205 Restaurant Quotes To Get You & Your Employees Through 2024

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Updated: November 1st, 2022

205 Restaurant Quotes To Get You & Your Employees Through 2024

If there's one thing 2020 has taught us, it's that adapting to change quick in restaurants and service businesses is absolutely critical in order to survive.

However, with so much change in just one year, this has lead employees and owners feeling burnt out, fatigued, and even the desire to give up.

Sometimes, all it takes is a quote or motivational speech at the beginning of each shift to change the entire mood and mindset of your team.

We put together 200+ inspirational restaurant quotes to get your team through 2020 and beyond.

Here they are:

Inspirational Quotes

"Although a great restaurant experience must include great food, a bad restaurant experience can be achieved through bad service alone. Ideally, service is invisible. You notice it only when something goes wrong. ― Dana Spiotta"
"I’m working harder than ever now, and I’m putting on my pants the same as I always have. I just get up every day and try to do a little better than the day before, and that is to run a great restaurant with great food, great wine, and great service. That’s my philosophy.― Emeril Lagasse"
"Although the skills aren’t hard to learn, finding the happiness and finding the satisfaction and finding fulfillment in continuously serving somebody else something good to eat, is what makes a really good restaurant. ― Mario Batali"
"Profit is not the legitimate purpose of business. The legitimate purpose of business is to provide a product or service that people need and do it so well that it’s profitable. ― James Rouse"
"“When you are able to shift your inner awareness to how you can serve others, and when you make this the central focus of your life, you will then be in a position to know true miracles in your progress toward prosperity.” ― Wayne W. Dyer"
"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. ― Mahatma Gandhi"
"To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity. ― Douglas Adams"
"The sole purpose of business is service. The sole purpose of advertising is explaining the service which business renders. ― Leo Burnett"
"Earn your success based on service to others, not at the expense of others. ― H. Jackson Brown, Jr."
"Always render more and better service than is expected of you, no matter what your task may be. ― Og Mandino"
"Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served. But all other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy. ― Mahatma Gandhi"
"Joy can only be real if people look upon their life as a service and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness.― Leo Tolstoy"
"The path to your own happiness is usually found in service.― Jonathan Lockwood Huie"
".. consists in giving, and in serving others. ― Henry Drummond"
"A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.― The Buddha"
"“Men are rich only as they give. He who gives great service gets great rewards.”― Elbert Hubbard"
"The customer experience is the next competitive battleground. – Jerry Gregoire"
"We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better. – Jeff Bezos"
"Here is a simple but powerful rule: always give people more than what they expect to get. – Nelson Boswell"
"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishment toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." - Successories
"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together" - Vincent Van Gogh
"Coming together is a beginning... Keeping together is progress... Working together is a success." - Henry Ford
"To stand apart from the competition, you must first stand together as a team." - Successories
"Problems become opportunities when the right people join together." - Successories
"The strength of the team is in each individual member... the strength of each member is in the team." - Successories
"When a team of dedicated individuals makes a commitment to act as one...the sky's the limit." - Successories
"It is our differences that bring us together. It is our differences that make our ideas more meaningful. It is our differences that create a team that is one of a kind." - Successories
"Be strong enough to stand alone, be yourself enough to stand apart, but be wise enough to stand together when the time comes." - Successories
"Stand together as a team. With integrity, vision, and determination together you will succeed where others cannot." - Successories
"It is a fact that in the right formation, the lifting power of many wings can achieve twice the distance of any bird flying alone." - Successories
"Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude." - Ralph Marston
"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference." - Winston Churchill
"A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst...a spark that creates extraordinary results." - Successories
"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." - Lou Holtz
"It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect It's successful outcome." - William James
"It's not what happens to you that determines how far you will go in life; it is how you handle what happens to you." - Zig Ziglar
"The day is what you make it! So why not make it a great one?" - Steve Schulte
"It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it." - Lou Holtz
"Believe you can and you are halfway there." - Theodore Roosevelt
"Take time out every day to be thankful for the people in our lives that drive us toward the path of success and for those that have helped us get to where we are today. Have an attitude of gratitude." - Successories
"Keep your face to the sun and you cannot see the shadows" - Helen Keller
"Your attitude, almost always determines your altitude in life." - Successories
"The one thing that you have that no one else has is you. Your voice, your mind, your story, and your passion. Start everyday your way." - Successories
"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." - Einstein
"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new." - Socrates
"If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail." - Abraham Maslow
"It takes courage to step off of the familiar to embrace the new and unknown future. But when you do, the possibilities are endless." - Successories
"In the confrontation between the river and the rock, the river always wins...not through strength but by perseverance." - Successories
"Take the initiative and lead the way. You can make the difference." - Successories
"A leader's job is to look into the future, and to see the organization not as it is...but as it can become." - Successories
"Excellence is the result of caring more than others think is wise, risking more than others think is safe, dreaming more than others think is practical, and expecting more than others think is possible." - Successories

