How To Become A Bartender Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a bartender manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Bartender managers are responsible for making sure bars operate smoothly. They attend frequent meetings with bar owners, source and train staff to best suit the bar's needs, and schedule staff in an efficient manner to cover the demands of customers. They also communicate with vendors to ensure the appropriate number of products are on hand for the forecasted demand, resolve all staff conflicts swiftly and properly, and ensure all banking and transactions are done properly.

Bartender managers need a high school diploma, and restaurant or managerial expertise is usually preferred as well. They need basic accounting skills, strong communication, interpersonal, problem-solving, customer service, organizational, and management skills, and the willingness to work odd hours and stand for long hours.

On average, bartender managers earn $21.57 an hour or $44,856 per year. However, they are known to earn anywhere between $30,000 and $66,000. Additionally, the career is expected to grow by 11% between 2018 and 2028, creating 38,500 new jobs.

ScoreBartender ManagerUS Average

Salary

3.0

Avg. Salary $38,561

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.4

Growth rate 18%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.64%

Asian 3.86%

Black or African American 6.20%

Hispanic or Latino 17.51%

Unknown 6.10%

White 65.69%

Gender

female 59.57%

male 40.43%

Age - 32

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 32

Stress level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.1

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a bartender manager

Explore bartender manager education requirements

Most common bartender manager degrees

Bachelor's

47.0 %

Associate

22.7 %

High School Diploma

19.5 %

Start to develop specific bartender manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	23.54%
Bartending	10.42%
Payroll	5.94%
Craft Beer	5.34%
Non-Alcoholic Beverages	4.92%

Complete relevant bartender manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New bartender managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a bartender manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real bartender manager resumes.

Gain additional bartender manager certifications

Bartender manager certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific bartender manager certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for bartender managers include Certified Food Manager (CFM) and Food Safety Manager Certification.

More About Certifications

Research bartender manager duties and responsibilities

Manage and organize deliveries of excessive wine orders and liquor inventory.
Manage daily operations of the front-of-the-house functions in the restaurant, including appearance, presentation, customer experience and professional leadership.
Supervise bartending operations and management of staff, scheduling and inventory control.
Involve bartending and bar management in a restaurant/bar/live entertainment environment.

Prepare your bartender manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your bartender manager resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a bartender manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable bartender manager resume templates

Build a professional bartender manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your bartender manager resume.

Apply for bartender manager jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a bartender manager job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do bartender managers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

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1 star

Bartender manager reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2020

Pros

Leadership setting goals as team players, enjoying effective communication and understanding people and providing the best services and products. Happy staff happy business.

Cons

Negativity, bad customer service, and dishonesty and disrespect from stafff

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2019