KEEPING YOU SAFE</5>

Special COVID Response & Cleaning Protocols

Merchants Exchange Productions is committed to the safety and wellness of our guests and staff. To this end, we have enacted enhanced cleaning protocols, employee policies and other preventive measures to reduce transmission risk as much as possible. All team members have been instructed to follow CDC guidelines, which include regular, vigorous hand washing, and staying home if they are feeling sick. We are also following all State and Local guidelines that may supersede the Federal advisories. Enclosed you will find standard and heightened cleaning procedures that Merchants Exchange Productions is taking to ensure the safety and health of our guests.

Download a PDF of this information

Our Venues

During set up of events carpets are vacuumed prior to anything being started. Linens are taken directly from hangers in bags and go directly on tables with team members wearing gloves. Carpets and floors are cleaned again once set up is complete along with the dusting of walls and baseboards throughout. Set up for all stations (if allowed), buffets (if allowed) and table-side service are done with team members wearing gloves while handling all china, flatware, glassware and other equipment as needed including folding linen napkins. All team members are continuing safe practices upon entering the building until they leave including having their temperatures taken upon arrival, constant hand washing/sanitizing thought their shift, wearing gloves when necessary and appropriate and not eating/drinking while in the venues before or during events unless on a break in a designated area. After each event the venues are thoroughly cleaned by our internal teams. Team members wear gloves when clearing venues of all equipment, linens and trash/recycling from the event; linens and napkins are specific to each event and are never reused from one event to another; all furniture and chairs are wiped down as necessary before storing; carpets are vacuumed and floors are cleaned. Our evening janitorial team is taking additional steps to ensure cleanliness. Currently, our janitorial team is utilizing Waxie’s 710 disinfectant to wipe down all common area touch-points (door handles, restroom fixtures, elevator cabs, etc.). In addition, we will also be deploying Protexus electrostatic sprayer equipment with Purtabs sanitizing tablets following every event in our space.

Our Kitchens

Safety and sanitation are top priority in any culinary environment. The cleaning process begins with commercial grade products and every area of the kitchen is sanitized before any food preparation begins. Team members are provided with clean aprons, kitchen towels, protective masks and gloves that are worn throughout the entire shift and changed as needed. We are enforcing surface sanitization every hour such as cleaning the grills/griddles and empty drip trays, filtering the fryer oil, emptying and sanitizing any hot or cold food holding units, thoroughly cleaning kitchen equipment after each use, knives and tools washed regularly throughout shift, degreasing and sanitizing all tabletop surfaces, removing floor mats for cleaning as well as sweeping and mopping the floors at the end of each day.

Our Bars

As with all other staff members, all bar staff will be wearing gloves and masks at all times. Our existing comprehensive bar cleaning program will continue with some enhancements. Team members utilize a disinfectant approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in frequently wiping down the bar of all high touch areas. Additional cleaning includes using sanitizing solution often and switching out bar towels after each use throughout events. Bar tops, ice wells, sinks, beer taps, soda guns and bottles are all disinfected/wiped down before and after each event. In addition, glassware and all bar equipment are set up before and put away after each event to avoid contamination.  Floors and mats are cleaned on a regular basis.

Audio Visual

During business hours, our team members have been instructed to focus additional attention on wiping down frequently touched surfaces, such as laptops, video touch panels, and audio mixers.  All microphones are also disinfected before and after each event paying close attention to dedicating one microphone to each speaker to avoid cross-contamination. Keeping our equipment clean is a priority to ensure a safe and healthy environment for both our guests and clients as well as our team members.  Each team member washes and thoroughly dries their hands before and after handling A/V materials, ensuring that the surrounding environment is clean and sanitary. All AV team members will be wearing masks throughout their entire shift.

When it’s time to return…

Vaccines are on the way and blue skies are ahead. When the public health circumstances permit, we’ll be ready with two key safety features now online in the Julia Morgan Ballroom:

First, we have upgraded the air filtration system to utilize MERV 13 filters in our HVAC system per CDC recommendations. Second, we own and will be using the Bissell Victory Electrostatic Sprayers utilizing the PurTab Effervescent Sanitizing and Disinfection Tablets. For more information on how these solutions work, download the PurTabs info sheet and check out the videos below:

Electrostatic Sprayer