Professional Quotes

"Do what you know is right...always. With commitment to your deepest convictions you stand tall against time and tide." - Successories
"Excellence is never an accident; it is the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, skillful execution and the vision to see obstacles as opportunities." - Successories
"What we can easily see is only a small percentage of what is possible. Imagination is having the vision to see what is just below the surface; to picture that which is essential, but invisible to the eye."
"Your true character is revealed by the clarity of your convictions, the choices you make, and the promises you keep." - Successories
"True strength is not in showing the world how strong you are but having the strength to win the battles the world knows nothing about." - Successories
"Each day begins with new hope. Make today a day filled with a commitment to excellence." - Successories
"The secret of getting ahead, is getting started." - Mark Twain
"When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt." - Henry J. Kaiser
"Well done, is better than well said." - Benjamin Franklin
"Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be." - Zig Ziglar
"Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again." - Richard Branson"
"Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm." - Winston Churchill
"Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen." - Michael Jordan
"Approach every challenge with a level head, unwavering focus and a determination to light the way for others to succeed." - Successories
"Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others." - Winston Churchill
"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments." - Successories
"It is attitude, not circumstance, that makes success possible in even the most unlikely conditions." - Successories
"The road to success is sometimes long and arduous. It takes unwavering commitment and a will to succeed in order to complete the journey." - Successories
"Success is not by chance, it takes someone willing to climb a mountain full of obstacles and challenges. It may seem insurmountable from a distance, but if you imagine with all your mind and believe with all your heart, you will reach the top." - Successories
"Successful is the person who has lived well, laughed often and loved much, who has gained the respect of children, who leaves the world better than they found it, who has never lacked appreciation for the earth's beauty, who never fails to look for the best in others or give the best of themselves." - Successories
"Leadership is about capturing the imagination and enthusiasm of your people with clearly defined goals that cut through the fog like a beacon in the night." - Successories
"A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. A person does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the quality of one's actions and the integrity of one's intent. In the end, leaders are much like eagles... they don't flock, you find them one at a time." - Successories
"Service is the lifeblood of any organization. Everything flows from it and is nourished by it. Customer service is not a department... it's an attitude." - Successories
"Extraordinary service is the result of anticipating the need and providing the solution before the customer requires it" - Successories
"Accountability is paramount. It is easy to dodge responsibilities, but regardless of conditions the consequences of avoidance cannot be dodged." - Successories
"The high road to service is traveled with integrity, compassion and understanding; people don't care how much we know until they know how much we care." - Successories
"Greatness is not in where we stand, but in what direction we are moving. We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it - but sail we must and not drift, nor lie at anchor." - Oliver Wendell Holmes
"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed...every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle...when the sun comes up, you'd better be running." - Proverb
"Change is life giving. It helps us grow into someone greater than we already are." - Successories
"Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work." - Stephen King
"Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle." - Abraham Lincoln
"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." - Martink Luther King Jr.
If I had nine hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first six sharpening my axe. —Abraham Lincoln
Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change. —Stephen Hawking
Leaders can let you fail and yet not let you be a failure. —Stanley McChrystal
Do or do not. There is no try. —Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back
If something is wrong, fix it now. But train yourself not to worry, worry fixes nothing. — Ernest Hemingway
Innovation distinguishes from a leader and a follower. —Steve Jobs
The best way out is always through. —Robert Frost
Very often, a change of self is needed more than a change of scene. —A.C. Benson
Follow your passion, stay true to yourself, never follow someone else’s path unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path then by all means you should follow that. —Ellen Degeneres
Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity. —Seneca
If we can challenge convention, we can solve any problem. —Josh Valman
“Life is for service.” – Fred Rogers
“To earn the respect (and eventually love) of your customers, you first have to respect those customers. That is why Golden Rule behavior is embraced by most of the winning companies.” – Colleen Barrett, Southwest Airlines President Emerita
“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” – Albert Einstein
“To keep a customer demands as much skill as to win one.” – American Proverb
“To give without any reward, or any notice, has a special quality of its own.” – Anne Morrow Lindeberg, Author and Aviator
“There is a spiritual aspect to our lives — when we give, we receive — when a business does something good for somebody, that somebody feels good about them!” – Ben Cohen, Co-Founder Ben & Jerry’s
“Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, ‘What’s in it for me?‘” – Brian Tracy, Author and Motivational Speaker
“When you help others feel important, you help yourself feel important too.” – David J. Schwartz, Author and Motivational Speaker

