Coffee Shop & Cafe Closing Checklist
A Coffee Shop & Cafe closing checklist does two things a tired team skips. It gets the espresso machine, steam wand, and brewers clean before coffee oil and dried milk set overnight. And it protects the cash drawer and the building until you open again. Here are the 7 checks, in the order you do them at close.
The checklist · 7 checks
Clean the espresso machine
1. Backflush the espresso machine with detergent (send cleaner back through the machine to clear oil buildup).Backflushing removes coffee oils that build up inside the machine.
2. Empty the knock box and soak the removable parts.Soaking loosens dried coffee grounds that a wipe alone will not remove.
3. Deep-clean the steam wand.A daily deep clean removes milk residue the quick wipe misses.
Finish the close
4. Clean the batch brewer and urn for the next day.A clean brewer stops old coffee oils tainting tomorrow's first batch.
5. Sanitize every work surface.Sanitizing overnight lowers the risk of contamination before the next shift.
6. Count the cash drawer and log any difference.Counting cash catches an error or a loss early.
7. Lock up and secure the shop.Securing the shop protects stock, cash, and equipment overnight.
Frequently asked questions
Why backflush the espresso machine every night?Coffee oil builds up inside the machine every shift. Left overnight, the oil turns rancid and taints the taste of tomorrow’s first shots. Backflushing (running cleaner back through the machine) clears it out.
Can the steam wand wait until the morning to clean?No. Milk left on the wand dries fast and is hard to remove once set. Dried milk is a bacteria risk and can block the steam holes. Clean it the same night.
Why count the cash drawer at close instead of in the morning?Counting at close matches the drawer to the day’s sales while the shift is still fresh. Any difference is far easier to trace the same night than the next morning.
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This is the manual version
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