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Food service director vs assistant restaurant manager

The differences between food service directors and assistant 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 service director and an assistant restaurant manager. Additionally, a food service director has an average salary of $53,939, which is higher than the $45,620 average annual salary of an assistant restaurant manager.

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

Food service director vs assistant restaurant manager overview

Food Service DirectorAssistant Restaurant Manager
Yearly salary$53,939$45,620
Hourly rate$25.93$21.93
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs136,337228,337
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 48%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age3939
Years of experience44

What does a food service director do?

A food service director is responsible for managing the foodservice operations, achieving the customers' highest satisfaction by supervising the kitchen personnel, monitoring the food distribution, and responding to the guests' inquiries and concerns. Foodservice directors manage the food inventories, ensuring the adequacy of all the ingredients and materials, and keeping the storage safe and clean all the time by enforcing strict sanitary and hygienic procedures. A food service director must be updated with the current food industry trends to update the menu regularly and meet the guests' demands.

What does an assistant restaurant manager do?

An assistant restaurant manager's role is to perform managerial support tasks and oversee restaurant operations, ensuring efficiency in workflow and customer satisfaction. Their responsibilities revolve around maintaining records of all invoices and contracts, delegating tasks, monitoring the inventory of supplies, liaising with suppliers and vendors, and addressing issues and concerns. There are also instances when one must attend to customers' needs, prepare schedules, perform regular workforce inspection, and report to the manager. Furthermore, it is essential to implement all the company's health regulations and policies, all to maintain a safe and healthy environment for everyone.

Food service director vs assistant restaurant manager salary

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

Food Service DirectorAssistant Restaurant Manager
Average salary$53,939$45,620
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $82,000Between $33,000 And $62,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CACarmel, NY
Highest paying stateCaliforniaRhode Island
Best paying companyBaptist Health CareBuca di Beppo
Best paying industryHealth CareHospitality

Differences between food service director and assistant restaurant manager education

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

Food Service DirectorAssistant Restaurant Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 48%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common majorCulinary ArtsBusiness
Most common collegeCornell UniversityCornell University

Food service director vs assistant restaurant manager demographics

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

Food Service DirectorAssistant Restaurant Manager
Average age3939
Gender ratioMale, 58.1% Female, 41.9%Male, 51.3% Female, 48.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 7.3% White, 60.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 10.0% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

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

Food service director example responsibilities.

  • Train and manage countless dishwashers, cooks, servers, and other managers to achieve significant improvements in their productivity.
  • Manage both front of the house (FOH) and back of the house (BOH) operations.
  • Manage a team of 12 managers and 160 FTE.
  • Achieve highest level of compliance with CMS and Steritech audits.
  • Manage departmental budget and payroll for 111 FTE's, service and production of ~ 1200 meals/day.
  • Manage food services at 142 bed sub-acute rehabilitation and skil nursing facility with a staff of 43 FTE's.
  • Show more

Assistant restaurant manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage the food and beverage operation of Mobil 5-Star and AAA 5-Diamond hotel.
  • Monitor and manage beverage and wine supplies, completing monthly reconciliations to ensure inventory accuracy.
  • Coordinate, communicate and delegate FOH responsibilities to staff to ensure excellent operations are consistently achieve.
  • Schedule, set up and staff for functions, outings, wine tastings, fine dining evenings and other upscale events.
  • Guarantee above-average store inspections scores that exemplify store cleanliness, employee accountability, and food safety.
  • Interview, hire and train the restaurant and in-room dining staff.
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Food service director vs assistant restaurant manager skills

Common food service director skills
  • Customer Service, 13%
  • Culinary, 9%
  • ServSafe, 8%
  • Food Preparation, 6%
  • Good Judgment, 5%
  • Cost Control, 4%
Common assistant restaurant manager skills
  • Customer Service, 15%
  • Cleanliness, 13%
  • Food Service, 8%
  • Product Quality, 5%
  • Restaurant Operations, 5%
  • Guest Service, 5%

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