One Role, Many Hats: The Key Duties of a Restaurant Manager

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Every time I dine at a restaurant, I always tend to look around, talk to the staff and the manager, just to learn how they are running the business.

This might sound a little weird but restaurants never fail to fascinate me. If I ever get a chance, I would love to start my restaurant (I have mentioned this in one of my previous blogs as well if you remember).

Okay, let’s not get to that talk now. Otherwise, it will keep going on forever.

After all these years of dining and talking to various restaurateurs, I have learned that the duties of a restaurant manager aren’t a cakewalk. S/he needs to look after a bundle of tasks and ensure that everything is running smoothly.

And this blog is going to cover some of the key tasks of a restaurant manager. If you’re a restaurateur and want to be perfect at your job, this one is for you.

Importance of Restaurant Management

Before we dive right into the restaurant manager duties and responsibilities, let’s first learn about the importance of restaurant management.

When it comes to managing or running a restaurant, it is much more than just looking after the daily operations. Now, I am not saying that this isn’t important; what I mean is it involves various other tasks that need to be taken care of if you are aiming for the bigger picture.

A restaurateur can never overlook, even the tiniest tasks, if s/he wants to gain a competitive edge in the industry.

If you have dined in a high-end restaurant, you must have noticed that it’s not just the food, but the overall service that makes the impact.

But how can a restaurant achieve that level of perfection? With a qualified and experienced manager taking the charge. And this is exactly what I will be discussing in-depth going forward.

Essential Skills Every Restaurant Manager Should Possess

A restaurant manager needs to be perfect at everything. Meaning, s/he needs to be a powerhouse with multiple skills.

When I am using the word ‘powerhouse’, I don’t mean the manager to be bossy; rather, be a people’s person, a great leader.

So, the skills I am mentioning in this article aren’t generic. They are not only in terms of operation but also some of the underrated yet imperative skills.

These are the qualities a manager at a restaurant must possess:

• Should be good at keeping the team bonded. Conflicts are commonplace, and to keep the restaurant running smoothly, the manager must be able to keep the entire team intact. Now, this is not easy all the time, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
• There are times when the manager needs to take certain calls — be it in terms of operation, human resources, or finance. And for that, they have to be a great decision-maker. Now, it might be difficult to come out with clean hands all the time, but that doesn’t mean the manager will dodge the situation. Accept whatever the outcome may be.
• A restaurant manager must be supremely good at understanding and even judging people.
• S/he should have a knack for technology. The reason behind this is that the industry is evolving significantly and a manager should keep abreast with all the new technologies such as a restaurant POS system or a restaurant management system.

These are just to name, there are a lot more qualities a restaurant manager should have or at least, inculcate.

Let me know in the comments if you would want me to write a dedicated, in-depth blog on this topic. I would love to do that.

What Are the Duties and Responsibilities of a Restaurant Manager?

A manager at a restaurant wears many hats to keep the business stable and profitable. However, many aren’t aware of all the main restaurant manager tasks.

To help you learn about the same in-depth, I have listed all the key tasks. It could also be your checklist of duties of a restaurant manager.

1. Taking care of customer service

First things first. If you’re a restaurateur or someone who has just joined as a restaurant general manager, you need to be supremely good at customer service.

If you’re wondering why; then it’s because the manager is the first point of contact in the restaurant. They greet and advise customers, bid them adieu, foster positive customer relations, and whatnot.

I am sure, most of you must have experienced it. No matter what the problem is, a customer would always say, ‘please call the manager’.

Further, this isn’t just about dealing with customer inquiries and complaints. When we say customer service, a manager needs to juggle between departments, check whether enough staff is available in the service area, keep an eye on the food quality etc.

2. Streamlining restaurant operations

This, I think, is one of the prime duties of a general manager in a restaurant.

Running a restaurant business requires a lot of hustle. There are times when the kitchen runs out of ingredients, customers come up with complicated payment requests, staff are unclear of their tasks, tables not getting cleared on time, food served wrongly, and various other things.

These issues might not sound humongous, but they can make or break your restaurant.

This is when a restaurant manager needs to step in, find the loopholes, identify tools and processes to streamline operations, and help staff perform optimally.

Now, if you remember, I mentioned a skill — having a knack for technology. This is where it comes into play.

The manager MUST equip its restaurant with a system that not only streamlines operations but also enhances customer experience. Be it menu management, staff management, billing, reporting, or anything you name it, the system should be feature-rich.

3. Fulfilling human resources objectives

When you’re trying to determine the duties of a general manager in a restaurant, it might surprise you that, s/he also works for human resources.

I think the multiple hats idiom is now starting to make sense, right?

A restaurant manager is someone who possesses the know-how of the entire segment. Meaning, s/he knows what kind of people are a good fit for the roles at a restaurant.

So, be it hiring, training, assessing, retaining, or optimizing workflow and productivity, a restaurant GM must perform all the required human resource functions.

4. Looking after the marketing efforts of the restaurant

Talking about managing marketing efforts, this doesn’t mean the manager needs to get their hands on all the activities. No, that’s not the case most of the time.

Of course, restaurants have a dedicated marketing team, so the role of a manager is to guide them throughout. It is more like, the manager should be able to come up with strategies and ideas to make the most out of every marketing campaign.

Not just that, s/he must also assess every campaign to determine what went right and what went wrong, and provide clear insights.

5. Managing vendor/supplier and inventory

Restaurants spend a huge amount on outsourcing several items such as raw materials, cutleries, and management software. Therefore, to get quality products/services, they need to choose the right vendor.

To do that, the restaurant manager not only needs to find the right supplier but also inspect the products/services. And at last, make the most informed decision.

That’s not all. The manager also needs to be in constant contact with the vendor regarding re-ordering, renewals, billing etc.

Now, talking about inventory management, the manager again plays a prominent role. Keeping a track of every inventory is imperative for him/her. After all, the end goal is the smooth functioning of the business without any last moment goof up.

6. Planning the menu

Next up, a manager should do one of the most interesting tasks in a restaurant — planning the menu.

It goes without saying, menu planning is of utmost importance for a restaurant to succeed. After all, food is the prime essence here.

But when I say menu planning, it’s not something generic. A manager has to ensure that the food on the menu is in line with the restaurant’s concepts and is likely to be appreciated by the customers.

Furthermore, menu planning is also a part of saving the restaurant business from food wastage.  

7. Coming up with strategies to boost sales

Another key task of a restaurant manager is to bring in sales. Speaking of sales, managers are often involved in setting sales goals and strategizing to expand the business.

Be it tapping into a whole new customer base, re-working on the menu prices, partnering with other businesses; managers need to find ways that bring in the money.

8. Managing the restaurant’s finances

Money matters are sensitive. One tiny error would lead to total haywire. Therefore, it requires someone who is not only skilled but also confident in keeping track of where the money is coming from and where it is going.

Moreover, when it comes to finances, restaurant managers also need to optimize costs. Meaning, s/he needs to ensure that the money is not getting overspent on certain aspects.