Business phone system for full-service restaurants in Maryland

The full-service restaurant industry in Maryland

Maryland had 3,803 full-service restaurants in 2023, according to Census County Business Patterns (NAICS 722511, Full-Service Restaurants). They employed 90,952 people in mid-March and reported $2.6 billion in annual payroll. That is the 24th highest count among the 51 states and DC with published figures. Full-service restaurants make up 2.7% of the 142,967 business establishments in the state.

Per 100,000 residents (2024 estimate) Maryland has 60.7 full-service restaurants, 20.1% below the national rate of 76.0. The average establishment has 23.9 employees against 20.8 nationally. Payroll per employee is $28,235, in line with the U.S. figure of $28,018.

Maryland's largest markets for full-service restaurants

Census published full-service restaurant counts for 10 metro or micropolitan areas that include part of Maryland. The largest is Washington, DC-VA-MD-WV, with 4,821 establishments (a multi-state area; its count covers every state it spans). Single-state metro and micropolitan areas account for 59% of the statewide total; the rest are outside any published area or in areas Census suppressed.

Team sizes at full-service restaurants in Maryland

25.6% of Maryland's full-service restaurants with employees had fewer than five people in March 2023, compared with 26.3% nationally. 39.6% had fewer than ten. At that size the phone is shared, so routing (who rings, when, and what happens after hours) matters more than the number of desk phones.

Calls a full-service restaurant in Maryland 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.

A few of the calls that come in to full-service restaurants in Maryland:

• A guest calls to book a table for six on Saturday.
• The restaurant calls a guest to confirm a reservation.
• A customer calls in a takeout order.

Business texting for full-service restaurants

Restaurants text reservation confirmations and table-ready alerts.

Texting from a local number in Maryland requires carrier registration (10DLC), a one-time $49 fee on Callata.

What a phone system costs a full-service restaurant in Maryland

Full-service restaurants in Maryland average 23.9 employees, so the comparison uses a 24-person team. Priced per seat, 24 users would run $720.00 a month on RingCentral RingEX Core and $598.80 on Ooma Office Pro (month-to-month list prices, checked September 28, 2026). Callata comes to $479.00 a month for 24 users ($99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user), below both.

Over a year, that is $2,892 less than RingCentral for a full-service restaurant in Maryland of that size. Annual contracts lower some competitors' prices, so compare the plan you would actually sign.

Area codes in Maryland

Maryland has 6 geographic area codes in service according to NANPA. Callata includes up to 3 local numbers, so a full-service restaurant can hold a number in more than one of them.

How Callata works for full-service restaurants in Maryland

For $99 a month, Callata puts a team of up to 5 on one plan ($20 for each person after that): up to 3 local numbers, unlimited inbound calls, a pooled allowance of 1,500 outbound US and Canada minutes per user, browser and cell calling, voicemail transcription with urgency triage, recorded calls with AI summaries and business-hours routing, with E911 on every number.

Porting a number you already use in Maryland is free, and business texting is available once the carrier registration (10DLC) is approved; the registration carries a one-time $49 fee. Which specific numbers are open in a given area code depends on carrier inventory at the time you sign up.

AI agents are optional: an AI receptionist or scheduler can pick up when the team is busy or closed, take a message, send a text or email, or transfer the call. They draw on prepaid AI minutes ($0.25/minute), disclose that they are AI, and outbound AI calls require prior consent and are limited to 8am–9pm.