Valentine’s weekend is December-level busy with half the prep time.

Three things that separate the cafés that keep 5 stars from the ones that crash:

1. Pre-do the opening temperatures at 6 am before doors open. 2. Assign one person to do nothing but temperature and delivery checks all day — no customer-facing duties. 3. Run a 20-second “all fridges green?” check every 90 minutes as a team huddle.

Do those three things and you’ll serve 300 covers, make record money, and still have perfect records when the inevitable unannounced visit happens the following week.