1. Don frozen accessories
Along with relying on AC, back-of-house staff at Burger Bar in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., use ice towels to keep cool throughout the day. In the morning, they wet and freeze towels that are rolled to fit easily around their necks or underneath their hats, general manager Kevin Taggart says.
At Mercantile in Fredericksburg, Va., employees similarly employ bandanas as makeshift icepacks. “We soak bandanas in water, freeze them and tie them around our necks,” co-owner and Executive Chef Joy Crump says.