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If you own a restaurant, you will understand the importance of your front of house (FOH). The front of house represents what customers experience at your restaurant, and customers’ impressions are key when it comes to garnering recommendations and loyalty for your business. From staff training to floor plans, here’s what it takes to keep your front of house in top shape.
What does FOH mean?
The front of house includes all of the customer touch points in a restaurant. It’s where your customers order and dine. It includes everything from the host stand and waiting area to the dining room, bar, outdoor seating and restrooms. Every design choice and décor touch in these front of house locations is an opportunity to communicate and reinforce your brand or theme to your customers.
Your front of house staff might include a host or hostess, servers, bartenders and the general manager — basically anyone who might interact with customers. FOH team members represent your business, and the way they carry and present themselves shapes the customer experience. They’re expected to meet high standards of professionalism, hygiene and communication.
The main difference between the front of house and back of house (BOH) is the focus on guest experience.
Yes, smooth back-of-house operations help make servers’ jobs easier and reduce the risk of mistakes that can also impact the guest experience. But the front of house is where a customer’s perception of a restaurant begins and ends. If something goes wrong during service, FOH staffers have the opportunity to course correct by turning a potentially negative moment into a positive one through great customer service.
Front of house locations
Your front of house covers all areas of your restaurant that are visible to customers. They should be clean, inviting and thoughtfully designed to create a positive guest experience.
Entrance
Your entrance can make a customer go “wow” and build excitement, or have the exact opposite effect. Whether you have an upscale restaurant or serve food in a more casual atmosphere, it should be aligned with your brand. Elements like signage, lighting and design help draw people in and give them an idea of what to expect.
Lobby/waiting area
Waiting can become an enjoyable part of the dining experience with the right approach. Maybe your lobby includes comfortable seats and menus for customers to look at. Perhaps you offer a complimentary treat during busy periods, which kickstarts a visit off on a pleasant note.
Host/hostess station
This is more than a simple checkpoint — it’s where guests are greeted, checked in and guided to their table. So much can go wrong if you don’t greet customers and acknowledge their presence quickly, so make sure your host or hostess can clearly see the entry and waiting areas.
Bathrooms
Nothing tarnishes the perception a guest has of your restaurant as fast as a messy bathroom. Build regular bathroom checks into your shift routine to make sure everything is clean, and replenish essentials like toilet paper and soap.
Bar
Whether customers sit down for an entire meal at the bar or just grab a drink while waiting for their table, serve them with the same attention to detail, speed and hospitality you’d offer in your dining room. Also, clean surfaces frequently and empty bins every night to prevent pest problems, as bars are more vulnerable to them.
Dining room
Your dining room is at the heart of FOH operations. Your layout informs the flow of movement for both staff and guests, so be intentional about it. A comfortable, well-designed space creates a relaxed atmosphere for diners and helps team members do their job effectively.
Front of house staff
A FOH team has one mission: To deliver an outstanding dining experience.
In Canada, all front of house team members who handle and serve alcohol also have to be trained and certified in responsible alcohol service practices. Each province or territory has its own certification process, like SmartServe in Ontario and Serving It Right in British Columbia.
Responsibilities can be split up among the staff you hire, but here are some key roles and their usual duties.
General manager (GM)
Just like an orchestra conductor, the general manager (GM) runs the restaurant, ensuring service goes smoothly. They are also responsible for hiring, training and managing front of house staff as well as setting the bar for customer service.
A GM often plays a role in designing the floor plan of a restaurant — giving input on everything from wall color and scents to noise level and lighting, that might affect customers’ appetite and comfort. They may also plan restaurant promotions and other company events.
FOH manager
The FOH manager reports to the GM and manages all FOH employees. They handle tasks like hiring and scheduling, but they also step in if customer issues come up.
Bartenders
Bartenders prepare all drinks for guests and servers and are responsible for maintaining cleanliness and efficiency behind the bar. They might also wash glasses and manage bar inventory.
Servers
Servers are the primary point of contact for guests once they’re seated. They take orders, answer questions about the menu and offer recommendations to help guide the dining experience. At the end of the visit, they bring customers their bills and process payments.
