OPT Restaurant Jobs
Restaurant jobs on OPT span front-of-house management, culinary arts, hospitality operations, and food service management, roles that qualify when tied to a degree in hospitality management, culinary arts, or business administration. Your OPT authorization must match your field of study, so the job title and duties need to align with your degree.
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Get Access To All JobsCompany Description
Eataly is the world’s largest artisanal Italian food and beverage marketplace! Eataly is not a chain; each Eataly is different, with its own character and own theme – but all with the same aim... for our guests to:
- EAT authentic Italian food at our restaurants, cafés and to-go counters
- SHOP a selection of high-quality Italian, local and homemade products
- LEARN through our classes and our team’s product knowledge
Job Description
The Restaurant Manager assists the Restaurant Food and Beverage Manager in the day-to-day operations of Eataly’s full-service restaurants. Reports to the Restaurant Food and Beverage Manager and oversees front-of-house restaurant staff including servers, bartenders, food runners, hosts, bussers and barbacks.
- Supports the Restaurant Food and Beverage Manager with hiring, assigning, training, evaluating and terminating employees
- Documents, investigates, escalates and resolves all employee and guests incidents
- Ensures exceptional service standards are consistently met and that activities are carried out effectively
- Inspects dining room and storage areas to ensure compliance with health and safety regulations
- Estimates front-of-house food and beverage needs, and supervises intake orders to ensure specifications
- Reviews financial information such as sales, inventory and costs to monitor budget
- Meets with dining room and bar personnel to plan restaurant activities, special events, share information, etc.
- Performs other duties as required or assigned
Qualifications
- 2+ years of experiencing leading or managing a front-of-house restaurant team
- Understanding of steps of service
- Outstanding communication, leadership and problem-solving skills
- Bachelor’s Degree or Associate’s Degree in Restaurant Management or Hospitality preferred
- Knowledge of Italian cuisine and beverage highly preferred
Job Requirements
- Availability to work onsite with a flexible schedule often including evenings, weekends and holidays
- Ability to lift up to 50 pounds
- Ability to exert well-paced mobility for up to 8 hours, including standing, walking, bending and squatting
Compensation
The annual compensation for this position is $70,000 - $80,000
Additional Information
Benefits and Perks
- Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance
- Paid Time Off
- Paid Parental Leave
- 401K with match or RRSP
- Free family meal daily
- Discounts at Eataly
- Classes on products and Italian cuisine
- Referral bonus program
- and more!
Company Description
Eataly is the world’s largest artisanal Italian food and beverage marketplace! Eataly is not a chain; each Eataly is different, with its own character and own theme – but all with the same aim... for our guests to:
- EAT authentic Italian food at our restaurants, cafés and to-go counters
- SHOP a selection of high-quality Italian, local and homemade products
- LEARN through our classes and our team’s product knowledge
Job Description
The Restaurant Manager assists the Restaurant Food and Beverage Manager in the day-to-day operations of Eataly’s full-service restaurants. Reports to the Restaurant Food and Beverage Manager and oversees front-of-house restaurant staff including servers, bartenders, food runners, hosts, bussers and barbacks.
- Supports the Restaurant Food and Beverage Manager with hiring, assigning, training, evaluating and terminating employees
- Documents, investigates, escalates and resolves all employee and guests incidents
- Ensures exceptional service standards are consistently met and that activities are carried out effectively
- Inspects dining room and storage areas to ensure compliance with health and safety regulations
- Estimates front-of-house food and beverage needs, and supervises intake orders to ensure specifications
- Reviews financial information such as sales, inventory and costs to monitor budget
- Meets with dining room and bar personnel to plan restaurant activities, special events, share information, etc.
