First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers Salary

The median first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers salary in the United States is $44,080 per year ($21.19/hour). Salaries range from $29,940 at the entry level to $65,570+ for the top 10% of earners. There are 1,223,240 first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers jobs nationwide. Employment is projected to grow 6% through 2034.

Last updated: June 2026 Β· Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Median Salary
$44,080
per year
Hourly Rate
$21.19
per hour
Employment
1,223,240
jobs in the U.S.

Salary Distribution

10th percentile
$29,940
25th percentile
$35,980
Median
$44,080
75th percentile
$54,570
90th percentile
$65,570

Job Growth (2024-2034)

+6%
Faster than average

Annual Openings

183,900
jobs/year (growth + replacements)

Education Required

High school diploma or equivalent
+ Less than 5 years experience

First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers Career Guide

Interview questions, resume templates, and a career ladder written specifically for first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workerss.

First-line food-service supervisors run the shift β€” the shift lead at Chick-fil-A, assistant restaurant manager at Chipotle or Panera, kitchen supervisor at a Cheesecake Factory, or unit supervisor at a Compass / Aramark / Sodexo cafeteria contract. You cover FOH and BOH, own the labor schedule, coach a crew of 8-30 hourly workers, do the money drop, and are the escalation point when a customer wants a refund at 9:47 PM. Pay is $29,940 (p10) β†’ $44,080 (median) β†’ $65,570 (p90) across ~1.22M jobs nationwide. QSR shift leads sit at the low end; full-service assistant GMs and B&I (business & industry) unit supervisors sit at the top. The realistic promotion path is Shift Lead β†’ Assistant Manager β†’ General Manager β†’ Multi-Unit / District Manager, and GM pay in QSR runs $65-95k with quarterly bonus, while corporate District Managers clear $100-140k plus car allowance.

Core Skills Hiring Managers Screen For

Labor scheduling & forecasting
Build the weekly schedule in Kronos, UKG Ready, HotSchedules, 7shifts, or R365 against a forecasted sales curve. Hit target labor % (usually 22-28% of sales in QSR, 28-34% in full-service). Cut hours mid-shift when sales miss forecast β€” the single biggest lever supervisors control.
Shift huddle & crew coaching
Pre-shift stand-up: cover the day's promo, staffing, cleaning assignments, safety callouts. Coach under-performers in the moment on speed, quality, and hospitality. Deliver corrective conversations without triggering an HR complaint.
POS + BOH systems fluency
Aloha, Toast, Micros / Oracle Simphony, NCR, Square for Restaurants. Comfort with kitchen display systems (KDS), voids, discounts, comps, refunds, and the manager override. On the back end, understand inventory in R365, Crunchtime, or Compeat and place produce / dairy / dry-goods orders against par.
Food safety & ServSafe / HACCP
ServSafe Manager certification is table stakes at every corporate chain and required by most county health departments. Own temp logs, cold-line temps, hot-hold temps, sanitizer ppm, allergen protocol, and the health-inspector walk-through.
Cash handling & shift-change money drop
Count the safe at open, verify tills, run the mid-shift and closing drop into the smart safe or drop box. Reconcile POS to cash to card in the closing paperwork. Any variance over $5-10 gets flagged and investigated.
Customer escalation & recovery
The buck stops at you for refunds, comps, remakes, and the occasional customer melting down in the dining room. Standard chain playbook: acknowledge, apologize, fix, remake, comp the check, log the incident in the guest-recovery system (Medallia, Yelp reservations).
Tip pool administration (full-service)
Understand the tip pool structure β€” pooled, tip-out, or individual β€” the applicable state tip-credit rules, and how the payroll system (ADP, Paycom, Toast Payroll) handles declared vs credit-card tips. Miscalculating tips is a fast path to a Department of Labor complaint.
Opening & closing procedures
Open: safe count, temp checks, prep list, line setup, cash tills. Close: last-call cutoffs, closing-side work, deep-clean rotation, temp logs, cash drop, alarm-set. Every corporate chain runs a documented checklist and audits it on unannounced visits.

