Security Cameras for Restaurants and Cafes

What keeps hospitality owners up

You close at night, tired, and the building holds an espresso machine, a fridge of stock and a till drawer. The back door opens onto a lane. In the morning you find a lock tampered with, or a delivery nobody signed for.

During service the worries change. A customer says they were charged twice. A patron slips on a wet floor. A table walks out unpaid.

Where cameras go

The aim is to see the points of entry and the points of money, while respecting people who eat and work in the room.

• Front door and street frontage. Covers who comes in, and the footpath if you have outdoor tables.
• Counter and till. Positioned to see the transaction and the drawer, from an angle that does not stare down at customers' cards.
• Back door and lane. Where deliveries, staff smokers and unwelcome visitors all pass.
• Kitchen entry and storeroom. The door, not the people cooking.
• Dry store or cool room door. If stock disappears, this is where it tends to leave.

We avoid cameras over dining tables where customers would feel watched, and never place them in toilets. For a related look at shop floors, see retail stores.

What AI detection does for a cafe or restaurant

During service, you mostly need good recorded video you can find quickly. After close, you want alerts that are worth waking up for.

• Human detection. After hours, helps your phone alert on a person, not on the blinds, a delivery truck's lights or a cat in the lane. See human detection.
• Intrusion zone. Draw a zone across the dining room and kitchen, and be notified if a person enters after closing.
• Tripwire. A line across the back door or lane gate flags a person crossing it.
• Intelligent search. On compatible systems, it helps you find people or events in recordings.

AI features vary depending on the selected camera and recorder. Entry-level systems may offer basic motion detection only. The system detects and flags. It does not guarantee an outcome,.

DMSS for owners and managers

You close the shop, go home, and later receive an alert. Open DMSS, see the clip, check live view of the back door. In the morning, the opening manager can look at playback to see if anything happened overnight.

DMSS can share access with staff, so a duty manager can view the cameras they need. When someone leaves your team, you can remove their access. See DMSS for more on how the app works. Remote access is set up securely through DMSS and sensible network configuration.

Plan for these things

Lighting. Cafes are often low-lit in the evening, with bright windows by day. Camera choice affects how well you see faces against a bright street.

Network. Kitchens are hot, greasy and wet. We keep recorders and cabling away from steam and heat, in an office or ventilated cabinet.

Storage. Disputes can surface days later. Decide how many days you want to keep. We size the drive around camera count, quality and those days.

Privacy and signage. Put signs at the entrance and tell staff before cameras go in. No cameras in toilets or change rooms. Audio is treated more strictly than video. State and territory surveillance and workplace rules differ, and the Privacy Act applies to some businesses. This is general information, not legal advice, so check your own state's rules.

Entry-level versus higher-end. Entry-level systems provide recording and motion alerts. Higher-end gear improves detail in difficult light and adds more AI detection and search.

Get a quote

Have a look at our example systems, then contact us. Scheduling and coverage are confirmed when we quote.

Frequently asked questions