Restaurant Org Chart Templates — Free & Editable

A restaurant org chart maps your team from owner down to floor staff, showing who manages the kitchen, who owns the front of house, and who reports to whom on any given shift. A good restaurant organizational chart does one job well: it answers “who handles this?” before that question starts bouncing around the building.

Most restaurants do not lack structure. They lack a version of the structure that anyone can find during a busy shift. The first location usually runs on memory, habit, and whoever happens to be standing closest to the problem. That works until it doesn’t. Add a second location, hire 10 more people, or lose a manager mid-season, and suddenly the org chart scribbled in someone’s head is not carrying the load anymore.

That is what an org chart for restaurant teams actually does. It is not decoration. It is the fastest way to make the chain of command visible before service starts getting expensive.

Key takeaways

• A restaurant org chart splits into two parallel tracks: front of house (FOH) and back of house (BOH), each with its own management chain.
• The minimum data you need is three columns: employee name, title, and direct manager — the same columns you would use in a staff spreadsheet.
• Structure varies by type: small independents run flat; full-service restaurants need a deeper BOH hierarchy; multi-location groups add a regional layer above each unit.
• The US restaurant industry posts a 79.6% annual turnover rate, according to the National Restaurant Association — making a current org chart essential for fast onboarding.
• If your roster already lives in a spreadsheet, you can build a restaurant org chart from that data in minutes using spreadsheet import.

What goes on a restaurant org chart

A restaurant org chart shows reporting relationships. Every person gets a box. Lines connect boxes to show who reports to whom. The person at the top reports to no one, or to an owner who is not always in the building.

That sounds simple until you try to draw it for a restaurant. Restaurants have two parallel chains of command running through every shift, and both of them think they are the important one. That is why a restaurant hierarchy chart is useful. It makes the overlap visible before someone starts solving FOH problems with BOH authority, or the other way around.

Front of house handles guests: seating, service, drinks, and every interaction the customer experiences. Back of house handles production: prep, cooking, plating, and keeping the kitchen alive. Each track has its own manager. Both report up to the General Manager, or to the owner in smaller operations.

The basic hierarchy looks like this:

1. Owner or Proprietor
2. General Manager
3. FOH Manager and Kitchen Manager (or Executive Chef), at the same level, both reporting to the GM
4. FOH supervisors and BOH supervisors
5. Hourly staff: Servers, Hosts, Bartenders, Bussers on the front side; Line Cooks, Prep Cooks, Dishwashers in the kitchen

Everything else is a variation on this shape, depending on how large and what type of restaurant you are running.

Restaurant positions and reporting lines

Most positions in a restaurant organizational chart fall into one of three groups: management, front of house, and back of house. Here is a concise reference with typical compensation ranges (vary by market, concept, and tips; see Payscale restaurant manager benchmarks for local details).

Management and operations

Owner or Proprietor — The person with final authority. In owner-operated restaurants, this role often doubles as General Manager for the first several years of the business.

General Manager — The operating anchor. Manages labor budgets, vendor relationships, hiring, and daily operations across FOH and BOH. Reports to the owner or, in larger groups, a Regional Director. Typical salary: $55,000–$85,000 per year (BLS Food Service Managers).

Operations Manager (larger groups only) — Sits between the GM and a regional director. Manages multiple GMs at different locations. Appears above the unit-level GM on group charts, not on every single-store chart.

Front of house

FOH Manager — Owns everything the guest touches: staffing, service quality, table turns, and shift performance. Reports to the GM. Typical range: $40,000–$65,000 per year.

Bar Manager or Head Bartender — Manages bar staff, inventory, and drink quality. Reports to the FOH Manager; may report to the GM when bar revenue is significant.

Lead Server or Floor Supervisor — Informal management on the floor during a shift. Reports to the FOH Manager.

Servers — Take orders, deliver food and drinks, handle payments. Base pay often $15,000–$25,000 per year before gratuity; median total compensation with tips often $30,000–$45,000 depending on concept.

Hosts, Bartenders, Bussers and Food Runners — Report to the FOH Manager or Lead Server as your structure requires.

Back of house

Executive Chef or Head Chef — Menu, kitchen performance, food cost, BOH staffing. Reports to the GM or owner. Typical range: $55,000–$90,000 per year.

Sous Chef — Second-in-command; runs the line when the chef is off. Reports to the Executive Chef. Typical range: $40,000–$60,000 per year.

Kitchen Manager (fast casual / QSR) — Production-focused without full menu authority; common in chains. Reports to the GM. Typical range: $35,000–$55,000 per year.

Line Cooks, Prep Cooks, Dishwashers / Kitchen Porters — Report to Sous Chef or Kitchen Manager depending on size.

The restaurant staff structure changes as size, service style, and ownership model change. Small independents run flat; full-service adds a deeper BOH; multi-location groups add a regional layer above each unit’s GM. FOH and BOH each keep their own management chain; both converge at the General Manager. Whatever the size, the restaurant management structure stays consistent in shape, what changes is the number of layers between the GM and the line staff.

How to build a restaurant org chart

Most teams already have the core data: a schedule, a staff list, maybe a payroll export. Building the chart is mostly organizing it, not inventing it.

The three columns you actually need

Name, Title, Manager. That is the minimum to generate a restaurant org chart from data. Add Department if you want FOH and BOH grouped visually.

Option 1 — Start from this template. You are already on the restaurant org chart template. Click Edit in Org Chart Studio to launch this template into your workspace. From there, you can replace names and titles, delete roles you do not use, and customize the layout.

Option 2 — Import a spreadsheet. Export from Excel or Google Sheets and drop the file into Org Chart Studio. Studio reads Excel and CSV files. See the guide to building an org chart from Excel data for column setup.

Option 3 — Blank canvas. Open Studio and add people one by one — fastest for very small teams.

Best practices for onboarding restaurant staff with an org chart

When a new employee joins the team, they need to understand the reporting lines immediately:

• Post the chart in the breakroom: Keep a printed copy visible to all shifts.
• Differentiate between FOH and BOH: Make sure hosts, servers, and prep cooks know which manager is responsible for their direct tasks.
• Update the chart monthly: High turnover means the chart needs regular upkeep to remain useful.

Why restaurant org charts go stale

Turnover is high industry-wide; charts that are exported once and forgotten become wrong within months. The fix is to keep the roster as the source of truth and refresh the chart when hires and promotions happen. Spreadsheet import makes that a few-minute habit, not a redraw.

Conclusion

A restaurant org chart is the clearest answer to “who do I go to for this?” in picture form. If your team already lives in a spreadsheet, you are most of the way there.

Start from this page, or browse the full template library. For a broader walkthrough of data setup and maintenance, read the complete guide to creating an organizational chart.