Business phone system for full-service restaurants in Illinois

How many full-service restaurants operate in Illinois

Illinois had 9,928 full-service restaurants in 2023, according to Census County Business Patterns (NAICS 722511, Full-Service Restaurants). They employed 188,628 people in mid-March and reported $5.5 billion in annual payroll. That is the 5th highest count among the 51 states and DC with published figures. Full-service restaurants make up 3.1% of the 322,415 business establishments in the state.

Per 100,000 residents (2024 estimate) Illinois has 78.1 full-service restaurants, 2.7% above the national rate of 76.0. The average establishment has 19.0 employees against 20.8 nationally. Payroll per employee is $29,404, 4.9% above the U.S. figure of $28,018.

Illinois's largest markets for full-service restaurants

Census published full-service restaurant counts for 33 metro or micropolitan areas that include part of Illinois. The largest is Chicago, IL-IN, with 7,371 establishments (a multi-state area; its count covers every state it spans). Single-state metro and micropolitan areas account for 19% of the statewide total; the rest are outside any published area or in areas Census suppressed.

Team sizes at full-service restaurants in Illinois

28.9% of Illinois's full-service restaurants with employees had fewer than five people in March 2023, compared with 26.3% nationally. 46.9% had fewer than ten. That is the size of team where a missed call usually means nobody was free, not that nobody was on staff.

Calls a full-service restaurant in Illinois has to catch

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 a full-service restaurant in Illinois might handle in a typical week include:

• A customer calls in a takeout order.
• A supplier calls about a delivery.
• The restaurant calls a guest to confirm a reservation.

Calls after closing time

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

Callata voicemail is transcribed and triaged for urgency, and business-hours routing decides where calls go once you close.

Phone system pricing for a 19-person full-service restaurant

Full-service restaurants in Illinois average 19.0 employees, so the comparison uses a 19-person team. Per-seat business phone plans bill every one of those people. At month-to-month list prices checked September 28, 2026, 19 users on RingCentral RingEX Core cost $570.00 a month and 19 on Ooma Office Pro cost $474.05. On Callata the same 19 people cost $379.00 a month, less than either per-seat plan.

The annual difference against RingCentral's monthly list price comes to $2,292. Some vendors discount annual contracts; the table shows month-to-month prices.

Area codes in Illinois

Illinois has 17 geographic area codes in service according to NANPA. You can choose local numbers in the area codes your guests know, subject to carrier inventory, or port your current number for free.

How Callata works for full-service restaurants in Illinois

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.

If you already have a number in Illinois, porting it to Callata is free. Texting from a local number requires a one-time carrier registration (10DLC, $49), and the numbers available in any area code depend on carrier inventory when you choose them.

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.