Work out covers per hour instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
Covers per hour is the throughput measure for a restaurant, and dividing it by kitchen and front-of-house headcount separately shows which side of the operation is the constraint. Kitchen productivity typically caps a busy service before service staff do.
Covers per hour
Covers per hour = Total covers / Service hours
Labour productivity
Covers per staff hour = Covers per hour / Staff on shift
Roughly 2-4 for full-service dining, 6-12 for fast casual, and higher still for counter service with limited menus.
Whichever has the lower covers per staff hour at peak, since that is where the queue forms. Adding servers to a kitchen-limited service just increases waiting.