New York City restaurant inspections are mostly about food: temperatures, storage, pests, hand washing. Linen rarely gets its own headline. But aprons, chef coats, side towels and wiping cloths touch food, hands and prep surfaces all day, and several parts of the NYC Health Code speak to them directly.
This guide covers what the code actually says about clothing and cloths, how those items show up during an inspection, and what a reasonable linen routine looks like. It is written for owners, chefs and general managers. It is general information and not legal advice. For your specific situation, check the current code and the NYC Health Department’s guidance.
Where the Rules Come From
Restaurants in the five boroughs are regulated by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene under Article 81 of the New York City Health Code, “Food Preparation and Food Establishments.” Inspectors score violations in points, and the total decides the letter grade posted in your window.
Under the city’s letter grading program:
| Inspection score | Grade |
|---|---|
| 0 to 13 points | A |
| 14 to 27 points | B |
| 28 points or more | C |
Thirteen points is not much room. A handful of small conditions can move a kitchen from an A to a B, which is why items as ordinary as aprons and towels deserve a system.
Reach out now and one of our representatives will get back to you shortly.
What the Health Code Says About Staff Clothing
Section 81.13 of the Health Code covers food workers’ health and hygienic practices. Two parts apply to what your team wears.
Clean outer garments
Section 81.13(c) requires all food workers to wear clean, washable outer garments when they start work, and to replace them with clean clothing as often as necessary to prevent contamination of food or food contact surfaces.
In practice, that means:
- A cook should start the shift in a clean coat and apron.
- There have to be spares in the building. “As often as necessary” is impossible to meet if each cook has one apron.
- Garments have to be washable and actually washed. A coat that goes home in a backpack and comes back the next day is hard to vouch for.
Hair restraints
Section 81.13(b) requires food workers to wear caps, hats, hair nets or other coverings that keep hair from contaminating food or food contact surfaces. The code states that this does not apply to counter staff, bartenders, baristas, hosts or wait staff when they are preparing or serving beverages or serving food.
If you supply kitchen caps or skull caps as part of a uniform program, they count toward this requirement. They need to be clean and available.
What the Health Code Says About Wiping Cloths
Section 81.27(c) covers the cloths used for cleaning and sanitizing surfaces. It requires that these cloths be stored clean and dry, or in a sanitizing solution, between uses. It adds two specific rules:
- Moist cloths used for wiping food spills from kitchenware and food contact surfaces may be used only for that purpose and must be stored in a sanitizing solution between uses.
- Moist cloths used for wiping non-food contact surfaces may be used only for that purpose and must be stored in a sanitizing solution between uses.
The common ways kitchens get this wrong:
- A damp towel left on the cutting board or tucked into an apron string.
- One towel used for the board, the counter and the cook’s hands.
- A sanitizer bucket that was mixed at opening and never changed.
- Too few towels on the line, so each one is used far longer than it should be.
The last one is a supply problem. If the kitchen runs out of clean bar towels by Thursday, people stretch what they have.
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Protecting Clean Linen From Contamination
Where Article 81 mentions linens, it lists them alongside food, clean equipment and utensils as items to protect from contamination, for example when visitors enter prep areas or when pesticide is applied. The code does not give a storage procedure for linen, so the following is good practice that follows the same principle:
- Keep clean and soiled linen apart. Use separate, clearly marked places. A soiled-linen bag should never sit on top of the clean stack.
- Store clean linen off the floor and away from chemicals, mop sinks and garbage areas.
- Keep it covered or wrapped until it is needed.
- Move soiled linen out of food prep areas in a closed bag or bin.
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Table Linen and the Guest’s Side of the Room
Tablecloths and napkins are less likely to appear in an inspection report than a kitchen towel. They still matter for two reasons. A napkin goes to a guest’s mouth, so it should be laundered to a real hygiene standard and handled with clean hands. And guests judge cleanliness by what they can see: a stained tablecloth undermines everything the kitchen does right.
A Linen Checklist Before an Inspection
| Item | What to check |
|---|---|
| Chef coats and aprons | Everyone starts the shift in a clean one. Spares are on site. |
| Hair restraints | Kitchen staff are wearing them. Extras are available. |
| Wiping cloths | In sanitizer between uses, or stored clean and dry. Separate cloths for food contact and other surfaces. |
| Sanitizer buckets | Fresh solution at the right strength, with test strips on hand. |
| Clean linen storage | Off the floor, covered, away from chemicals and soiled items. |
| Soiled linen | In a closed bag or bin, outside food prep areas. |
| Supply level | Enough clean towels and aprons to reach the next delivery, including the busiest night. |
In-House Laundry vs. a Linen Service
You can meet the code with your own washer. The difficulty is doing it consistently. Home and light-commercial machines are not built to reach the water temperatures commercial laundries use, and someone has to wash, dry, fold and count during a shift that is already full.
A linen service changes the problem from “do the laundry” to “manage the supply.” At Stamford Linen, items are washed at our Bridgeport, CT facility at water temperatures generally 160°F or higher, inspected before they go back out, and delivered on a fixed weekly route. Par levels are set so the kitchen has enough clean aprons and towels to change them as often as the code expects.
A service does not make you compliant by itself. How cloths are used and stored during the shift is still up to your team.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the NYC Health Code require restaurants to use a linen service?
No. It requires clean outer garments and properly stored cloths. How you get there is your choice.
Can staff wash their own uniforms at home?
The code requires clean, washable outer garments. It does not say where they must be washed. The practical risk with home laundering is that you cannot verify it, and a cook may arrive in yesterday’s coat.
Do servers need hair restraints?
Section 81.13(b) says the hair restraint requirement does not apply to counter staff, bartenders, baristas, hosts or wait staff when they are preparing or serving beverages or serving food.
How many bar towels should a kitchen have?
Enough that no one has to reuse a dirty one. The right number depends on the size of the line and how many days pass between deliveries. We set that number with you during setup.
Where can I read the rules myself?
In Article 81 of the NYC Health Code and on the Health Department’s page about the inspection process.
Keep Clean Linen From Being the Thing That Costs You Points
Stamford Linen supplies chef coats and aprons, bar towels and table linen to restaurants across New York City and Connecticut. Tell us your team size and volume and we will send a quote within 24 hours.
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