Business phone system for full-service restaurants

Full-service restaurants in the United States

County Business Patterns counted 258,626 full-service restaurants in the U.S. in 2023 (NAICS 722511, Full-Service Restaurants). They employed 5,387,020 people in mid-March and paid $150.9 billion in annual payroll. The average establishment has 20.8 employees. That is 76.0 establishments for every 100,000 residents.

California has the most (31,333), followed by Texas (20,819), New York (19,661), and Florida (18,200). Relative to population, District of Columbia leads with 138.7 per 100,000 residents, and Utah has the fewest at 51.3.

Why the phone matters for full-service restaurants

Restaurants take reservations, takeout orders and catering inquiries by phone during the same rush when staff are busiest. Unanswered calls during service often mean lost covers.

Calls full-service restaurants commonly handle:

• A guest calls to book a table for six on Saturday.
• A customer calls in a takeout order.
• An event planner calls about a private room.
• The restaurant calls a guest to confirm a reservation.
• A supplier calls about a delivery.

Texting and after-hours calls

Restaurants text reservation confirmations and table-ready alerts.

After closing, callers want hours and reservations, which a greeting or AI receptionist can handle.

How big full-service restaurants are

26.3% of U.S. full-service restaurants with employees had fewer than five people in March 2023. 43.4% had fewer than ten. Most phone decisions in this industry are made for small teams, where one shared number and sensible routing matter more than a desk phone per person.

Full-service restaurants by state

Establishment counts for the 51 states (and DC) where Census published a figure, with the rate per 100,000 residents.

Largest metro areas for full-service restaurants

Census published full-service restaurant counts for 925 metro and micropolitan areas. The 25 largest:

What a phone system costs a full-service restaurant in the U.S.

The average U.S. full-service restaurant has 20.8 employees, so the comparison uses a 21-person team. Per-seat business phone plans bill every one of those people. At month-to-month list prices checked September 28, 2026, 21 users on RingCentral RingEX Core cost $630.00 a month and 21 on Ooma Office Pro cost $523.95. On Callata the same 21 people cost $419.00 a month, less than either per-seat plan.

The annual difference against RingCentral's monthly list price comes to $2,532. Some vendors discount annual contracts; the table shows month-to-month prices.

How Callata works for full-service restaurants

Callata is a business phone system priced at $99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user. Callata Office includes up to 3 local business numbers, unlimited inbound calling, 1,500 pooled outbound US and Canada minutes per user each month, a browser softphone that can also ring your cell, voicemail with transcription, call recording with AI summaries, business-hours routing and E911 on every number.

Existing numbers can be ported at no charge, and team texting turns on after the one-time $49 carrier registration (10DLC) is approved.

Optional AI agents (receptionist, sales, support or scheduler) can answer calls after hours or when nobody picks up, take messages, text, email and transfer to your team. They are billed from prepaid AI minutes at $0.25 per minute, identify themselves as AI, and may only place outbound calls to people who consented, between 8am and 9pm.