Write them by station, not by person
Group the list the way the shop is laid out: espresso and tea bar, brewers, pastry case, register, front of house, restroom, patio. Whoever does a station initials it when it is done, not before. The lead checks the sheet, not the person.
Write your own times into the list once: when the opener arrives, when the doors open, when the close starts. Then leave them alone.
The open
The opener arrives 45 to 60 minutes before the doors open and works the stations in order.
| Station | Check |
|---|---|
| Espresso bar | Machine on 20 to 30 minutes before the first shot. Flush each group. Dial in the first shot, and write the dial-in coffee on the waste log. |
| Pastry case | Count what goes into the case and write it down. Tonight's count comes off this number. |
| Register | Count the drawer against the float and write it on the cash log. Confirm last night's batch settled before the first sale. |
| Front of house | Tables, floor, condiment station, trash, menu boards. Yesterday's sold-out markers cleared. |
| Restroom | Cleaned and stocked, and the restroom log initialed with the time. |
The mid-shift reset
Ten minutes, twice a day: after the morning rush settles and again mid-afternoon. Wipe down the bar, restock cups and milk to par, dump anything past its hold time and log it, and pull a cash drop if the drawer is over. The lead looks at labor for the day so far: if the afternoon is running over target, that is the moment to send someone home early, not at 4:30. The reset is what keeps the close from taking ninety minutes.
The close
The closer starts 30 minutes before the doors lock and finishes within 45 minutes after. The next-day prep is part of the close, not an extra.
| Station | Check |
|---|---|
| Espresso bar | Backflush every group. Portafilters and baskets soaking. Wands wiped and soaked. Drip tray and knock box washed. Everything opened today is dated. |
| Pastry case | Count what is left against the morning count. Discards go on the waste log with the reason. |
| Register | Count the drawer, compare it to the POS cash report, and write the variance, even when it is zero. Float back to its set amount. Settle the batch. |
| Front of house | Chairs up, sweep, mop, trash out. Condiment and water stations cleaned. |
| Next-day prep | Pull tomorrow's pastry to thaw. Batch cold brew and iced tea if under par. Write the open note. |
The open note
The last thing the closer writes: what is low, what is broken, what the opener needs to know. It sits on the register. It takes two minutes, and the opener starts the day knowing what the closer knew.
The kit's Open and Close guide has the full checklists for every station, ready to print: the open, the mid-shift reset, the close with next-day prep, the cash routine, an equipment care calendar with a temperature log, and what to do when something breaks. It comes as a Word file you can edit and a PDF, in the Tillwhistle kit, $97 once.