Server Cover Letter Example

A server cover letter has one reader, the general manager, and one question to answer: can this person run a section on a full Saturday without service slipping? Managers at independent restaurants and new openings read the letters because they are choosing a small team, and the letters they keep name the restaurant, describe the applicant's current floor in restaurant numbers, and say which nights they can work.

The sample below goes with the server resume example: Hailey Brennan, a server and trainer at a fine dining steakhouse in Scottsdale, applying for a dinner server position at a new restaurant opening across town. It opens by repeating the posting's asks and naming her current restaurant, uses the middle paragraphs for section size, check averages, training and private dining with the numbers her resume states, adds her Arizona certifications and availability, and closes by offering a trail shift.

Write a new letter for every restaurant. Fine dining wants steps of service and wine; a high-volume casual place wants speed and teamwork; a new opening wants someone who learns a menu fast. Lead with whichever the posting is for.

Updated . The person, the employer and the recipient in this sample letter are fictional. It goes with the server resume example for the same person.

Server sample cover letter

About 301 words, one page in the style of the Formal template.

Hailey Brennan

Server, Fine Dining and High-Volume Casual

Scottsdale, AZhailey.brennan@example.com(480) 555-0128

Ms. Renata CollazoGeneral ManagerJuniper and VineScottsdale, AZ

Dear Ms. Collazo,

Your posting for a dinner server at Juniper and Vine asks for formal steps of service, a working knowledge of wine and the composure to run a section on a full Saturday. I have done that for the last four years, most recently at a 160-seat fine dining steakhouse in Scottsdale, and I would like to be part of the team that opens your dining room in November.

At Copper Canyon Steakhouse I serve a five-table section following formal steps of service and table maintenance, and I keep one of the highest check averages on the team by pairing wines with the cuts and suggesting desserts and after-dinner drinks rather than dropping the check. I train new servers on the menu, the wine list and our service standards during their first two weeks, and I earned a place on the private dining team, where I serve events of up to 40 guests. Before that, at Desert Rose Grill in Tempe, I ran sections of up to eight tables and about 120 covers on weekend nights, handled cash, card and split checks accurately at close, and helped open and close the dining room.

A new restaurant needs servers who can learn a menu quickly and hold the standard while the kitchen finds its rhythm, and that is the part of the job I am good at. I hold a Maricopa County food handler card and Arizona Title 4 basic and management training, both current, and I am available every evening, including weekends and holidays, which I expect is when your reservations will fill first.

My resume is attached with both restaurants and my certifications. I would welcome an interview or a trail shift at your convenience, and I can be reached at the number above any afternoon. Thank you for considering me.

Sincerely,

Hailey Brennan

Start yours from this letter

Opens this letter in the editor, in one of the templates below. Swap in your details and the employer's, then fit it to each vacancy in about two minutes.

Use this letter

How this server cover letter is built

  1. The opening quotes the posting back and names where she does it now

    A general manager hiring for an opening reads dozens of letters that begin with a passion for hospitality. This one repeats the three things the posting asked for, says where Hailey has done them and for how long, and says she wants this opening in particular. The restaurant's name and the month it opens show she read the posting rather than pasting a template over it.

  2. The second paragraph is the evidence, in restaurant numbers

    Seats, section size, covers and check averages are how restaurant people describe pace, and every number here comes from the server resume. Training new servers and the private dining team are the two lines that say she can be trusted with more than a section, which matters to a manager building a floor from nothing. The Desert Rose sentence adds the high-volume side so the manager knows she has run eight tables as well as five.

  3. The third paragraph answers what a new restaurant worries about

    An opening means a menu still changing, a kitchen still finding its timing and guests who expect polish anyway. The paragraph names that and says she handles it, then gives the two Arizona certifications and her availability, because a manager cannot schedule a server without knowing both and would rather not ask.

  4. The closing offers a trail shift

    Restaurants hire by watching you work, so the letter offers the trail before the manager has to ask for it. It names the resume, says how to reach her and thanks the reader in one sentence. Nothing from the earlier paragraphs is repeated, and there is no line about being excited to hear back.

  5. The greeting and sign-off suit a formal dining room

    "Dear Ms. Collazo" and "Sincerely" fit fine dining; a casual restaurant would take "Best regards". Find the general manager's name on the posting or the restaurant's website, or call during the afternoon lull and ask who is hiring servers. A manager who is named reads the letter as written to them.

Templates for the server cover letter

All cover letter templates

Each one matches a resume template of the same name, so the letter and the resume go out in one look.

Mistakes that cost server interviews

  1. Explaining why you are leaving your current restaurant

    A paragraph about why the last place was not a fit reads as a warning to the next manager. Say what you did there in numbers and move on. The reasons for leaving belong in the interview, if they are asked for at all, and the answer there should be short.

  2. No numbers for pace

    Served guests in a busy restaurant could mean a diner or a 300-seat steakhouse. Give the seat count, your section size, the covers on a weekend night and where your check average sits on the team. Restaurant managers think in those units and will picture your shift from them in a second.

  3. Writing the same letter for fine dining and casual

    Fine dining reads for steps of service, wine knowledge and composure; a high-volume casual restaurant reads for speed, teamwork and turning tables without rushing guests; banquets want large parties and flexibility. Lead with whichever the posting is for and put the other second, as the sample does with the steakhouse first and the grill after it.

  4. Skipping the certifications

    A food handler card and the state's alcohol service training are required before the first shift in many places, and a manager would rather hire someone who already holds them than wait for a class. Name them in one sentence, say they are current, and leave the issuing bodies and years to the resume.

  5. Leaving out which nights you can work

    Restaurants fill Friday and Saturday nights first. If you can work them, say so in the letter; if you cannot, say which nights you can, so the manager is not surprised at the interview. A clear schedule is a point in your favor even when it is limited.

  6. A page on hospitality as a calling

    A sentence about why you like the work is fine; a page of it is filler. Managers hire the server who shows up, knows the menu and sells the wine, and the letter should spend its words proving those three things rather than describing a love of people.

Questions about the server cover letter

How long should a server cover letter be?

Three or four short paragraphs, around 300 words; the sample above is close to that. A general manager reads it between the lunch and dinner services, so the first paragraph has to say which job and why you fit, and every paragraph after it should carry one idea.

Who do I address a restaurant cover letter to?

The general manager or the hiring manager named on the posting. If there is no name, the restaurant's website or a phone call in the mid-afternoon usually produces one. "Dear Hiring Manager" is acceptable when it does not; "To whom it may concern" is not, and managers notice.

Do servers actually need a cover letter?

Chains with an online form often do not read one. Independent restaurants, fine dining rooms and new openings usually do, because the manager is choosing a small team and wants to know who you are before the trail shift. When a posting asks for one, send it; when it does not, a short one still helps you stand out from the stack of resumes alone.

How do I write a server cover letter for fine dining when I have only worked casual?

Lead with the things fine dining values that you already do: menu knowledge, allergy handling, composure on a full night, any wine or cocktail training you have taken. Say directly that you want to move into fine dining and why, and offer a trail shift. A manager will take a strong casual server with the right attitude over a vague letter from anyone.

Should I mention tips or sales numbers?

Mention check averages and where you rank on the team, because that is a measure of selling, not of what you take home. Leave the dollar amount of your tips out; it reads as the wrong priority and the manager cannot verify it anyway.

Can I write about a gap between restaurants?

One sentence, if the gap is recent and long: what you were doing and that you are ready for a full schedule. Otherwise leave it for the interview. The letter's job is to get you the trail shift, and gaps rarely decide that in this industry.

Related cover letter examples

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