What degree do you need to own a restaurant?

You do not need a degree to own a restaurant; however, there are many degrees that can help you in this profession. A high school diploma or equivalent is the minimum educational requirement needed to become a restaurant owner. While associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees in areas such as business, business management, accounting, economics, hospitality and tourism, and other related fields can be highly beneficial to you when you are attempting to become a restaurant owner.

How To Become A Restaurant Owner: What It Is and Career Path

What is a restaurant owner and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a restaurant owner. For example, did you know that they make an average of $23.16 an hour? That's $48,167 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 32,300 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreRestaurant OwnerUS Average

Salary

3.8

Avg. Salary $48,167

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.1

Growth Rate 10%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.59%

Asian 9.51%

Black or African American 10.16%

Hispanic or Latino 18.50%

Unknown 5.60%

White 55.64%

Gender

female 45.50%

male 54.50%

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 restaurant owner

Explore restaurant owner education requirements

Most common restaurant owner degrees

Bachelor's

49.2 %

Associate

21.6 %

High School Diploma

14.0 %

Start to develop specific restaurant owner skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	21.49%
Menu Planning	17.80%
Food Safety	10.46%
Inventory Control	3.86%
Restaurant Operations	3.19%

Complete relevant restaurant owner training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New restaurant owners 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 restaurant owner based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real restaurant owner resumes.

Research restaurant owner duties and responsibilities

Manage FOH and BOH for a high volume family casual cafe.
License Maryland home improvement contractor managing a small home improvement business that specializes in doors and windows.
Implement computerized POS system and oversee all financial reporting, including setting up internal controls over cash and tip reporting.
Verify POS inventory versus physical inventory to ensure accuracy and monitor theft or inefficient use of products.

Prepare your restaurant owner resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your restaurant owner 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 restaurant owner resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Restaurant Owner Resume templates

Build a professional Restaurant Owner 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 Restaurant Owner resume.

Apply for restaurant owner jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a restaurant owner job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do restaurant owners rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Restaurant Owner reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2023

Pros

High energy job, fast paced, social interactions.

A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2019

Cons

some long hours, also working mostly Holidays