Life Quotes

“Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer.” – Denis Waitley, Author and Motivational Speaker
“To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.” – Don Alden Adams, President Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania
“Men are rich only as they give. He who gives great service gets great rewards.” – Elbert Hubbard, Artist and Writer
“I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.” – Ernest Hemingway, Author and Journalist
“To listen closely and reply well is the highest perfection we are able to attain in the art of conversation.” – Francois de La Rochefoucauld, Essayist
“What do we live for if not to make life less difficult for each other?” – George Eliot, Novelist
“Sometimes one can become lost in a big company and lose sight of how what one does truly helps or impacts the end customer. If you are one of those, think of a fire brigade, a line of people passing buckets of water from one to the other from a source of water to the site of the fire. An individual in the brigade may not be able to see the end result, i.e., the water being thrown on the fire to put it out, but the contribution of the individual is indispensable to the final outcome.” – Grant Bright, Former Project Lead IBM
“Happiness is a by-product of an effort to make someone else happy.” – Gretta Palmer, Author and Editor
“The world is moved not only by the mighty shoves of the heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.” – Helen Keller, Author and Political Activist
“Most people spend more time and energy going around problems than in trying to solve them.” – Henry Ford, Founder Ford Motor Company
“Two important things are to have a genuine interest in people and to be kind to them. Kindness, I’ve discovered, is everything.” – Isaac Bashevis Singer, Author
“Courteous treatment will make a customer a walking advertisement.” – James Cash Penney, Founder J.C. Penney Stores
“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job to make the customer experience a little bit better.” – Jeff Bezos, Founder Amazon
“Biggest question: Isn’t it really ‘customer helping’ rather than customer service? And wouldn’t you deliver better service if you thought of it that way?” – Jeffrey Gitomer, Author and Professional Speaker
“You don’t earn loyalty in a day. You earn loyalty day-by-day.” – Jeffrey Gitomer, Author and Professional Speaker
“If you make a sale, you can make a living. If you make an investment of time and good service in a customer, you can make a fortune.” – Jim Rohn, Author and Motivational Speaker
“If you just communicate, you can get by. But if you communicate skillfully, you can work miracles.” – Jim Rohn, Author and Motivational Speaker
“The most important adage and the only adage is, the customer comes first, whatever the business, the customer comes first.” – Kerry Stokes, Chairman of the Seven Network
“Face the simple fact before it comes involved. Solve the small problem before it becomes big.” – Lao Tzu, Philosopher
“Our greatest asset is the customer! Treat each customer as if they are the only one!” – Laurice Leitao, Customer Service Professional SeraCare Life Sciences
“Your ability to communicate is an important tool in your pursuit of your goals, whether it is with your family, your co-workers or your clients and customers.” – Les Brown, Author and Motivational Speaker
“One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others.” – Lewis Carroll, Writer and Mathematician
“Words of comfort, skillfully administered, are the oldest therapy known to man.” – Lous Nizer, Lawyer
“A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time.” – Marian Wright Edelman, Founder Children’s Defense Fund
“Thank your customer for complaining and mean it. Most will never bother to complain. They’ll just walk away.” – Marilyn Suttle, Success Coach
“How you think about your customers influences how you respond to them.” – Marilyn Suttle, Success Coach
“If you don’t care, your customer never will.” – Marlene Blaszczyk, Motivational Specialist
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
“Every company’s greatest assets are its customers, because without customers there is no company.” – Michael LeBoeuf, Business author and former management professor
“A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.” – Michael LeBoeuf, Business author and former management professor
“Bottom-line obsession comes from turning the pursuit of money into a God and forgetting the real master your business serves: The Customer.” – Michael Shevack, Executive Coach
“Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without coming away better and happier.” – Mother Teresa
“Remember, the best job goes to the person who can get it done without passing the buck or coming back with excuses.” – Napoleon Hill, Author “Think and Grow Rich”
“How you think about a problem is more important than the problem itself — so always think positively.” – Norman Vincent Peale, Author The Power of Positive Thinking
“The only certain means is to render more and better service than is expected of you, no matter what your task may be.” – Og Mandino, Author The Greatest Salesman in the World
“It is not your customer’s job to remember you, it is your obligation and responsibility to make sure they don’t have the chance to forget you.” – Patricia Fripp, Professional Keynote Speaker
“When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it: admit it, learn from it, and don’t repeat it.” – Bear Bryant, Former College Football Player and Coach
“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.” – Peter Drucker, Best-Selling Author
“Never underestimate the power of the human element. Whether it’s assisting a guest with a special request or a friendly greeting from staff members in the hallway, the people aspect plays a key role in guest satisfaction and loyalty.” – Ramez Faza, Sr. Account Manager at J.D. Power and Associates
“Until you understand your customers — deeply and genuinely — you cannot truly serve them.” – Rasheed Ogunlaru, Author of Soul Trader
“If you work just for money, you’ll never make it, but if you love what you’re doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours.” – Ray Kroc, Founder McDonald’s
“People expect good service but few are willing to give it.” – Robert Gately, President Gately Consulting
“When the customer comes first, the customer will last.” – Robert Half, Founder of Robert Half International
“Inside of every problem lies an opportunity.” – Robert Kiyosaki, Author Rich Dad Poor Dad
“There are no traffic jams along the extra mile.” – Roger Staubach, Former NFL Quarterback
“Good customer service costs less than bad customer service.” – Sally Gronow, Customer Manager Welsh Water
“The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best but legendary.” – Sam Walton, Founder Walmart and Sam’s Club
“When a customer complains, he is doing you a special favor; he is giving you another chance to serve him to his satisfaction. You will appreciate the importance of this opportunity when you consider that the customer’s alternative option was to desert you for a competitor.” – Seymour Fine, Author The Marketing of Ideas and Social Issues
“Seek first to understand. Then to be understood.” – Stephen Covey, Author “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.” – Steve Jobs, Co-founder Apple

