How to Hire a Restaurant Manager: 2026 Hiring Guide

To hire a restaurant manager, define the exact role first, pay at or above your market, recruit managers who are already employed instead of waiting for applicants, and test every candidate on real numbers from their current restaurant. Here's how to do each step well.

Restaurant manager, general manager or assistant GM?

The titles overlap, so be precise. A general manager owns the restaurant's results: the P&L, the team and the guest experience. An assistant or associate GM runs shifts and specific parts of the operation, and is often the GM's successor. A kitchen manager runs the back of house.

Write the job around what the person will own, not just the title.

What to pay a restaurant manager in 2026

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median pay for food service managers, the category that includes restaurant managers, at $69,390 a year (May 2025). Payscale's 2026 data for full-service restaurant general managers shows an average base of $59,574, with most between $43,000 and $80,000, plus annual bonuses of $1,000 to $12,000.

Pay moves with sales volume, concept and market. See what a restaurant general manager makes and every role in our 2026 salary guide.

Where the best restaurant managers come from

• Employed managers at comparable restaurants. The strongest candidates usually aren't applying anywhere. Someone has to approach them.
• Your own bench. An assistant GM who's ready to step up is often the lowest-risk hire, if you can backfill their role.
• Referrals from your managers, vendors and industry contacts.
• Job boards, which bring volume, but mostly from active job seekers.

What to look for in a restaurant manager

• Comparable volume: annual sales, seats and team size close to yours
• Cost results they can name: prime cost, labor and food cost percentages
• People they've developed: managers they promoted, and how long their teams stayed
• Calm judgment: how they handle a guest complaint, a no-show shift or a failed inspection
• Fit with your ownership: an independent owner, a growing group or a larger brand

Interview questions to ask a restaurant manager

1. Walk me through last month's P&L. What moved, and what did you do about it?
2. What's your labor percentage target, and how do you hit it on a slow night?
3. Tell me about a manager you developed. Where are they now?
4. Describe your hardest shift in the last year. What did you change afterward?
5. How do you handle a server who's great with guests but late every week?
6. Why are you open to leaving, and what would make you stay where you are?

Red flags when hiring a restaurant manager

• Can't give a single number from their current restaurant
• Blames every past problem on owners or staff
• Short stays at several restaurants, with no clear reason
• Vague about why they want to leave

How long it takes to hire a restaurant manager

Plan on several weeks from opening the search to a start date, and longer if the candidate has to give notice or relocate. Starting before the seat is empty, with a confidential replacement search, avoids running the restaurant without a leader.

When to use a restaurant management recruiter

If the role is hard to fill, confidential, or costing you sales while it's open, a recruiter who reaches employed managers can shorten the search. Most contingency recruiters charge 20% to 30% of first-year pay; see how much hospitality recruiters charge.

We recruit restaurant general managers, assistant GMs and kitchen managers for full-service restaurant groups nationwide, for 18% of first-year base salary with a six-month replacement guarantee.