, manage them effectively in the moment, and recover business operations as quickly and safely as possible.”