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Assistant food service director vs restaurant manager

The differences between assistant food service directors and restaurant managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an assistant food service director and a restaurant manager. Additionally, a restaurant manager has an average salary of $52,202, which is higher than the $41,871 average annual salary of an assistant food service director.

The top three skills for an assistant food service director include food preparation, cleanliness and servsafe. The most important skills for a restaurant manager are customer service, guest satisfaction, and food handling.

Assistant food service director vs restaurant manager overview

Assistant Food Service DirectorRestaurant Manager
Yearly salary$41,871$52,202
Hourly rate$20.13$25.10
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs150,177225,340
Job satisfaction-1
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 55%Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age3939
Years of experience44

What does an assistant food service director do?

An Assistant Food Service Director supervises and coordinates food preparation and food service activities. They work under the direction of the director of food service.

What does a restaurant manager do?

A restaurant manager is responsible for handling the overall restaurant operations. These include monitoring revenues and daily restaurant sales, checking inventories and supplies, negotiating with third-party vendors, and managing customers' inquiries and complaints. Other duties include creating promotional offers, developing and improving sales strategies, organizing staff duties, maintaining the highest sanitary standards for everyone's strict compliance, and controlling operational expenses. A restaurant manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills and exceptional knowledge of food industry management.

Assistant food service director vs restaurant manager salary

Assistant food service directors and restaurant managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Assistant Food Service DirectorRestaurant Manager
Average salary$41,871$52,202
Salary rangeBetween $29,000 And $59,000Between $39,000 And $69,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-New Hampshire
Best paying company-Hillstone Restaurant Group
Best paying industry-Hospitality

Differences between assistant food service director and restaurant manager education

There are a few differences between an assistant food service director and a restaurant manager in terms of educational background:

Assistant Food Service DirectorRestaurant Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 55%Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeCornell UniversityCornell University

Assistant food service director vs restaurant manager demographics

Here are the differences between assistant food service directors' and restaurant managers' demographics:

Assistant Food Service DirectorRestaurant Manager
Average age3939
Gender ratioMale, 50.7% Female, 49.3%Male, 54.5% Female, 45.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 7.2% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 9.4% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between assistant food service director and restaurant manager duties and responsibilities

Assistant food service director example responsibilities.

  • Manage nutrition department of pharmacy and medical home healthcare supply company.
  • Attend food safety classes and complete the Chicago, Illinois and federal ServSafe certifications.
  • Adhere to standard operating procedures for cleanliness of the facility and culinary instruments and utensils
  • Roll out new culinary and nutritional programs in conjunction with Eurest marketing and culinary team.
  • Prepare and research material to become expert on topics ranging from HACCP's, cross contamination, and food borne illness.
  • Facilitate development, implementation and utilization of HACCP.
  • Show more

Restaurant manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage staff by teaching them the correct procedures along with making sure they are working up to Marriott standards.
  • Manage associates while bartending and serving in a family-own restaurant.
  • Coordinate, communicate and delegate FOH responsibilities to staff to ensure excellent operations are consistently achieve.
  • Maintain corporate accounts on QuickBooks.
  • Master QuickBooks to track company expenses and revenue.
  • Supervise and train dining and in-room dining staff.
  • Show more

Assistant food service director vs restaurant manager skills

Common assistant food service director skills
  • Food Preparation, 22%
  • Cleanliness, 16%
  • ServSafe, 14%
  • Culinary, 7%
  • Fine Dining, 7%
  • Food Production, 6%
Common restaurant manager skills
  • Customer Service, 14%
  • Guest Satisfaction, 7%
  • Food Handling, 7%
  • Cleanliness, 6%
  • Restaurant Management, 5%
  • Guest Service, 5%

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