How to Become a First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers

  1. 1
    Start as a crew member for 1-3 years and be relentlessly reliable
    The #1 promotion signal is attendance. Show up on time every shift, cross-train on every station (grill, register, drive-thru, expo, prep, dish), and volunteer for the closing shifts nobody wants.
  2. 2
    Get promoted to Shift Lead / Team Lead / Trainer
    $16-22/hr in QSR, $18-26/hr in full-service. This is the tryout β€” you'll run a shift under a manager's watch, count a till, and start doing the pre-shift huddle.
  3. 3
    Earn ServSafe Manager + your employer's internal certification
    ServSafe Manager runs $130-180 with the online course + proctored exam and is valid 5 years. Most chains layer on internal certifications (Chick-fil-A Leadership Development Program, McDonald's Hamburger University, Chipotle Restaurateur track) that gate promotion into salaried Assistant Manager roles.
  4. 4
    Move into a salaried Assistant Manager / Shift Supervisor role
    $40-55k base in QSR, $45-62k in full-service casual, $50-70k in fine dining or B&I contract dining. Own the labor schedule, own inventory, own the closing paperwork, own the health inspection.
  5. 5
    Promote to General Manager, then Multi-Unit / District Manager
    $65-95k GM base + 10-25% bonus tied to sales, labor %, food cost %, guest satisfaction. District Manager (5-10 units): $95-140k + bonus + car allowance + laptop. Some go into franchise ownership; others go into corporate operations, training, or L&D.

Career Progression

Shift Lead / Team Lead
0-2 yrs$16-22/hr ($34-46k annualized) + shift-differential in some markets
  • β€’Run a single shift of 4-12 crew under a manager's oversight
  • β€’Cash tills, POS overrides, small comps, break scheduling
  • β€’Line assignments, cleaning rotation, closing-side work
  • β€’Coach on speed of service, order accuracy, and hospitality basics
Next: Assistant Manager at 1-3 years, once you've run shifts unsupervised and passed ServSafe.
Assistant Manager / Shift Supervisor
2-5 yrs$40-55k QSR / $45-62k full-service (salaried, exempt in most states)
  • β€’Own 2-3 shifts per week solo β€” open, mid, or close
  • β€’Build the weekly labor schedule against a sales forecast
  • β€’Place produce, dairy, dry-goods orders against par levels
  • β€’Own the health-inspection walk-through and food-safety logs
  • β€’First-level interviews for hourly crew hiring
  • β€’Coach corrective-action conversations; document with HR
Next: General Manager at 3-6 years, once you've hit labor % and cost-of-goods targets consistently.
General Manager / Restaurant Manager
5-10 yrs$60-95k base + 10-25% bonus ($70-125k total comp)
  • β€’P&L ownership on a single unit ($1.5-6M in sales)
  • β€’Hit target labor %, food cost %, guest-satisfaction scores
  • β€’Hire, promote, and terminate; own turnover reduction
  • β€’Own the full-year sales-building calendar (LTOs, catering, community)
  • β€’Own audit and health-inspection scores
  • β€’Report to a Multi-Unit / District Manager weekly
Next: Multi-Unit / District Manager at 8-13 years, or franchise ownership.
Multi-Unit / District Manager / Area Coach
10+ yrs$95-140k + bonus + car allowance + phone ($115-175k total comp)
  • β€’Own 5-10 units; ~$15-60M in annual sales
  • β€’Coach GMs to hit labor %, food cost %, guest satisfaction
  • β€’Run monthly business reviews and quarterly stand-ups
  • β€’Own new-unit openings, remodels, and staffing pipeline
  • β€’Partner with HR, L&D, marketing, and supply chain
Next: Director of Operations, VP of Operations, or franchise ownership.

Interview Questions & Answers

5 free questions below. Career Kit unlocks 20 total plus resume bullets for every level.

