Understanding Front of House Staffing

[DanM]

Good morning,

A group of people I know are going to open a brewery next spring. Thanks to changes in state law and a mixed use permit from a city that is doing everything to make this venture happen, they will be filling growlers on site and serving pints in their tap room. They will not serve food directly, but they have agreements with local food truks to park outside and you are welcome to bring in your own food, within reason. I am wondering what is the best way to calculate front of house staffing levels, as I am sure they will need people to clean tables, bus glassware, keep customers happy, fill pints and growlers, empty wallets, etc...

Thanks!

Dan

[Edward J]

So food will be eaten off of disposable ware?

Will you be running it "bar style" where a server takes the beverage order and have a f/t cashier selling bottled stuff (and growlers)?

[DanM]

Any food consumed by customers will be on disposable ware with the expectation that people will bus their own tables. Beer will be served at the tap, no wait staff initially.

[jsmeeker]

How many people will the tap room seat?

[Edward J]

You will need at least one person who dedicates at least 20 mins/hr to wiping down tables, refilling napkin dispensors, emptying garbages, and cleaning up after people who won't bus their own.

Will beverages be served in disposable?

[DanM]

IIRC, the tap room will seat around 100, but I dont think they have an official capacity from the city.

Beer will be served in glassware. It actually brings up a fun point of law. Breweries are allowed to sell, but not serve, so they must provide tastings in disposable. Under a brewpub license, they can sell and serve and can use glassware. The brewery will use the latter setup.

Dan

[Lisa Shock]

Don't forget that you'll have restrooms needing to be cleaned -hourly if you're busy.

[DanM]

Thanks Lisa, I was assuming restroom cleaning as part of the janitorial work...