General
covers
What does covers mean?
How many actual diners came through, not how many tables. A four-top is four covers. It's the single most important number in a restaurant — kitchens prep to it, owners judge nights by it, and managers will ask 'how many covers tonight?' before they ask anything else.
"We did 220 covers on Saturday, no wonder the walk-in is empty."
Origin
From the cloche or 'cover' historically placed over a guest's plate; the count of covers = the count of diners.
Frequently asked questions
What does covers mean in a restaurant?
Covers is the number of guests served in a shift or service.
How do you use covers in a sentence?
"We did two hundred covers on Saturday night."
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Vocabulary Flow — saved to your collection.
