Restaurant general manager job description template: sales volume, P&L ownership, food safety and alcohol certifications, tips and exempt status

A restaurant general manager job description should give the concept and annual sales volume, the team size and the managers who report to the GM, which P&L lines the GM controls, the food protection manager and alcohol service certifications your jurisdiction expects, the schedule, and a salary range with any bonus formula. As of October 2026, the FDA Food Code model says a certified food protection manager must be the person in charge, federal rules bar managers from sharing in employees' tips, and the executive exemption needs a salary of at least $684 a week plus real management duties.

"General manager, fast-paced restaurant, P&L experience a must" does not tell a candidate whether the job is, to take two invented examples, a $1 million quick-service unit with one assistant or a $6 million full-service restaurant with a bar, four managers and a chef. Below are the seat types, a copy-ready template, the certification, tip, minors and classification lines with sources, screening and scorecard rows, and common mistakes. For the call, use restaurant general manager interview questions.

Name the seat: concept, volume and ownership

Then write down the facts candidates compare: annual sales, seats and covers, hourly headcount, the managers who report to the GM, the POS and scheduling systems, ownership model, and which costs the GM controls (food, beverage, labor, supplies, repairs) versus fixed costs set above them. BLS lists the core duties as hiring, training and disciplining staff, ordering, overseeing food preparation, inspecting supplies and work areas, enforcing health and food safety standards, handling complaints, scheduling, and managing budgets and payroll records, and notes schedules that include early mornings, nights, weekends and holidays (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, last modified September 14, 2026).

The restaurant general manager job description template

General Manager, [Restaurant / Concept], [location]
[Company / Franchisee], [city, state]
Pay: $[min]–$[max] per year, plus a [quarterly / annual] bonus of
up to [N]% based on [sales, prime cost, audit scores], calculated
[how]. [Exempt, after review.] [Benefits summary, if required.]

SUMMARY
You will run a [concept] with about $[N] million in annual sales,
[N] seats, [N] hourly team members and [N] managers who report to
you. You will own the [controllable P&L lines] and report to
[owner / area director]. This year's priorities are [e.g. labor
scheduling to forecast, a new bar program, retention].

WHAT YOU WILL DO
- Hire, train, schedule and develop managers and hourly staff;
  make or recommend termination decisions.
- Manage food, beverage and labor cost against budget; review the
  P&L each period and act on variances.
- Act as a certified person in charge: food safety, the employee
  illness policy, inspections and corrective action.
- Run responsible alcohol service and the training it requires.
- Control cash, comps, voids and inventory.
- Resolve guest complaints and recover the visit.
- Keep the restaurant compliant: posters, minors' hours, tip
  pooling, breaks and pay records [with HR / payroll].

YOU MUST HAVE
- [N] years managing a restaurant of comparable volume and service
  style, including responsibility for the P&L.
- Managed other managers [full-service seats].
- Food protection manager certification from an accredited
  program [or within N days; we pay].
- [Responsible beverage service certification within N days of
  hire, as (state) requires.]
- Availability for [nights, weekends, holidays; N closing shifts a
  week].
- Ability to stand and move for full shifts and lift up to [N]
  pounds, with or without reasonable accommodation.

NICE TO HAVE
- Experience with [POS / scheduling / inventory systems].
- [Opening experience / multi-unit training role / bar program.]
If you meet the must-haves and none of these, please apply.

HOW WE HIRE
[Call with the recruiter; interview with the owner or area
director; a P&L review exercise; a shift walk-through in the
restaurant; reference checks with a former supervisor.]

[EEO STATEMENT]
For an adjustment to apply or interview, contact [address].

Food safety and alcohol certifications, tips, minors and classification

Food protection manager. The FDA Food Code is a model that jurisdictions adopt, and its current edition is the 2026 Food Code (FDA). It says the permit holder must make sure a person in charge is present during all hours of operation (2-101.11), that the person in charge must be a certified food protection manager who passed a test that is part of an accredited program (2-102.12), and that the person in charge keeps active managerial control of foodborne illness risk factors (2-103.11). The 2026 edition adds a requirement for a written employee illness policy covering symptoms, diagnoses, exclusion and reinstatement (2-501.11) (FDA Food Code 2026). Where your jurisdiction adopts it, that policy is the GM's to write or keep current.

Local examples and the credential. New York City requires a supervisor with a Food Protection Certificate on duty during all hours of operation (NYC Business), so the GM has to staff certified managers for every shift, not only hold the certificate personally. ServSafe Manager is one accredited option, recognized by the National Restaurant Association for five years, with state or employer rules that can differ (ServSafe).

Alcohol service. California requires on-premises alcoholic beverage servers and their managers to be certified in Responsible Beverage Service within 60 days of their first day of employment; the certification is valid for three years (California ABC). Name your state's requirement in the template line, or remove it where none applies.

Tips. An employer may not let managers or supervisors keep any portion of employees' tips, whether or not it takes a tip credit; a manager may keep tips received directly from customers for service the manager directly and solely provided (29 CFR 531.52(b)(2)). Employers may not require employees to share tips with managers through a pool (531.54(b)). Do not list "tip share" in a GM's pay line, and expect the GM to run the pool correctly.

Minors. Many restaurants employ teens, and the GM schedules them. Under federal rules, 14- and 15-year-olds may work at most 3 hours on a school day and 18 hours in a school week, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. (9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day), and workers under 18 may not operate or clean power-driven meat slicers, commercial mixers and certain bakery machines (DOL Fact Sheet #2A). States add permits and limits; see hiring minors and work permits.

Exempt status. The executive exemption requires a salary of at least $684 a week, management as the primary duty, customarily and regularly directing two or more employees, and authority to hire or fire or recommendations given particular weight (29 CFR 541.100). The regulation's own example says a manager can serve customers and cook food without losing the exemption if the primary duty is management (541.106). A GM who spends most shifts covering a station needs a closer look, and some states set a higher salary floor.

Pay and EEO. BLS reports a national median of $69,390 a year, or $33.36 an hour, for food service managers in May 2025 (profile above). That covers all food service managers nationally, not GMs of a given volume. Post your range and bonus formula, check pay transparency laws by state, and close with your EEO statement.

From must-haves to screening questions and scorecard rows

The full question bank, with a worked prime cost example, is in restaurant general manager interview questions. The later rounds are in the interview guide for hospitality roles, and the first quarter after the hire is laid out in the 30-60-90 day plan for restaurant managers. If you are hiring the kitchen's second-in-command too, use the sous chef job description template.

Common mistakes in restaurant general manager job descriptions

No sales volume or team size

Volume is the best single measure of the job's size. Give annual sales and headcount, even as a range.

"P&L responsibility" with no lines named

Say which costs the GM controls and which are set above them, so candidates can match their experience.

A bonus with no formula

"Up to 20% bonus" means nothing without the measures and how often it pays. Write the formula.

Tip share in the GM's pay

Federal law bars managers from keeping employees' tips. A posting that promises it signals a compliance problem.

Hiding the close and weekend load

State how many closes and weekends the GM works. It is the first thing experienced candidates ask.

Before you publish

• Concept, annual sales, team size and reporting managers are in the summary.
• Controllable P&L lines and this year's priorities are named.
• Food protection manager and alcohol certification lines match your jurisdiction.
• Exempt status is reviewed, and the pay line has no tip share.
• The salary range, bonus formula, EEO statement and an accommodation contact close the posting.