Categories
Front of House
Host & Hostess
Hosts run the door — reservations, guest greeting, table assignments, wait-quote management, and the first impression every cover gets. Hire one in any restaurant with a reservation book or a wait — a strong host adds covers per night by managing the floor, a weak one bleeds them. Two NY classifications apply: non-tipped service employee at $17.00/hr (the standard hostess role) or tipped food-service worker at $11.35 + $5.65 credit if they actually serve; misclassification is a Wage Theft Prevention Act exposure.
View briefing →Busser
Bussers clear tables, reset, water service, and assist servers during pushes — the function that keeps table turn time inside the budget. Hire them in any full-service room with a server-to-table ratio that doesn't allow servers to clear. NYC 2026 tipped minimum is $11.35 cash + $5.65 credit = $17.00/hr, and bussers must be in a tip pool under 12 NYCRR §146-2.16 to share — pool design has been an active wage-and-hour litigation surface since the Jitjatjo/Dayforce acquisition.
View briefing →Banquet Server
Banquet servers work events — weddings, galas, corporate dinners, ballroom service — coursing out plated meals to 100-1,000 guests on a tight clock. Hotels, banquet halls, off-premise caterers, and event-focused agencies hire them by the shift. NYC 2026 W-2 agency banquet server bills $28-$42/hr to the client; 1099 gig platforms run $22-$32/hr; captains $45-$70/hr — and a tipped server still needs to clear the $17.00 combined floor.
View briefing →Barback
The barback is the bartender's prep and reset engine — restocks ice, glassware, garnishes, beer, wine, liquor; runs cases up from the basement; cuts citrus; bus-tubs glassware to the dish. Any bar doing meaningful volume hires barbacks at a 1:1 or 1:2 ratio with bartenders. NYC barback pay runs $12-$16.50/hr cash plus tip-pool share — Glassdoor's NYC average lands at $28/hr total comp once tips are counted.
View briefing →Barista
Baristas pull espresso, dial in grind and dose daily, steam milk, design the cafe drink menu, and run the customer-facing rhythm of the coffee bar. Coffee shops, hotels with morning service, restaurants with a serious dessert/coffee pairing, and corporate cafes all hire them. NYC barista wage band runs $19-$25/hr base + $4-$10/hr effective tips in 2026, with skilled latte-art baristas at specialty roasters (Blue Bottle, Joe, La Cabra) at the top of the range.
View briefing →Server
Servers take orders, fire courses, manage the table relationship, sell, and handle the check — the floor's primary revenue lever. Every full-service restaurant hires them; the only question is the experience tier. NYC's 2026 food-service worker minimum is $17.00/hr (cash $11.35 + $5.65 tip credit), and ZipRecruiter's NYC fine-dining server base is $43,884/year as of April 2026 with experienced servers at Le Bernardin, EMP, Daniel clearing $90K-$140K with tips.
View briefing →Bartender
Bartenders build drinks, manage the bar's pace during service, control pour cost, and own the guest experience for every seat at the bar. You hire bartenders for restaurants, cocktail bars, hotels, nightclubs, and any banquet program with a beverage line. NYC's 2026 tipped wage floor is $11.00 cash + $5.15 tip credit = $15.50 combined large-employer minimum, with HTC Local 6 hotel bartenders on a separately negotiated CBA scale; expect $50-$100/hr effective comp at strong-volume rooms.
View briefing →Bottle Server
Bottle servers work nightclub VIP tables — bottle service, mixers, sparkler presentations, table management, and the relationship with the host who books the table. You hire them for nightclubs, high-end lounges, and large-format event venues with bottle programs. NYC bottle servers earn $1,000-$2,500/night in tip-heavy venues like Tao Group, Catch, and Marquee; legally they're tipped food-service workers at $11.35 cash + $5.65 credit, with the entire economic story in the tip pool.
View briefing →Cashier
Cashiers run the POS — order entry, payment, bagging, and the throughput pace that makes a counter-service line either work or implode. Quick-service restaurants, coffee shops, takeout windows, and grocery operations hire them. NYC 2026 minimum is $17.00/hr (non-tipped) or the food-service worker $17.00 combined floor with a tip jar — pricing here is the labor cost per transaction (roughly $0.40-$1.80) and the throughput target is 300+ transactions/hr at peak (Chipotle benchmark).
View briefing →Mixologist & Beverage Consultant
A mixologist or beverage consultant builds your cocktail and beverage program from the ground up — recipe development, equipment spec, training the bar team, and writing the SOPs that survive after they leave. Operators hire one for an opening, a menu refresh, or a beverage-program turnaround when in-house talent can't get there. NYC consultant day rates run $100-$350/hr or $15K-$75K project; major in-house BevDirs at Tao Group, Catch, Major Food Group sit at $110K-$220K base + bonus.
View briefing →Room Service Attendant
Room service attendants take in-room orders, set up trays or carts, deliver to the room, and handle the post-meal pickup — the operational layer of hotel F&B that runs 24/7 in luxury and 6am-midnight elsewhere. Full-service hotels with active room-service programs are the only buyers. Under HTC Local 6 IWA they're tipped food-service workers (post-2019 CBA, 2021 CSP amendment) on a separately negotiated scale; the IWA expires June 30, 2026 and the contract reset is the biggest hotel labor uncertainty of the year.
View briefing →Sommelier
The sommelier owns the wine list — buying, pricing, storage, BTG program, list curation, and tableside service for high-check parties. Fine-dining rooms hire a sommelier the moment wine starts driving 25%+ of beverage revenue or guests start ordering at the $300+ bottle tier. NYC sommelier base is $22-$32/hr but full comp at a serious room runs $90K-$160K; the Court of Master Sommeliers credential remains a marker but is no longer automatic credibility post-2020.
View briefing →Other Team sub-areas
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