Is managing a restaurant hard?

Being a restaurant manager is a difficult job. It's fast and stressful, and requires a special combination of skills and personality traits (most importantly, staying calm under pressure). Yes, being a restaurant manager is hard work. The restaurant manager has many obligations and responsibilities to ensure that restaurant operations run smoothly.

A well-rounded manager must be able to multitask, think quickly, and maintain a constant calm attitude despite “putting out fires or dealing with difficult people”. In addition, restaurant managers must be fluent in all aspects of restaurant operations, including reception and reception functions.

Restaurant management training

offers formal instruction and practical exercises designed to improve a leader's hard and soft skills. Restaurant management can be very satisfying; managers deliver a tangible product and receive immediate feedback, hopefully positive.

Restaurant managers have a variety of tasks every day, ample opportunities for promotion, and a job that is rarely boring. However, as with any job, being a restaurant manager has disadvantages. Culinary management training often includes a focus on food preparation, culinary imagination, and food and wine pairings. Which means that the average restaurant manager would have been entitled to overtime pay if the overtime rule had come into effect.

Mid-level positions are those in which managers are still in contact with the lower levels of a restaurant, but begin to learn to organize higher requirements at the same time. Creating management objectives helps leaders focus on their tasks, focus on specific skills, and provides a plan for continued growth. Culinary and hospitality management programs may exclude some critical features found in restaurant management training programs. Preparation can take a long time, especially for restaurants that prepare a significant part of the menu from scratch.

Once you master the basics of what makes a restaurant work, the next step is a mid-level position that begins to lay the foundations of management. The National Restaurant Association's management curriculum, called ManageFirst, is also an option for current and future managers. When your restaurant isn't adequately stocked, your team will struggle to prepare food and serve customers properly. In essence, a restaurant manager is responsible for ensuring that there are no interruptions affecting the service.

I've seen many managers burn out quickly and quit their jobs, choosing to serve or be waiters. Their restaurant managers can step in when front desk staff need support, but they generally allow staff to take charge of their work and resolve issues as needed. Leaders can obtain formal restaurant management training in the classroom, through courses and certifications, or through e-learning curricula. That means there are plenty of opportunities for those at the bottom to rise and become restaurant managers in the industry's growing workforce.

Ernest Dargatz
Ernest Dargatz

Freelance food geek. Bacon expert. Certified internet buff. Typical coffee nerd. Avid coffee evangelist.