In a restaurant business, the “front of house” refers to the part of the restaurant where customers are received, seated, and served their food and drinks. This can include the dining area, host stand, bar area, and any other spaces where your guests interact with your restaurant staff.
The FOH is essentially the customer-facing side of the restaurant, as opposed to the “back of house,” which includes the behind the scenes parts of a restaurant like the kitchen, dishwashing area, back office, and more.
The “front of house” in a restaurant encompasses all the areas where customers interact with restaurant staff and where dining service takes place.
Here are some of the main functions considered part of the front of house:
Front of house staff in a restaurant typically includes employees who directly interact with customers and manage the dining experience.
Here’s a look at some of the main roles considered part of the front of house:
The front of house (FOH) significantly influences restaurant profitability in a variety of ways including…
Optimizing your front of house operations is key to maximizing the profitability of your restaurant. It directly influences customer satisfaction, sales volume, and cost management, all of which are critical factors in driving revenue and profits.
What is the front of house in a restaurant?
The front of house refers to the customer-facing part of a restaurant where guests are received, seated, and served, including the dining area, host stand, bar area, and any spaces where guests interact with restaurant staff.
What is the difference between front of house and back of house?
Front of house is the customer-facing side of the restaurant where guests dine and interact with staff, while back of house includes behind-the-scenes areas like the kitchen, dishwashing area, and back office.
What areas are considered part of the front of house?
Front of house areas include the reception or host stand, dining areas, bar areas, waiting area, service stations, point of sale (POS) stations, and restrooms.
What staff positions are considered front of house?
Front of house staff includes restaurant managers, servers and waitstaff, bartenders, barbacks, hosts and hostesses, bussers, food runners, sommeliers, cashiers, bathroom attendants, and valet.
Are bartenders considered front of house staff?
Yes, bartenders are part of the front of house team as they directly interact with customers and manage the beverage service experience.
How does the front of house impact restaurant profitability?
The front of house influences profitability through upselling and cross-selling, table turnover time, guest experience, brand reputation, customer retention, and beverage sales.
Why is optimizing front of house operations important?
Optimizing front of house operations is key to maximizing restaurant profitability as it directly influences customer satisfaction, sales volume, and cost management, all critical factors in driving revenue and profits.
See why more than 40,000 restaurants use Restaurant365
Read More:
Restaurant365 brings together accounting, operations, scheduling, and more in a flexible platform—empowering restaurants to choose the solutions they need and scale with confidence.
