The owner or general manager should usually have final authority over the restaurant’s published address, hours, and services. That person may delegate specific approvals to a manager who controls the relevant operation. Name a backup for each fact, and give the website editor permission to publish only after an authorized person approves the change.
That distinction matters. An editor may know how to update a page without knowing whether the kitchen can handle late orders. A delivery manager may know the service area without having access to the website. A clear handoff connects the people who know the facts with the people who can publish them.
Start with the people who know each fact
Make a list of the business facts a guest might rely on before leaving home or placing an order. At minimum, include the street address, entrance or pickup instructions, regular hours, holiday hours, and whether dine-in, pickup, and delivery are offered. Include ordering hours separately if they differ from the hours the dining room is open.
For each item, identify both its source and the person who can approve it. A source is the record or operational decision used to establish the fact. An approver is the person accountable for saying the fact is ready to publish. The person entering the change can be someone else.
- Address and entrance: Use the restaurant’s current location records and a manager’s confirmation of the entrance guests should use. A mailing address or old lease document alone may not tell a guest where to enter.
- Regular and special hours: Use the operating schedule approved by the person responsible for staffing and opening. Record the effective date and whether the hours apply to the dining room, ordering, or both.
- Pickup: Ask the manager responsible for pickup where guests should go and when orders can be collected. Confirm whether the instructions change during busy periods.
- Delivery: Ask the person responsible for delivery which areas and hours the restaurant currently serves, including any restrictions. Confirm who must approve a temporary suspension.
- Reservations and other services: Ask the manager who controls the service when it is offered and what conditions guests should know before booking.
Check where these facts appear, not just who provided them. Your restaurant website, ordering pages, reservation pages, search listings, and social profiles may each need attention. A correct homepage does not fix an outdated holiday-hours notice elsewhere.
Give every fact one approver and a backup
One named approver per fact avoids a familiar stall: two managers each assume the other has signed off. The approver should have enough authority to make the operational decision, not merely enough access to edit the page. The backup takes over when the primary approver is unavailable; the two should not issue competing instructions.
The following matrix is a hypothetical example for a single-location restaurant. The roles and deadlines are assumptions, not universal rules. Adjust them to your staffing, service hours, and the time your publishing channels need.
| Fact | Source and primary approver | Backup | Target for publishing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address and guest entrance | Location records and entrance check; general manager | Owner | Before a planned move or entrance change takes effect |
| Regular and holiday hours | Approved operating schedule; general manager | Assistant manager | Within one business day of approval; before the affected date |
| Pickup hours and instructions | Pickup operating plan; kitchen manager | General manager | Within one business day of approval; before the change |
| Delivery availability and area | Current delivery plan; delivery manager | General manager | Before a planned change; as soon as possible for a suspension |
Read the last column as a target for the publishing team, not a promise that every outside listing will update immediately. The approver supplies the decision; the editor applies it and reports where it was changed. If the restaurant cannot meet a target, the general manager should decide how to warn guests through channels the team can control.
For multiple locations, keep the same fields but assign a local approver where hours or services differ. A central owner can set the format and audit the records without approving every routine local change. Decide which exceptions still require central approval, such as a permanent address change or a brand-wide service policy.
Keep the matrix with a current contact list. Record each backup’s authority in plain language: can the backup approve a temporary closure, a permanent schedule change, or both? A backup who can only relay messages is not a true substitute for an unavailable approver.
Set triggers and deadlines before a change
Routine changes are easier to manage when the team knows what starts the process. A revised staffing schedule, a holiday closure, a move, a new pickup entrance, or a paused delivery service should all trigger a fact review. So should a guest report that points to conflicting information online.
Use a short change request with the old fact, new fact, affected location, effective date and time, reason, approver, and channels to update. The approver should also state when the old information should come down. A temporary closure needs an end point or a scheduled review; otherwise a warning can remain online after service resumes.
Separate planned changes from urgent ones. For a planned holiday schedule, set an internal lead time that gives the editor room to update each channel and check the result. For an unexpected closure, give the manager on duty authority to approve the immediate notice, then have the primary approver review it when available. If a channel cannot be updated promptly, note that exception and provide accurate information on the channels you can update.
Consider a separate hypothetical example: a restaurant plans to close its dining room at 8 p.m. on a holiday, while pickup ends at 7:30 p.m. The general manager approves both times and the date. The editor updates the hours notice and pickup information, then sends the manager the published pages to check. The manager confirms that the two different closing times are clear. After the holiday, the editor removes the temporary notice and checks that regular hours remain visible.
This process depends on someone checking the actual published result. An approval in a chat thread does not establish that every page changed, and an update on one service does not establish that another service has updated. Track exceptions until a person confirms them or decides on another way to inform guests.
Audit a sample of facts guests actually see
Set a recurring review and assign an auditor who can compare the public information with the approved record. The auditor does not need to be the website editor. A manager who did not make the last update may be more likely to notice an unclear instruction.
Start with the matrix rather than browsing at random. Pick a location and compare its address, current hours, and one service fact against their approved sources. Then check each fact wherever a guest is likely to encounter it. For online ordering, compare the ordering or pickup hours with the website’s general hours, rather than assuming they are the same.
- Open the public pages. Check on a phone as well as a larger screen. Read the information as a guest would, including any temporary notices.
- Compare against the approved record. Note the exact wording, effective dates, and any difference between dining, pickup, and delivery hours.
- Assign corrections. Send each mismatch to the fact’s approver and the person who can edit that channel. Include a deadline and the public page where it appeared.
- Close the loop. Reopen the page after the change and record who confirmed it. Keep unresolved items visible until they are corrected or escalated.
A small sample finds discrepancies; it does not prove every listing is correct. Rotate locations, services, and channels over time, and add a full review after a move or a major operating change. If a vendor controls a page or update process, ask who can make corrections, how approval is documented, and how quickly an urgent change can be published.
Website access is another part of the handoff. Make sure the designated editor can publish changes without giving every approver unrestricted access. Check who controls the site and domain, and how access can be transferred if an employee or provider leaves. The guide to restaurant website domain ownership covers questions to raise before a change becomes urgent.
Next step: Use the matrix to review your current setup with your general manager and editor. Identify one primary approver, one backup, and a publishing target for each fact. If you are considering a new site, ask Fleksa about its restaurant website and confirm current US availability and the editing setup for your location.
Frequently asked questions
Can the website editor approve business hours?
Yes, if that person also has authority over the operating schedule. Otherwise, the manager responsible for the schedule should approve the hours, and the editor should publish and check them.
Who approves a temporary closure?
Assign that authority in advance to a manager who can make the operational decision, with a named backup. Record when the notice should be reviewed or removed and who will update each channel.
How often should we check online facts?
Choose a recurring schedule your team can maintain, and review immediately after important changes or reports of conflicting information. A sample audit is useful, but it does not replace a broader check after a move or major schedule change.
