RESTAURANT

OPERATIONS AND
MANAGEMENT
AOAM 311 WEEK 13-14
Restaurant Organizational Structure
◦ A restaurant organizational chart will show employees in an organized chain of command.
◦ A general restaurant organizational chart looks like this: The business belongs to the owners,
and they will make all major restaurant decisions.
◦ They hire a general manager and an executive chef to control the day-to-day operations.
◦ A front-of-house manager stays on the floor and keeps communication directly with the
general manager, while shift leaders are chosen by the front-of-house managers for their
leadership qualities and experience.
Restaurant Organizational Structure
Defining their Roles: Owners in the
Restaurant Hierarchy
◦ Corporate or local owners are ultimately in
control of the restaurant.
◦ They are the ones who stand to make or lose
the most due to the success or failure of the
restaurant.
◦ The owners usually are responsible for hiring
the management team for a restaurant and
may also choose the executive chef.
◦ There is an expectation that the ownership's
policy information will be passed all the way
down the chain of restaurant command.
Defining their Roles: General Manager of the
Restaurant
◦ The general manager is responsible for the day-to day-
decision-making of the restaurant.
◦ They are often responsible for scheduling and payroll
paperwork as well as sales accounting and money
counting.
◦ The general manager does most of the restaurant's hiring
and firing.
◦ The general manager must also stay in regular contact
with ownership to both relay information and request
guidance.
 Defining their Roles: The Executive Chef
◦ In a restaurant hierarchy, the executive chef is the
manager of the entire kitchen.
◦ They are responsible for the products coming into the
kitchen from vendors and suppliers.
◦ Executive chefs report directly to the general manager
about inventory and ordering. The executive chef is also
responsible for menu design and all the meals that leave
the kitchen.
◦ Executive chefs are usually consulted in the interview
process for all kitchen help.
◦ They take responsibility for all the decisions made in the
kitchen regarding everything from quality control to nightly
specials.
Restaurant Operations
◦ Restaurant operations, in the simplest terms, are various activities that are
carried out in a restaurant to run the business.
◦ These include all activities involved in the preparation of food, customer service,
cleaning, purchasing raw materials, accounting, reporting, etc.
◦ All these front of the house and back of the house activities together form
restaurant operations.
◦ Restaurant operations are about much more than food.
◦ Successful restaurants design operations aimed at pleasing customers, making a
profit and avoiding potential crises such as food poisoning.
◦ In addition to handling the logistics of ordering and stocking ingredients, a
restaurateur must oversee the nonfood elements of a dining experience such as
ambience and service.
◦ In addition, cleaning is a vital part of restaurant operations, making a positive
impression on customers and also keeping them safe from food-borne illnesses.
Restaurant Operations: Front of the
House
◦ Restaurant operations are generally divided between what is commonly called front of
the house and back of the house.
◦ The front of the house includes anyone with guest contact, from the hostess to the bus
person.
◦ In the front of the house, restaurant operation begins with creating and maintaining
what is called curbside appeal, or keeping the restaurant looking attractive and
welcoming.
◦ Most restaurant chains have checklists that each manager uses. In the front of the
house, the parking lot, including the flower gardens, needs to be maintained in good
order.
◦ As guests approach the restaurant, greeters may hold the door open and welcome
them to the restaurant.
Restaurant Operations: Front of the
House
◦ Once inside, the greeter, or as some restaurants call them, a “smiling people
greeter” (SPG), greets guests appropriately and, if seating is available, escorts them
to a table.
◦ If there is a wait, the hostess will take the guests’ names and ask for their table
preference.
◦ Aside from greeting the guests, one critical function of the hostess is to rotate
arriving guests among the sections or stations. This ensures an even and timely
distribution of guests—otherwise one section may get overloaded.
◦ Guests are sometimes asked to wait a few minutes even if tables are available. This
is done to help manage the kitchen’s workload—because most kitchens have
limited space and cannot cope with too much volume at one time.
◦ The greeters maintain a book, or chart, showing the sections and tables so they
know which tables are occupied.
◦ Greeters escort guests to the tables, present menus, and may explain special sales
promotions. Some may also remove excess place settings from the table.
Restaurant Operations: Front of the
House
◦ In some restaurants, servers are allocated a certain
number of tables, which may vary depending on the size
of the tables and the volume of the restaurant.
◦ Normally, five is the maximum. In other restaurants, servers
rotate within their section to cover three or four tables.
◦ Servers introduce themselves and offer a variety of
beverages and/or specials, or invite guests to select from
the menu.
◦ This is known as suggestive selling. The server then takes the
entree orders. Often, when taking orders, the server begins
at a designated point and takes the orders clockwise from
that point.
Restaurant Operations: Front of the
House
◦ The front-of-house manager is an important tier in the restaurant
chain of command. The term front-of-house (FOH) refers to not only
the dining area but all parts of the restaurant excluding the kitchen.
◦ The job of the FOH manager is to assist the general manager and
the executive chef in customer relations and managing front of the
house employees.
◦ They are charged with choosing and monitoring the performance
of shift leaders. They are also responsible for the appearance of the
staff and the restaurant.
◦ The restaurant manager runs the restaurant. Depending on the size
and sales volume of the restaurant, there may be more managers
with special responsibilities, such as kitchen manager, bar manager,
and dining room manager. These managers are usually cross-
trained in order to relieve each other.
Restaurant Operations: Front of the
House
Restaurant Shift Leaders
◦ Shift leaders are the last level of the management
team for a restaurant.
◦ These are usually the people in each front of the
house station with the most experience.
◦ A shift leader is usually chosen for host station, bar,
busing station and among the servers.
◦ Their job is to handle small problems and decisions
that need to be made through the course of
service.
◦ They should stay in regular contact with the floor
manager for customer problems and employee
disputes.
Restaurant Operations: Back of the
House
◦ The back of the house is generally run by the kitchen manager and
the term refers to all the areas with which guests do not normally
come in contact.
◦ This includes purchasing, receiving, storing/issuing, food production,
stewarding, budgeting, accounting, and control.
◦ One of the most important aspects to running a successful restaurant
is having a strong back-of-the-house operation, particularly in the
kitchen.
◦ The kitchen is the backbone of every full-service restaurant, so it must
be well managed and organized.
◦ Some of the main considerations in efficiently operating the back of
the house include staffing, scheduling, training, food cost analysis
(internal controls), production, management involvement,
management follow-up, and employee recognition.