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If you’re considering franchising or opening multiple locations of your juice bar, café, or restaurant, you’ll likely need to hire a food and beverage director. Local and nationwide hotels and hospitality brands also employ this senior-level management position to meet the needs of large-scale events. Let’s dive into the traits required to excel in this leadership position.
A food and beverage director is an executive-level management position. Their role is equal to the executive heads of other departments, including sales, marketing, and HR. They are responsible for a diverse range of roles, implementing strategies to remain profitable and competitive in their industry and market.
If your brand consists of 3 or fewer restaurants, juice bars, or cafés you may not have a need for this position. Or you may only require a catering manager. The larger your brand grows, the more guests you serve, or the more elevated your range of events—the more likely you’ll need to fill this executive role.
Food and beverage directors are sometimes referred to as F&B directors, food and beverage managers, F&B managers, and director of food and beverage.
The job responsibilities of the director of food and beverages span far and wide. Job details will vary by your market and primary demographics. For example, different skills and insights are required to best serve corporate clients, weddings, and large events vs. general restaurant and café consumers.
This executive role also needs to strategize to meet the needs of regional palettes, budgets, and dietary restrictions. For example, as a health food restaurant, your client base is health conscious. Therefore, juice may be a primary line item. As a hotel, your consumer base is diverse, and juice may only be part of your snack, diet, and vegan/vegetarian line items. Or you may only sell orange juice for breakfast.
A restaurant manager manages the daily operations of an individual restaurant, hotel, or hospitality company. The structure of your organization will determine how much contact your F&B director has with local managers. There may be a district, regional, or zone manager that serves as an intermediary. Or your F&B director may work directly with the executive chefs, restaurant managers, catering managers, room service managers, and event planning managers.
The annual salary is competitive and offers much room for growth. The newer you are in your role, the smaller your brand, or the lower your revenue—the lower the salary. Salaries also vary greatly by region, being higher in metropolitan areas and areas with larger revenues.
According to Indeed, as of July 2024, the salary is as follows:
Orlando is a prime market for event planning, destination weddings, tourism, and the restaurant industry. As such, the entry-level salary is a bit higher.
According to Indeed, as of July 2024, the salary is as follows:
Like other roles in the hospitality industry, you can work your way up. However, most F&B directors have at least a bachelor’s degree or relevant coursework from a management or hospitality vocational school. Many have an MBA in hospitality. Beyond a college degree or vocational school, first-hand food and beverage or hospitality experience is required. Preferably, working in managerial roles before pursuing this executive position.
Restaurants, juice bars, small hotels, and event planning companies typically spread the job duties above out between the owner and store manager. The larger you grow, the more you’ll need to expand your structure and leadership team.
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