How To Become A Cafe Operator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a cafe operator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a cafe operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $32.79 an hour? That's $68,205 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 32,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCafe OperatorUS Average

Salary

5.3

Avg. Salary $68,205

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.1

Growth Rate 10%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.55%

Asian 9.90%

Black or African American 7.87%

Hispanic or Latino 15.61%

Unknown 4.75%

White 61.32%

Gender

female 54.17%

male 45.83%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress Level

9.1

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

5.3

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.0

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a cafe operator

Explore cafe operator education requirements

Most common cafe operator degrees

High School Diploma

41.7 %

Bachelor's

25.0 %

Diploma

25.0 %

Complete relevant cafe operator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New cafe operators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a cafe operator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real cafe operator resumes.

Research cafe operator duties and responsibilities

Manage daily FOH staff line-up, covering necessary instruction and education concerning fine-dining service and beverage, menu and company knowledge.
Process guest orders using SalesVU POS systems, prepare various food and beverages including specialty coffees.
Manage daily FOH staff line-up, covering necessary instruction and education concerning fine-dining service and beverage, menu and company knowledge.
Develop and maintain OpenTable to ensure full utilization of restaurant booking system by maximizing table space and reservations.

Prepare your cafe operator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your cafe operator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a cafe operator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Cafe Operator Resume templates

Build a professional Cafe Operator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Cafe Operator resume.