What is an 86 list? How kitchens keep it current, and why servers still sell what is out

The short answer

What an 86 list is

It is simple. The kitchen runs out of something. A cook says "86 the salmon," and now the salmon is off the menu until someone says otherwise.

Some kitchens keep it on a whiteboard by the pass. Some say it at lineup and trust memory. Some use a note on the point of sale. All of these work when the night is slow.

A good 86 list has three parts:

• Out. What cannot be made at all.
• Low. What is almost gone, and about how many portions are left, so servers can tell guests early.
• The swap. What a guest can have instead, or which side can be changed.

Why servers still sell dishes that are out

Nobody does this on purpose. Here is how it usually goes.

The kitchen runs out of asparagus halfway through service. The cook knows. The chef knows. The salmon comes with asparagus, so the salmon is gone too, but nobody says that part out loud.

A server takes a table's order for two salmon. They walk it back and hear "86 salmon" for the first time. Now they go back to the table, say sorry, and hand the menus back out. Someone wrote it on the whiteboard. Someone said it at lineup. Half the floor was on break.

The food is not the problem. The message is.

How to keep it current during service

You do not need software to start. Five habits fix most of it.

1. One owner per shift. Name them at lineup. Usually the expo or the sous chef.
2. One place. One whiteboard or one screen that every server walks past, not three.
3. Say it, then write it. The cook calls it out, the owner repeats it, and then it goes on the list. Never only one of the two.
4. Follow the ingredient. When something runs out, ask: which dishes use it? Write those down too.
5. Add the swap. "86 salmon, or sub broccoli for the asparagus." A swap can keep a dish on the menu.

And one habit for the end of the night: clear the board. A list that still says "86 halibut" next Tuesday teaches the floor to ignore it.

Where a whiteboard breaks

Paper has limits, and they show up on your busiest nights.

• A server on the far side of the room cannot see it.
• Someone writes it, but nobody erases it when the item comes back.
• The list says the salmon is out, but not that the grilled branzino shares the same side.
• It does not say how many are left, so a table orders the last two portions twice.

That last one is where a number helps. "Low, three left" lets a server say "we have a few of those left, shall I put it in now?"

Where we are

We do not sell a fix for the message problem today. We are building one, and we would rather say that plainly than sell you something that does not exist yet. Our kitchen board app, Heard, is still being built. It has never run in a restaurant, and it has no price. To hear when it is ready, join the waitlist at heardbybuzzy.com.

The idea came from the kitchen. Sheraz spent four years in coffee and restaurants, the last two in fine dining, before building software in Dallas. The longer story is on the 86 list page, and what we set up for cafes and restaurants is on restaurants and cafes.

What no 86 list can do

• It only knows what the kitchen tells it. If nobody says the salmon is out, the menu still sells it.
• It will not stop a guest from wanting the dish. It only moves the bad news earlier.
• It will not fix a menu that runs out of the same thing every Friday. That is an ordering problem.

Questions restaurants ask

What does 86 mean in a restaurant?

Kitchen talk for "we are out of it." To 86 a dish is to take it off the menu for now. Where the phrase comes from is not settled, and you will hear several stories. What matters is that everyone on the floor knows what it means.

What is an 86 list?

The running list of what the kitchen is out of, right now. A good one also says what is low, and what the guest can have instead. It changes through the night.

Who is in charge of the 86 list?

Pick one person per shift, usually the expo or the sous chef, and say their name at lineup. The cooks call it out, and that one person writes it down and tells the floor. If everyone owns it, nobody does.

Why do servers keep selling dishes that are 86'd?

Because the news reaches them late. The cook knows, the chef knows, and the server finds out when they carry an order back. A whiteboard by the pass works until the night is busy, and that is exactly when things run out.

Does a dish go off the menu when one ingredient runs out?

Often, yes, and this is the part people miss. If the salmon comes with asparagus and the asparagus is gone, the salmon is gone too, unless you offer a swap. Say both out loud, or the server will not connect them.

Can software keep an 86 list?

Yes, some kitchen software does. We are building one called Heard, but it is still being built, it has never run in a restaurant, and it has no price. To hear when it is ready, join the waitlist at heardbybuzzy.com.