Food runner vs restaurant server

The differences between food runners and restaurant servers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food runner has an average salary of $25,536, which is higher than the $24,558 average annual salary of a restaurant server.

The top three skills for a food runner include cleanliness, wine and culinary. The most important skills for a restaurant server are wine, exceptional dining, and guest satisfaction.

Food runner vs restaurant server overview

	Food Runner	Restaurant Server
Yearly salary	$25,536	$24,558
Hourly rate	$12.28	$11.81
Growth rate	14%	10%
Number of jobs	240,853	141,250
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age	23	28
Years of experience	-	-

What does a food runner do?

Food Runners are responsible for assisting waitstaff on serving customers at a restaurant or similar establishment. Among their duties include maintaining cleanliness in particular areas, setting tables, refilling drinks, assisting customers with everything that they need, and coordinating with the workforce in and out of the kitchen. Furthermore, Food Runners need to ensure that all deliveries are accurate according to what is ordered by a customer. It is essential to stay presentable and helpful at all times as the main priority is customer satisfaction.

What does a restaurant server do?

Also called food servers, restaurant servers perform food preparation, cleaning duties, and customer service in casual dining eateries and restaurants. The food servers stock supplies, handle credit cards and the cash register, and clean restaurant counters and tables. They provide assistance to restaurant patrons to take orders, deliver food, and answer customer questions. The skills they need include trustworthiness, organization, customer relations, and communication skills.

Food runner vs restaurant server salary

Food runners and restaurant servers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Food Runner	Restaurant Server
Average salary	$25,536	$24,558
Salary range	Between $18,000 And $34,000	Between $15,000 And $37,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	Vermont	California
Best paying company	University of Massachusetts Boston	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Agriculture

Differences between food runner and restaurant server education

There are a few differences between a food runner and a restaurant server in terms of educational background:

	Food Runner	Restaurant Server
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Food runner vs restaurant server demographics

Here are the differences between food runners' and restaurant servers' demographics:

	Food Runner	Restaurant Server
Average age	23	28
Gender ratio	Male, 59.0% Female, 41.0%	Male, 40.8% Female, 59.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 20.9% Asian, 9.4% White, 52.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	6%

Differences between food runner and restaurant server duties and responsibilities

Food runner example responsibilities.

Manage labor and design of numerous weddings, banquets, buffets, and the restaurant floor.
Manage event reservations and party requests, inform customers about upcoming events and specials.
Provide excellent customer service to guests by describing and suggesting culinary options
Greet customers and prepare drinks (tea, smoothies).
Expedite the kitchen to ensure food leaves fast and accurately.
Demonstrate strong computational skills for tendering receipt of payments from clients.

Restaurant server example responsibilities.

Demonstrate adequate culinary and Italian wine knowledge through suggestive selling.
Input orders in micros and issue guest check for each order.
Prepare the groceries for the customer in their request baggage handing.3.
Maintain clean, sanitize FOH area and ensure health & safety and hygiene procedures and standards are meet.
Work with operations manager in ordering and setting up all FOH systems need in opening a new restaurant.
Provide thorough knowledge of the restaurant's menu to make recommendations or answer questions, and enter POS charges.

Food runner vs restaurant server skills

Common food runner skills

Cleanliness, 20%
Wine, 9%
Culinary, 7%
Food Orders, 6%
Fine Dining, 5%
Food Handling, 5%

Common restaurant server skills

Wine, 28%
Exceptional Dining, 6%
Guest Satisfaction, 5%
Cleanliness, 5%
POS, 5%
Food Service, 5%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Food Runner
Food Runner vs Restaurant Server

Updated January 8, 2025

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