CMS Architecture for Restaurants

Why restaurants need structured content

Restaurant sites need to be updated frequently — menus change seasonally, events come and go, and new locations open. A CMS structure that makes updates easy means your site stays current without a developer.

Recommended collections

Menu items

• Name (text, required) — the dish name.
• Description (text) — short description of the dish.
• Price (number)
• Category (select) — appetizers, entrees, desserts, drinks.
• Dietary tags (multi-select) — vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free.
• Image (image) — food photography.
• Available (boolean) — toggle seasonal items on/off.
• Featured (boolean) — highlight on homepage.
• Spice level (select) — mild, medium, hot (if applicable).

Locations

For multi-location restaurants:

• Name (text, required) — e.g., "Downtown", "Westside".
• Address (text, required)
• Phone (phone)
• Email (email)
• Hours (rich text) — formatted hours for each day.
• Image (image) — exterior or interior photo.
• Reservation URL (url) — link to OpenTable, Resy, etc.
• Map embed (text) — Google Maps embed code or coordinates.

Events

Wine dinners, live music, private events:

• Title (text, required)
• Date (date, required)
• Description (rich text)
• Location (reference) — which location hosts this event.
• Featured image (image)
• Ticket price (number)
• Reservation URL (url)
• Event type (select) — live music, wine dinner, tasting, holiday, private.

Team

Chef bios, management profiles:

• Name (text, required)
• Role (text, required) — "Head Chef", "General Manager".
• Photo (image)
• Bio (rich text)
• Location (reference) — which location they work at.
• Featured (boolean)

Key relationships

• Menu items → Category (select field)
• Events → Location (single reference)
• Team → Location (single reference)

Tips for restaurant CMS

1. Use select fields for menu categories — not separate collections. Menus are flat, not deeply nested.
2. Boolean "available" field — lets you hide seasonal items without deleting them.
3. Keep hours in a rich text field — structured hour fields are overly complex for most restaurants.
4. Separate menus by meal — if you have distinct lunch/dinner menus, use a "Meal" select field rather than separate collections.
5. Image quality matters — use high-quality food photography. The image field should be prominent in the CMS.