Food safety director vs restaurant manager

The differences between food safety 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 a food safety director and a restaurant manager. Additionally, a food safety director has an average salary of $69,299, which is higher than the $52,202 average annual salary of a restaurant manager.

The top three skills for a food safety director include food service, FDA and HACCP. The most important skills for a restaurant manager are customer service, guest satisfaction, and food handling.

Food safety director vs restaurant manager overview

	Food Safety Director	Restaurant Manager
Yearly salary	$69,299	$52,202
Hourly rate	$33.32	$25.10
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	141,051	225,340
Job satisfaction	-	1
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	4	4

What does a food safety director do?

Food safety directors implement regulations and standards in various facilities. As a food safety director, you are responsible for training other inspectors who help inspect the facility and make detailed reports from which you determine how best to maintain safety standards. You will maintain documentation of day-to-day activities, making sure products meet the outlined criteria, educate suppliers, conduct regular safety audits, and promote smooth workflow.

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.

Food safety director vs restaurant manager salary

Food safety directors and restaurant managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Food Safety Director	Restaurant Manager
Average salary	$69,299	$52,202
Salary range	Between $34,000 And $137,000	Between $39,000 And $69,000
Highest paying City	Concord, NH	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Hampshire	New Hampshire
Best paying company	CyberCoders	Hillstone Restaurant Group
Best paying industry	Media	Hospitality

Differences between food safety director and restaurant manager education

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

	Food Safety Director	Restaurant Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 50%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Cornell University	Cornell University

Food safety director vs restaurant manager demographics

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

	Food Safety Director	Restaurant Manager
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 58.9% Female, 41.1%	Male, 54.5% Female, 45.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 9.1% White, 56.5% 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 Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between food safety director and restaurant manager duties and responsibilities

Food safety director example responsibilities.

Manage operations and provide support to a team of 245 union employees at various elementary, middle and high school cafeterias.
Prepare HACCP analysis report and provide reports for the areas not meeting the quality standards.
Supervise culinary selection, catering, event planning, and baking/cooking functions and oversee menu development.
Assist with the development and execution of HACCP plans specific to projects and special events.
Ensure collaboration between interdisciplinary teams including the clinical, culinary, and patient food service management staff to improve department efficiency.
Assist in directing total food service operation in accordance with USDA policies and procedures.

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.

Food safety director vs restaurant manager skills

Common food safety director skills

Food Service, 10%
FDA, 7%
HACCP, 7%
Continuous Improvement, 6%
Culinary, 6%
Fsma, 5%

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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Food Safety Director
Food Safety Director vs Restaurant Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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