- Performs other duties as required or assigned
Qualifications
- 2+ years of experiencing leading or managing a front-of-house restaurant team
- Understanding of steps of service
- Outstanding communication, leadership and problem-solving skills
- Bachelor’s Degree or Associate’s Degree in Restaurant Management or Hospitality preferred
- Knowledge of Italian cuisine and beverage highly preferred
Job Requirements
- Availability to work onsite with a flexible schedule often including evenings, weekends and holidays
- Ability to lift up to 50 pounds
- Ability to exert well-paced mobility for up to 8 hours, including standing, walking, bending and squatting
Compensation
The annual compensation for this position is $70,000 - $80,000
Additional Information
Benefits and Perks
- Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance
- Paid Time Off
- Paid Parental Leave
- 401K with match or RRSP
- Free family meal daily
- Discounts at Eataly
- Classes on products and Italian cuisine
- Referral bonus program
- and more!
See all 62+ OPT Restaurant Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new OPT Restaurant Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding OPT Sponsorship in Restaurant
Frame your role as a professional position
OPT requires employment in a role related to your degree. If your degree is in hospitality management, target manager, coordinator, or operations roles rather than purely hourly service positions. The job title and duties must connect clearly to your academic field.
Document the degree-to-job connection in writing
When applying, prepare a brief written explanation of how the restaurant role relates to your degree. Hiring managers unfamiliar with OPT will ask. A clear, one-paragraph statement speeds up the authorization conversation and reduces the chance of a misunderstanding.
Target employers with HR infrastructure
Independent restaurants rarely have experience with OPT employment verification. Multi-location restaurant groups, hotel food and beverage departments, and corporate dining operators are more familiar with Form I-9 requirements and work authorization compliance for international employees.
Report employer changes immediately through your DSO
Switching restaurant employers requires updating your OPT record through your Designated School Official before your start date with the new employer. Working for an unreported employer, even briefly, creates a gap that can jeopardize your status and any future STEM extension.
Track your 90-day unemployment limit carefully
OPT allows no more than 90 days of unemployment. If you leave one restaurant job before securing another, those days count. Build a timeline, keep written records of your job search, and aim to have your next offer confirmed before giving notice.
Understand what counts as authorized employment
Paid employment is straightforward, but unpaid restaurant internships and part-time arrangements also require DSO reporting. Work fewer than 20 hours per week counts toward your unemployment limit. Confirm any non-standard arrangement with your DSO before accepting to avoid compliance issues.
Restaurant OPT: Frequently Asked Questions
Can F-1 OPT students work in restaurant jobs?
Yes, but the position must be directly related to your field of study. A hospitality management or culinary arts graduate can work in restaurant operations, food and beverage management, or culinary coordination. A business administration graduate may qualify for restaurant general manager or operations roles. Purely hourly service positions without a clear academic connection are unlikely to meet OPT requirements.
Do restaurant employers need to file any paperwork to hire an OPT student?
No separate petition or government filing is required from the employer. The restaurant must verify your work authorization through Form I-9 using your Employment Authorization Document. However, your DSO must record the employer in your SEVIS record before or shortly after you start. The employer's obligation is limited to proper I-9 completion and retaining that record.
Where can I find restaurant jobs that accept OPT students?
Migrate Mate is built specifically for F-1 OPT students and lists restaurant and hospitality roles from employers open to work authorization. Filtering by job category on Migrate Mate surfaces positions where hiring managers already understand OPT, which reduces friction during the offer process and speeds up onboarding.
Does working part-time at a restaurant count toward my OPT period?
Yes. Part-time employment of at least 20 hours per week counts as authorized OPT employment and does not accumulate toward the 90-day unemployment limit. Working fewer than 20 hours per week does count as unemployment time. If you're in a part-time restaurant role, confirm with your DSO that the hours and job duties are properly documented.
Can I work at multiple restaurants simultaneously on OPT?
Yes, you can hold multiple concurrent restaurant jobs on OPT as long as each position is related to your degree and each employer is reported to your DSO. Each employer must complete a separate Form I-9. If either position ends, notify your DSO promptly and track total days without qualifying employment across both roles to stay within the 90-day limit.