How to Start a Restaurant: 6 Places to Hire Your Back of House

One of the main challenges for restaurant owners figuring out how to start a restaurant is hiring the right people. Restaurant owners are faced with the constant battle of finding employees with the skills, experience, and culture-fit to work in their establishment.

Hiring is a tough problem for any restaurant owner – the labor pool for line cooks is tight in almost every market. The good news is that there are platforms that simplify the hiring process dramatically.

1. Pared

Imagine this. You’re completely booked for Friday night, and you receive a text on Friday morning that your star cook is in bed with the flu.

Here’s where Pared comes in. Pared is an app that helps restaurant owners easily find temporary help. It’s also very helpful when short staffed and you’re recruiting full-time employees.

2. Instawork

Instawork is an app and online platform that helps fill both temporary and long-term positions in the restaurant industry. You pay a set amount to Instawork per hour, and the company handles everything from insurance to billing. This all-in-one hiring platform is especially helpful when working out how to start a restaurant, as it’s simple and has people to fill almost all positions. Potential employees come with ratings, and you can even request a favorite worker for next time!

3. Craigslist

Craigslist is another popular way for restaurant owners to find employees. Like any platform, it has a number of advantages and disadvantages.

On the plus side, you can find almost everything and anyone you’re looking for. Craigslist is localized, making it easy to quickly find the right person for the job. It’s become an industry standard, and is the most common platform for industry applicants and employers to meet – you’ll be maximizing the reach of your job ads.

On the negative side, Craigslist has no ability to track interviews or upload resumes – features offered by other platforms. But, the pros definitely outweigh the cons when it comes to Craigslist, making it a place worth posting your job ads.

4. LinkedIn

LinkedIn is an incredible hiring tool, thanks to its impressive search capabilities. You can look for potential hires based on title, experience and numerous other parameters. It also lets you connect and engage with people who meet your exact criteria. Looking to hire a manager? LinkedIn is especially powerful for finding managers for your restaurant.

5. Recruiters

Recruiters are an excellent way of finding great candidates – but they come at a cost. There are both large national recruiting companies, as well as local ones that service specific regions. It’s important to make sure the recruiter you choose has experience when it comes to sourcing good candidates for the restaurant industry. When you’re looking at how to start a restaurant, recruiters will be able to provide you with the right people for all the positions you need to fill.

For management positions in the restaurant industry, there are companies like TalentServed, who provide everything from general managers to chefs and kitchen managers. A good option for small restaurants is Culinary Agents, where you can find line cooks, bakers, and even bartenders in your area.

6. Incentivize Referrals

No matter how hard you look, there is no better way to find the right employees than by word of mouth. Incentivizing your current staff is an incredible way to find the next perfect hire for your kitchen. Why?

• Current staff will generally only recommend people they are comfortable with, ensuring culture fit
• Your current staff are good people, who know good people
• No extra fees for recruiters
• You have immediate references

If you’re starting from scratch, talk to others in the industry. Figure out a reward structure you can afford, one that also motivates your staff to recommend quality people they know.

Navigating the Hiring Process

Hiring is tough, but if you know where to look, it becomes a lot easier. These six recommendations are excellent places to start your search for your next star employee.

On top of hiring challenges, the last thing you need is the headache of ordering your wholesale supplies. The Cheetah app eliminates this headache by providing a simple and easy way to order supplies directly from your phone. It’s super quick and costs less.

When it comes to running a restaurant, whether it’s hiring or ordering, knowing the best places to find things makes everything that much easier.

About Cheetah

Headquartered in San Francisco, Cheetah is a startup that is quickly disrupting the $1 trillion US wholesale grocery and foodservice distribution industry. By offering flexible, next-day deliveries as well as transparent pricing and inventory in an easy-to-use app, Cheetah is helping support thousands of SMB restaurants with their grocery and supply needs in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Seattle and Dallas. Cheetah has made more than 150,000 deliveries to over 2,000 active customers and has achieved over $100 million in annual sales with triple digit growth. Next up – turbo charging growth by bringing Cheetah to small businesses nationwide.

Interested in more details? See our website, download our iOS and Android apps, or call us at 1 (800) 571-5231.