Q1. Walk me through a shift where you were understaffed β€” what did you do?situational
Structure: (1) the specific hole β€” who called out, and what station or role opened up. (2) The immediate move β€” call the on-call, pull from a slower station, or personally jump on the line. (3) The trade-off you made β€” usually cutting a slower position and asking guests for a 5-minute wait, or holding a promo item. (4) The outcome β€” labor % actually hit target, guest complaints stayed under X, and you followed up with the caller and updated the attendance record. Never say 'I did everything myself' β€” that's the answer of a supervisor who doesn't delegate.
Q2. How do you deal with an underperforming crew member?behavioral
Progressive coaching. (1) In-the-moment coaching β€” pull them aside, name the specific behavior (not the person), retrain in the moment. (2) Documented verbal warning at the second incident. (3) Written warning with HR. (4) Final warning, then termination if unchanged. Never skip steps β€” that's how you end up with an unemployment claim or a wrongful-termination complaint. Corporate chains all run this progression and they audit it.
Q3. A guest is screaming at the counter that we made their order wrong. How do you handle it?situational
Move them out of the queue so other guests aren't affected. Acknowledge, apologize, and take ownership even if the guest is wrong on the facts. Fix it β€” remake the order fast, comp the check, offer a coupon for next visit. Log it in the guest-recovery system so the district manager sees it. Debrief with the crew after so the actual root cause (wrong grill assignment, wrong POS button, missing modifier) gets fixed. The core rule: recover the guest first, root-cause second.
Q4. How do you build a weekly schedule?technical
Start with the sales forecast (usually rolling 4-6 week average adjusted for weather, promos, local events, sports schedule). Convert forecast to target labor % β€” say 25% of sales. Divide by average hourly wage to get budgeted labor hours. Distribute those hours across dayparts against a demand curve (breakfast, lunch peak, mid-afternoon, dinner peak, close). Schedule your strongest crew during peaks and cross-trained utility players in the transition hours. Publish 14 days out so people can plan their lives β€” that alone cuts callouts.
Q5. Why do you want to move from hourly into salary management?closer
The honest answer that resonates: you like running the shift more than working a station, you want ownership of an outcome bigger than one register, and you want a pipeline to General Manager and District Manager. Interviewers screen out candidates whose only motivation is 'more money' β€” because assistant managers work more hours than they did as hourly and often make less per hour once you divide the salary by real hours worked. Show you understand the trade and still want the role.

Resume Template β€” Shift Lead / Team Lead (0-2 yrs)

Copy these bullets into your resume as a starting point. Career Kit includes bullets for every level of the ladder.

Shift Lead / Team Lead (0-2 yrs)
  • β–ΈRan 4 shifts per week averaging 8 crew and $2,800 in sales per shift as Shift Lead at [chain], hitting target labor % of 25% for 22 of 26 weeks.
  • β–ΈServSafe Manager certified (2024). Trained 6 new crew members through the store's onboarding checklist with 100% 90-day retention.
  • β–ΈOwned closing paperwork, cash drop, and next-day prep list; store passed corporate audit at 98% and health inspection at 96%.
  • β–ΈPromoted from crew to Shift Lead in 14 months on the basis of perfect attendance and cross-training on all 5 stations.

What Gets You Rejected

  • βœ—Attendance issues β€” a supervisor who calls out is worse than a crew member who does, because they leave the shift uncovered and the manager has to come in.
  • βœ—Cannot count a till or reconcile a cash drop β€” corporate chains lose money to bad-actor supervisors, and they screen hard for this.
  • βœ—Doesn't hold ServSafe Manager or refuses to get it β€” food-safety violations shut units down.
  • βœ—Confrontation-avoidant with crew β€” an assistant manager who won't have the corrective-action conversation is useless.
  • βœ—Doesn't understand tip pool or tip-credit rules (full-service) β€” mis-administering tips is a Department of Labor complaint waiting to happen.
  • βœ—Runs labor % over target chronically β€” either overscheduling or not sending people home when sales miss.
  • βœ—Any pattern of comps or discounts benefiting themselves or friends β€” the fastest firing offense in the industry.

Salary Negotiation Levers

  • βœ“ServSafe Manager + your chain's internal management certification β€” worth $2-5k on entry.
  • βœ“Willingness to work the closing / weekend / holiday rotation β€” most chains pay a shift differential or bump for supervisors who consistently take the hard shifts.
  • βœ“Bilingual (Spanish, especially in BOH-heavy markets) β€” worth $1-3k in most operators and a promotion accelerator.
  • βœ“Bonus structure β€” most salaried supervisors get 5-15% bonus tied to labor %, food cost %, guest satisfaction. Understand the target and the payout curve before signing.
  • βœ“Multi-unit exposure β€” if you can float across 2-3 units and cover for GMs on vacation, negotiate mileage or a car stipend.
  • βœ“Metro adjustment β€” big-city QSR (SF, NYC, Seattle, Boston, DC) pays 20-35% over suburban markets, and California minimum-wage laws now put fast-food supervisors on a $20+/hr floor for hourly work.