Host/Hostess
The host or hostess is the first person to interact with guests and therefore imparts that all-important first impression. They greet guests and show them to their table. They also take reservations and, if a table is not ready when guests arrive, estimate the wait time. The host or hostess keeps things running on schedule to the best of their ability.
Food runner
While servers take customers’ orders, in some restaurants it is the job of the food runner to transport meals from the kitchen to diners. Food runners might also assemble appetizers, refill water glasses and clear plates when diners are done eating. They have basic menu knowledge to handle certain requests, but they also flag down servers as needed.
Bar-back
A bar-back is a bartender’s assistant. They might restock ice, glasses, garnishes and other bar supplies.
Busser
Bussers keep the rhythm of service going by clearing and resetting tables between customers. They may interact with customers less, but their appearance should still be polished and professional.
Front of house restaurant technology
Your front of house is what guests will remember, from the moment they make a reservation and specify they are celebrating a special occasion to the moment they pay the bill. You don’t want a customer to feel like they could’ve gotten better value when they see the total at the end of a meal — you want them to smile and think, “that was worth it.”
The Square for Restaurants point-of-sale (POS) system is designed to help you achieve that outcome. It integrates with popular online reservation and restaurant waitlist platforms, which helps hosts manage reservations and minimize wait times. On the floor, servers can carry a lightweight, portable POS device like Square Handheld, never missing a beat.
A server can take an order and send it straight to the kitchen, then stop by the next table to close the tab. Features like automatic bill-splitting and tipping prompts reduce friction during checkout and boost staff tips, which keeps everyone motivated to deliver excellent customer service.
Best practices for managing your front of house
Managing front-of-house operations requires strong leadership, attention to detail and the right technology. Here are some ways to make things run smoothly:
- Plan ahead: When creating your front-of-house experience, it’s important to experience your space as a diner would, and shape your restaurant accordingly. Walk through each path a diner would take — entering your restaurant, going to the restroom ordering at the counter — and take note of what they see along the way. Make their entire experience as enjoyable, purposeful and seamless as possible.
- Create an employee training program: When every staff member completes the same program as everyone else, there’s a standard level of service. In addition, back-of-house staff and even veteran employees should complete the same training to get an in-depth understanding of restaurant operations, customer interactions, the food and wine menu and logistical things like your POS system.
- Hold pre-shift meetings: Before every shift, gather employees to go over everything from special menu items to events, VIP customers and service issues that you want them to focus on. This will also encourage effective communication between front-of-house and kitchen staff.
- Keep track of restaurant reservations: Managing reservations is key to planning each shift (and making customers happy). Using an online reservation system allows customers to make reservations and get reminders, while a POS system like Square for Restaurants can sync with your reservation platform to centralize operations.
- Invest in a fully integrated restaurant POS system: Implementing POS technology is the best way to get a true picture of your restaurant’s performance, like tracking sales and employee performance. It can also be a great tool for boosting operations, aiding to create efficiency with servers and improve table management. For example, the Square Kitchen Display System creates a direct line of communication between front and back of house.
- Use sales data and analytics to make improvements: Data from a restaurant POS system can be used to better your overall operations. For example, if data shows that certain days and times tend to be busier, schedule more servers at that time, and vice versa. It can also be used to track the performance of new promotions and determine which servers are the highest sellers.
How to manage your restaurant front of house FAQs
What does front of house mean in restaurants?
The front of house refers to all the restaurant areas and touchpoints that customers see and interact with, from the dining room to the host/hostess station and the bathrooms. It also includes guest-facing staff members like servers and bartenders.
How do you run the front of house in a restaurant?
Running the front of house (FOH) is a delicate balancing act. Your main goal is to provide a seamless dining experience, which involves wearing several hats. You need to manage and train front of house staff to deliver attentive service, optimize your floor plan for workflow efficiency and guest comfort and leverage tools like Square for Restaurants to keep service smooth on busy nights.
What does a front of house manager do?
A front of house manager oversees all customer-facing operations of a restaurant: supervising and training the FOH team, coordinating operations related to seating and reservations, handling delicate customer issues and keeping all areas of the front of house welcoming and organized. It’s also a front of house manager’s job to set the standard for customer service.