Positive Quotes

“Rule 1: The customer is always right. Rule 2: If the customer is ever wrong, read Rule 1.” – Stew Leonard’s Grocery Store Customer Policy
“Be helpful — even if there’s no immediate profit in it.” – Susan Ward, Small Business Expert and Writer
“The magic formula that successful businesses have discovered is to treat customers like guests and employees like people.” – Tom Peters, Best-Selling Author
“We asked ourselves what we wanted this company to stand for. We didn’t want to just sell shoes. I wasn’t even into shoes — but I was passionate about customer service.” – Tony Hsieh, CEO Zappos
“A sale is not something you pursue; it’s what happens to you while you are immersed in serving your customer.” – Unknown
“The purpose of business should be to make life better for people.” – Unknown
“Profit is the applause you get for taking care of your customers and creating a motivating environment for your employees.” – Unknown
“Customer service is not a department, it’s an attitude!” – Unknown
“You can have what you want if you help other people get what they want.” – Zig Ziglar, Author and Motivational Speaker
“If you love your customer to death, you can’t go wrong.” – Graham Day, Lawyer and Corporate Director
“What helps people, helps business.” – Leo Burnett, Advertising Executive
“Be dramatically willing to focus on the customer at all costs, even at the cost of obsoleting your own stuff.” – Scott D. Cook, Founder Intuit
If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on. – Sheryl Sandberg
To win in the marketplace you must first win in the workplace. – Doug Conant
When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute. – Simon Sinek
Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. – Benjamin Franklin
I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough. – Marissa Mayer
Every strike brings me closer to the next home run. – Babe Ruth
We must all learn not only to not fear change, but to embrace it enthusiastically and, perhaps even more important, encourage and drive it. – Tony Hsieh
Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, “I’m possible!” – Audrey Hepburn
Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers. – Stephen R Covey
Research indicates that workers have three prime needs: Interesting work, recognition for doing a good job, and being let in on things that are going on in the company. – Zig Ziglar
If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. – Malcolm X
If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced. – Vincent Van Gogh
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. – Lao Tzu
When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it. – Henry Ford
You can have all the potential in world, but unless you have confidence, you have nothing. – Tyra Banks
It’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years. – Abraham Lincoln
Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They’re absolutely free and worth a fortune. – Sam Walton
Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve. – Mary Kay Ash
The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team. – Phil Jackson
There are only three measurements that tell you nearly everything you need to know about your organization’s overall performance: employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and cash flow. – Jack Welch
You can’t let your failures define you. You have to let your failures teach you. – Barack Obama
Some companies don’t have an engagement problem, they have a hiring problem. – Bob Kelleher
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. – Thomas Edison
If you don’t understand, ask questions. If you’re uncomfortable about asking questions, say you are uncomfortable about asking questions and then ask anyway. It’s easy to tell when a question is coming from a good place. Then listen some more. – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The first thing that has to be recognized is that one cannot train someone to be passionate–it’s either in their DNA or it’s not. – Richard Branson
If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try. – Seth Godin
If you don’t give people a chance to fail, you won’t innovate. If you want to be an innovative company, allow people to make mistakes.– Indra Nooyi
The only way to do great work is to love what you do. – Steve Jobs
Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection. – Mark Twain
Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships. – Michael Jordan
In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not. – Albert Einstein
Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose. – Bill Gates
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. – Winston Churchill
The one thing I learned is to just give everything a shot. You don’t want to live in regret. – Chloe Kim
Often any decision, even the wrong decision, is better than no decision.– Ben Horowitz
The three things that motivate creative people – autonomy, mastery, purpose!
You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have. – Maya Angelou
Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.– Jim Rohn
Getting the right people and the right chemistry is more important than the right idea.– Ed Catmull

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Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.

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