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The differences between restaurant managers and bar 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 restaurant manager and a bar manager. Additionally, a restaurant manager has an average salary of $52,202, which is higher than the $46,828 average annual salary of a bar manager.
The top three skills for a restaurant manager include customer service, guest satisfaction and food handling. The most important skills for a bar manager are customer service, wine, and beverage orders.
| Restaurant Manager | Bar Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $52,202 | $46,828 |
| Hourly rate | $25.10 | $22.51 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 225,340 | 165,633 |
| Job satisfaction | 1 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
Bar managers are also called bar owners or supervisors of bar establishments. The managers are in charge of managing customer complaints, ensuring stocks in the bar, and in scheduling the jobs of employees. They oversee the overall operations of the bar, manage its staff, and ensure that the standards of products and services are met. They maintain the licensure of liquor and make sure that their staff follows the local regulations. Also, they see to it that customers are served promptly.
Restaurant managers and bar managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Restaurant Manager | Bar Manager | |
| Average salary | $52,202 | $46,828 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $69,000 | Between $33,000 And $65,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Greenwich, CT |
| Highest paying state | New Hampshire | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Hillstone Restaurant Group | Greenwich Country Club |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Government |
There are a few differences between a restaurant manager and a bar manager in terms of educational background:
| Restaurant Manager | Bar Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Cornell University | Cornell University |
Here are the differences between restaurant managers' and bar managers' demographics:
| Restaurant Manager | Bar Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.5% Female, 45.5% | Male, 56.0% Female, 44.0% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 7.9% White, 60.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |