Restaurant Uniforms

Eateries, from restaurants to food trucks, offer a full sensory experience. What this means is that the food, environment, scent, and even sounds all need to work together in order to create a successful meal experience. This is a given for restaurants. It’s why restauranteurs invest so much money in designing beautiful locations that look enticing in pictures rather than solely focusing on the meals themselves. 

It’s why food doesn’t taste like anything when you can’t smell it or why it’s hard for people to enjoy food they don’t like the smell of. Are there exceptions to that rule? Absolutely, but a general rule of thumb is that people eat with their eyes and take it in with their nose. Taste is almost the least important compared to it all. 


While great food and ambience are a given, many forget about the importance of considering their staff. Overhauling that boring or drab uniform is paramount. It will help customers find your staff faster, it will help showcase your eateries’ vibe, and it will bolster your customer service efforts all at once: 

Use Colors that Match Your Theme

Colors make up a huge portion of any branding effort. Regardless of what type of eatery you own, from laid-back to high-end, it’s important to match the color scheme of your brand. A high-end restaurant that uses a lot of reds and bold colors, for example, can easily carry that color scheme through to the staff. Not only would a red dress shirt look good, but it’s also less likely to be worn by your guests, making it easier for your customers to spot who works there and who doesn’t. 

Casual, Semi-Formal, or Formal? 

Eateries, food trucks, and other laid-back, home-style places can really get away with a casual uniform. A food truck, for example, can have a fun t-shirt (which you can also merchandise to increase revenue) or custom trucker hats by Anthem Branding with your logo and colors on them. Shirts are a must everywhere, but hats are a great addition if your team is out in the sun. 

Semi-formal is a good option for sit-down casual places, like cafes, where you could have a color scheme for clothes (all black, for example) and then invest in a barista lap apron. Fancy, formal dining establishments should go the full mile and dress everyone as classy as possible. A fancy shirt, black slacks, and even a tie or bowtie are great options. 

Hair and Makeup 

Hair and makeup can be included in your uniform, but for the most part, the only establishments that will really need to enforce these rules are the high-end restaurants. For those eateries, a clean, minimalistic look is ideal. You’ll also want to encourage staff to keep hair back or trim, which can actually reduce the risk of any hairs falling into dishes on their way to their tables. 

Words and Attitude 

The way you say something and the attitude that you have go a long way toward completing the customer experience. That’s why it’s important to train your staff and to offer greater incentives, from high pay to bonuses or upwards progression. Someone who feels like they’re in a dead-end job is not going to put in the effort to match the brand persona you want to be built for your restaurant. Find ways to encourage your employees and workshop your approach.

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