Management
Food Service Managers
Plan, direct, or coordinate activities of an organization or department that serves food and beverages.
MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
Source wage group: Food Service Managers
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Food Service Managers. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Median annual wage$69,390USD per year · Published 50th percentile
Median hourly wage$33.36USD per hour · Published 50th percentile
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $45,960 | $22.09 |
| 25th | $56,870 | $27.34 |
| 50th · Median | $69,390 | $33.36 |
| 75th | $86,800 | $41.73 |
| 90th | $107,640 | $51.75 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE
What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Banquet DirectorBanquet ManagerCafe OperatorCafeteria DirectorCafeteria ManagerCafeteria OperatorCatering CoordinatorCatering DirectorCatering ManagerCDM (Certified Dietary Manager)CFPP (Certified Food Protection Professional)Chef Manager
Expand more title examples (33)
ConcessionaireCook ManagerDeli ManagerDietary ManagerDietary SupervisorDining Room ManagerDining Service DirectorF and B Director (Food and Beverage Director)F and B Manager (Food and Beverage Manager)Fast Food Services ManagerFlight Kitchen ManagerFood GM (Food General Manager)Food Production ManagerFood Service DirectorFood Service GM (Food Service General Manager)Food Service ManagerFood Service SpecialistFood Service SupervisorFront of House Manager (FOH Manager)GM (General Manager)Hospitality ManagerKitchen ManagerLiquor Establishment ManagerLuncheonette OperatorLunchroom OperatorMenu PlannerRestaurant GM (Restaurant General Manager)Restaurant ManagerRestaurateurSaloon KeeperShift ManagerTavern KeeperTavern Operator
Typical tasks
- Count money and make bank deposits.
- Establish standards for personnel performance and customer service.
- Keep records required by government agencies regarding sanitation or food subsidies.
- Schedule staff hours and assign duties.
- Investigate and resolve complaints regarding food quality, service, or accommodations.
- Maintain food and equipment inventories, and keep inventory records.
Expand more tasks (22)
- Perform some food preparation or service tasks, such as cooking, clearing tables, and serving food and drinks when necessary.
- Monitor budgets and payroll records, and review financial transactions to ensure that expenditures are authorized and budgeted.
- Schedule and receive food and beverage deliveries, checking delivery contents to verify product quality and quantity.
- Coordinate assignments of cooking personnel to ensure economical use of food and timely preparation.
- Organize and direct worker training programs, resolve personnel problems, hire new staff, and evaluate employee performance in dining and lodging facilities.
- Assess staffing needs and recruit staff, using methods such as newspaper advertisements or attendance at job fairs.
- Estimate food, liquor, wine, and other beverage consumption to anticipate amounts to be purchased or requisitioned.
- Monitor food preparation methods, portion sizes, and garnishing and presentation of food to ensure that food is prepared and presented in an acceptable manner.
- Monitor compliance with health and fire regulations regarding food preparation and serving, and building maintenance in lodging and dining facilities.
- Test cooked food by tasting and smelling it to ensure palatability and flavor conformity.
- Order and purchase equipment and supplies.
- Review work procedures and operational problems to determine ways to improve service, performance, or safety.
- Arrange for equipment maintenance and repairs, and coordinate a variety of services, such as waste removal and pest control.
- Monitor employee and patron activities to ensure liquor regulations are obeyed.
- Greet guests, escort them to their seats, and present them with menus and wine lists.
- Record the number, type, and cost of items sold to determine which items may be unpopular or less profitable.
- Plan menus and food utilization, based on anticipated number of guests, nutritional value, palatability, popularity, and costs.
- Review menus and analyze recipes to determine labor and overhead costs, and assign prices to menu items.
- Take dining reservations.
- Create specialty dishes and develop recipes to be used in dining facilities.
- Schedule use of facilities or catering services for events such as banquets or receptions, and negotiate details of arrangements with clients.
- Establish and enforce nutritional standards for dining establishments, based on accepted industry standards.
Skills used in this work
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Expand more skills (29)
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
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