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Dining room manager vs restaurant manager

The differences between dining room managers 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 a dining room manager and a restaurant manager. Additionally, a restaurant manager has an average salary of $52,202, which is higher than the $49,372 average annual salary of a dining room manager.

The top three skills for a dining room manager include fine dining, food service and good judgment. The most important skills for a restaurant manager are customer service, guest satisfaction, and food handling.

Dining room manager vs restaurant manager overview

Dining Room ManagerRestaurant Manager
Yearly salary$49,372$52,202
Hourly rate$23.74$25.10
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs162,992225,340
Job satisfaction-1
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age3939
Years of experience44

What does a dining room manager do?

Dining Room Managers are responsible for supervising the operations of a dining establishment or restaurant. Their duties include ensuring workers adhere to operational and service standards, implement training and recruitment processes, addressing customer concerns, achieving customer satisfaction, and overseeing a restaurant's inventory and budget. Dining Room Managers compile daily reports, greet customers, introduce menus, and ensure the dining area is healthy and clean. They also assist in the orientation of workers.

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.

Dining room manager vs restaurant manager salary

Dining room managers and restaurant managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Dining Room ManagerRestaurant Manager
Average salary$49,372$52,202
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $69,000Between $39,000 And $69,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateRhode IslandNew Hampshire
Best paying companyHca Hospital Services Of San DiegoHillstone Restaurant Group
Best paying industryHospitalityHospitality

Differences between dining room manager and restaurant manager education

There are a few differences between a dining room manager and a restaurant manager in terms of educational background:

Dining Room ManagerRestaurant Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeCornell UniversityCornell University

Dining room manager vs restaurant manager demographics

Here are the differences between dining room managers' and restaurant managers' demographics:

Dining Room ManagerRestaurant Manager
Average age3939
Gender ratioMale, 42.9% Female, 57.1%Male, 54.5% Female, 45.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 8.5% White, 60.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%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 dining room manager and restaurant manager duties and responsibilities

Dining room manager example responsibilities.

  • Interview, hire, train, and manage take-out and in-room delivery staff.
  • Control operational costs by managing bar and wine inventory.
  • Manage payroll and timekeeping, and effectively complete proper paperwork for new hires and terminations.
  • Manage daily FOH staff line-up, covering necessary instruction and education concerning fine-dining service and beverage, menu and company knowledge.
  • Team with culinary product development to integrate customer data into new products that increase revenue and customer satisfaction.
  • Entrust with the care of VIP guests like Thomas Keller, Michael Mina and Alain Passard.
  • 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

Dining room manager vs restaurant manager skills

Common dining room manager skills
  • Fine Dining, 27%
  • Food Service, 12%
  • Good Judgment, 12%
  • Cleanliness, 12%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Food Handling, 4%
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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