A restaurant manager’s job responsibilities can differ, so writing a cover letter for these roles can get tricky.
For example, have you worked as a restaurant manager in fast-food restaurants? Fine dining/upscale restaurants? Cafeteria-style?
For those in fine dining, the quality of ingredients far outweighs the cost. A cover letter written for someone in fine dining would talk more about menu uniqueness, awards, and other recognitions.
For fast-food restaurants, the opposite is true. Cover letters for these roles would talk more about handling high turnover staff and keeping costs under control.
Typical Job Responsibilities
The hospitality industry (e.g., entertainment, recreation, travel, lodging) can vary greatly, which means that management roles can vary greatly. The manager could focus on the front of the house, back of the house, or both.
The manager could have full management responsibilities over:
- Restaurant Costs
- Advertising & Marketing
- Menu Making/Planning/Pricing
- F&B Contract Negotiations
- Inventory Planning/Controls
- Vendor Sourcing
- Servsafe Compliance
- Event Planning & Management
- Multi-Site Management
The manager could get their hands dirty (routinely or on occasion) by helping with food preparation, performing table service, POS bill processing, and so on.
Regardless of the environment, customer service and retention is a FOCAL POINT for every Restaurant Manager. Restaurants know that they must provide great food, friendly table service, and a positive atmosphere to stay in business.
[Related Resources: Here’s a Cover Letter Example For a General Manager and Another For a Bartender]
The New Boom
You may have heard that “food is the new internet.”
This was true until the COVID outbreak, which certainly slowed its growth.
Pre-COVID, food trucks, cooking shows, exotic cuisines, and food concoctions (e.g., oat milk) changed what and how we ate. Customers were highly educated and looked to online review sites such as Google Reviews to find, research, and get customer feedback on new restaurant selections.
Nothing will change. These will still be the practices post-COVID.
Restaurant Managers have taken on additional job responsibilities as restaurant business models have changed.
Customer safety will become an even higher priority, alongside high customer service and food taste/presentation expectations.
For example, managers can expect to address new restaurant layout changes and cleanliness practices. Some additional responsibilities managers now perform include:
- Supply Chain Visibility (people want to know where their food comes from)
- Floor Plan Adjustments* (fewer tables and diners occupying the in-house eating space at the same time)
- Meticulous Facility Cleaning & Personal Hygiene Standards for Staff
Many restaurants make up the difference in revenue by boosting their pick-up/curbside service to customers. This can be unusual practices for mid-to high-range restaurants whose revenue was once generated by sit-down service only.
No doubt, Restaurant Managers are under pressure now more than ever.
Base Salary, Employment Outlook & Hours for Restaurant Managers
According to Payscale.com, a competitive salary for Restaurant Managers is an average of $45,513. Salaries are much higher for hospitality managers employed in what are called “food cities” throughout the U.S., which include New Orleans, San Francisco, and Seattle.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that employment in the F&B industry will continue growing well into the mid-2020s.
One of the biggest caveats for Restaurant Managers is the number of hours they work. Much like an Owner, managers can work up to 80 hours a week in the restaurant, making it not your typical nine-to-five employer.
Restaurants have statistically been high turnover businesses because of the hours and stress. Thus, restaurants are using unique staff recruitment and hiring strategies to assist with a worker shortage.
A NY Times article in 2018 highlighted how Taco Bamba Taqueria hired formerly incarcerated staff and used unique staff training (e.g., liquor tastings) as a recruitment/hiring method.
RELEVANT RESOURCES
How to Write a Cover Letter + Example Below
The biggest challenge for most job seekers is writing a cover letter for each job.
Adding new layers to the complexity of letter writing is that we don’t always know who to write the cover letter to.
This means job seekers use salutations like “to whom it may concern” or other sloppy techniques; e.g., avoid using a subject line or overlook grammatical errors.
Job seekers are generally time-strapped and oftentimes take shortcuts and overlook issues with spelling and grammar.
Restaurant Manager Cover Letter Sample
The restaurant manager cover letter below outlines the job responsibilities that hospitality managers deal with daily.
It’s important to note that this cover letter could be customized to be an effective cover letter for other hospitality and tourism-related employers. For example, this cover letter could be submitted to hotels, entertainment businesses, travel/leisure groups, and wine/spirit stores.
Hospitality cover letters reiterate customer programs that the manager has helped develop and implement. Highlighting your involvement with profit increases and cost reductions will help you get noticed.
Writing your cover letter to emphasize these two key skills could go a long way to reflecting you as an ideal candidate.
Don’t overlook the job advertisement. It’s a treasure trove of information to help personalize your letters. Write your letter, so it focuses on each job requirement outlined by the hiring manager.
BRIAN MASSA
3315 Country View Vista, Beavercreek, OH 45431
(937) 816-1687 | [email protected]
Copyrighted 2021 Resume to Referral, LLC, Resume Writing Service
Date
Contact
Company
Address
City, State Zip
RE:
Dear Mr(s).______________:
I’m a 15-year restaurant veteran. I started in fast food and progressed into my current fine-dining job at Coco’s Restaurant in Dayton.
I started my hospitality career by working as a dishwasher and bussing tables. After a couple of years, I transitioned into a server and took additional shifts as a host on the weekends.
Currently, I oversee many management responsibilities that you might expect, including:
Staff Hiring & Training — Guest Experience Goals — Labor-Management — F&B and Labor Cost Controls — Food Quality & Safety — Waitstaff Evaluations — Site Cleanliness — Restaurant Policy & Procedures
This groundfloor restaurant experience has gone a long way to career development and boosting my success as a Restaurant Manager. For example, I reduced employee turnover to less than 23% (a 58% reduction from the previous year). And, I reduced operating costs by $125,300 in the first 6 months of this year alone.
I’m a member of a national restaurant association. And, I conduct job and management training (e.g., proper food handling/safety and customer service skills) to waitstaff throughout Dayton and Cincinnati.
In the next couple of days, I will contact you to ensure receipt of the attached. I would entertain the opportunity to discuss this job further. Contact me at (937) 816-1687 to schedule an interview.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Brian Massa