What Is an Expo?

The term "expo" is an abbreviation for "expeditor", and it refers to the person or location in the restaurant that acts as the coordinator between the kitchen staff and the service staff. An expo's primary job is to ensure that all items being sent out of the kitchen are complete, correct, and ready for service.

Once a guest places an order through the POS, the order goes to the kitchen for processing by each of the various stations that prepare parts of the order (e.g., grill, fry, salad). The expo's job is to ensure the order is being processed as the chef intended and to ensure that all parts of the order are ready to be dispatched to the dining room at the same time.

Why The Expo Role Is Important In Restaurant Operations?

All restaurant operations are dependent on the expo being a communication link between kitchen staff (back of house) and dining room employees (front of house). They are responsible for coordinating the timing and precision of the food that comes out of the kitchens to ensure that guests do not receive a partial meal due to missing items or incorrect orders, or that their food arrives at different times.

The expo helps to keep the guests satisfied by creating an efficient flow of service so that they can receive their complete meal when they expect it.