First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers Resume Review β€” $29

Personalized resume review from someone who has hired first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workerss. Purchase, email your resume to support@weblabra.com, and receive detailed written feedback within 7 days.

  • βœ“ Occupation-specific critique (not generic)
  • βœ“ Rewrite suggestions for weak bullets
  • βœ“ Missing skills / keywords flagged
  • βœ“ Formatting + ATS-readability feedback
  • βœ“ 7-day turnaround, 100% refund if we miss it

First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers Career Kit β€” $19

  • βœ“ All 20 interview questions with expert answers
  • βœ“ 10 real questions aggregated from Glassdoor, Blind, Reddit, LinkedIn
  • βœ“ Interview format intel for 8 top employers
  • βœ“ 3 copy-paste salary negotiation emails
  • βœ“ Resume bullets for every level of the career ladder
  • βœ“ 30–60–90 day plan for your first role
  • βœ“ Cover letter templates specific to this occupation
  • βœ“ Detailed salary negotiation script
  • βœ“ Ranked list of certifications with cost + ROI
  • βœ“ Downloadable PDF for offline access
  • βœ“ Instant access, no expiration, no subscription
βœ“ 7-day money-back guarantee β€” no questions asked

One-time purchase. 7-day refund guarantee.

Sample reviews β€” real customer reviews will appear here as they come in.

β€œThe interview question bank saved me. I got the exact question about 'walking through a DCF' at my Goldman Sachs superday, verbatim.”

β€” Anonymous, Financial Analyst

β€œCopy-paste negotiation emails are worth the price alone. I used the 'accepting with counter' template and got an extra $8k signing bonus.”

β€” Anonymous, Software Developer

β€œThe 30-60-90 day plan for a new grad RN was better than the orientation my hospital gave. Wish I'd bought this in nursing school.”

β€” Anonymous, Registered Nurse

First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers Salary by State

Best Cities (cost-adjusted) β†’

Salary Map β€” Click a state for details

$33K
$59Kβ–  No data

Top Paying States

Washington
$59K
+35%
District of Columbia
$57K
+30%
Connecticut
$53K
+20%
Colorado
$51K
+15%
Vermont
$50K
+13%
New Hampshire
$50K
+13%
Hawaii
$49K
+11%
New Jersey
$48K
+10%
Rhode Island
$48K
+10%
Delaware
$48K
+9%
Vertical line = national median. Click a state for full details.
StateMedianvs. National
Washington$59,400+34.8%
District of Columbia$57,170+29.7%
Connecticut$52,940+20.1%
Colorado$50,550+14.7%
Vermont$49,820+13.0%
New Hampshire$49,710+12.8%
Hawaii$48,880+10.9%
New Jersey$48,420+9.8%
Rhode Island$48,400+9.8%
Delaware$48,120+9.2%
1–10 of 51

First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers Salary by Metro Area

Metro AreaMedianvs. National
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$61,610+39.8%
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA$58,740+33.3%
Bellingham, WA$58,520+32.8%
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT$58,260+32.2%
Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA$57,870+31.3%
Walla Walla, WA$57,470+30.4%
Kahului-Wailuku, HI$56,600+28.4%
Kennewick-Richland, WA$56,260+27.6%
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA$55,690+26.3%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$55,520+26.0%
1–10 of 396
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Data reflects the most recent annual survey.
How does this compare to pro athletes?
A first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers earning $44,080/year would need 1352 years to match Stephen Curry's NBA salary, or 1452 yearsto match Patrick Mahomes' NFL contract.
See all sports & celebrity salaries β†’
πŸ“ˆ See how first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers salaries have changed over the past decade.
View First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers salary trend (2011–2024) β†’