Custom GPT: Build Your Personal Restaurant GM AI Assistant

What This Builds

You'll set up a Claude Project — a persistent AI assistant that already knows your restaurant, your staff, your policies, and your writing style before every conversation. Instead of explaining context every time ("I'm the GM of a casual Italian restaurant..."), you open it and immediately ask "draft a write-up for Marcus" or "respond to this 2-star review" and it produces output that sounds like it came from your restaurant specifically. This replaces 5-10 minutes of context-setting per task with zero setup.

Prerequisites

• Claude Pro subscription ($20/month) — Projects require the paid tier
• Completed your training manual or at least a draft (from the Level 3 training manual guide)
• Your restaurant's employee handbook or attendance policy in any format
• 1-2 hours to set it up the first time

The Concept

A Claude Project is like having a new manager who has read every document in your restaurant — your employee handbook, your service standards, your typical review response style, your menu — and remembers it permanently. You set it up once, and every future conversation starts from that shared base of knowledge. It's the difference between explaining your restaurant to a stranger every time, and talking to someone who's been there for years.

Build It Step by Step

Part 1: Set Up the Project

1. Go to claude.ai and log into your Pro account
2. In the left sidebar, look for Projects and click the + New Project button
3. Name the project: "[Your Restaurant Name] GM" (e.g., "The Grill at Oak Street GM")
4. You'll land on the Project page with two areas: Project Instructions (top) and Knowledge (where you upload documents)

What you should see: A project page with an instructions text area at the top and a file upload area below. Troubleshooting: If you don't see Projects in the sidebar, make sure you're on a Pro plan — Projects are not available on the free tier.

Part 2: Write Your Project Instructions

Click into the Project Instructions field. This is the permanent context that shapes every conversation. Copy and customize this:

You are the AI assistant for [Restaurant Name], a [casual Italian / upscale seafood / neighborhood bar and grill] restaurant in [City, State]. You help the General Manager with:
- Writing professional responses to customer reviews (Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor)
- Drafting staff disciplinary documents (written warnings, performance improvement plans, termination letters)
- Creating catering proposals and event quotes
- Writing job postings for open positions
- Formatting manager shift logs
- Drafting vendor communications
- Creating training documents and SOPs
- Translating staff documents into Spanish when requested

Our restaurant's voice is: [warm and community-focused / professional and refined / casual and fun]. We have been operating for [X] years and are known for [your signature items or reputation]. Our owner is [name] and they receive weekly reports.

For review responses:
- Never be defensive
- Always acknowledge the specific complaint
- Keep negative responses under 100 words
- Invite the guest back genuinely
- Sign off as "The Team at [Restaurant Name]"

For disciplinary documents:
- Use HR-appropriate, factual language
- Always include: date of incident, policy violated, prior warnings if any, expected improvement, signature line
- Avoid emotional or accusatory language

When I don't provide full context for a task, ask one clarifying question rather than making assumptions.

Click Save or the equivalent button. These instructions are now permanently attached to this project.

Part 3: Upload Your Restaurant's Documents

In the Knowledge section, upload any documents that will make the assistant more accurate. Best files to upload:

• Your employee handbook or attendance policy (PDF or Word doc)
• Your current menu (PDF, text, or even a Word doc with item names)
• Your service standards or brand guide if you have one
• Any existing training materials

To upload: Click Add content or the upload icon. Drag and drop files or browse to select them. Claude can read PDFs, Word docs, and plain text files. After uploading, Claude can reference these documents in any conversation within this project.

What you should see: Your uploaded files listed in the Knowledge section. The assistant can now cite specific policies from your handbook when drafting write-ups. Troubleshooting: If a document is very large (50+ pages), Claude may not process all of it. Split large documents into sections and upload separately.

Real Example: Using the Project Daily

Setup: You've set up the project with your restaurant instructions and uploaded your employee handbook.

Input: You open the project and type: "Marcus, one of my line cooks, called out without notice for the third time this month. He had a verbal warning on March 5th. Draft a written warning."

Output: Claude immediately produces a formal, HR-appropriate written warning with: Marcus's role, the policy section violated, the March 5th verbal warning referenced, the three no-call incidents dated, expected improvement over the next 30 days, and a signature line. It knows it's a restaurant, it uses appropriate kitchen role language, and the document is ready to print.

Time saved: In a standard ChatGPT conversation, you'd spend 5-8 minutes explaining context before getting to the actual draft. With the Project, you go from zero to a ready draft in 90 seconds.

What to Do When It Breaks

• "Claude doesn't know my restaurant's specific policy" → Upload your employee handbook or policy doc to the Knowledge section. Once uploaded, it can cite it accurately.
• "The tone is too formal / too casual" → Add a sentence to your Project Instructions: "Our writing style is [X] — write all documents in this tone." Then regenerate.
• "It's making up information about my restaurant" → Ask Claude: "What do you know about [specific topic] based on the documents I've uploaded?" — this surfaces what it actually has access to. Upload the missing document.
• "The review responses sound the same every time" → Add to your Instructions: "Vary the structure of review responses — don't always start with an apology, sometimes start by acknowledging what they enjoyed."

Variations

• Simpler version: If you're not ready for Claude Pro, use regular ChatGPT or Claude conversations with a saved context prompt you paste at the start of each session. You lose the persistence but the quality is similar.
• Extended version: Add a "Personas" document to your knowledge base that describes each manager's communication style — so when you say "write this in [Manager Name]'s voice for the evening shift handoff," it can adapt.

What to Do Next

• This week: Set up the project, write the instructions, and test it on 3 real tasks (one review response, one write-up, one catering proposal)
• This month: Upload your employee handbook and menu; refine the Instructions based on what the outputs get wrong
• Advanced: Create a second Project for your owner's weekly reporting — configured with financial formatting and business-focused language

Advanced guide for restaurant general manager professionals. These techniques use Claude Pro ($20/month). Claude Pro pricing and features may evolve.