Can I post about my own product or service?
Only in one narrow case. The “No spam or self promotion.” rule allows FOR SALE posts for individual restaurants and restaurant equipment only, and repeated posts for the same listing can get you banned.
Subreddit guides
r/restaurantowners rules, stats, and what to post
A source-backed Rankhog guide to r/restaurantowners: public rules, community context, posting fit, and startup-promotion risk before you publish.
By Anthony Riera, founder and operator of Rankhog.
Subreddit guides combine public Reddit source URLs, captured rules, visible verification dates, and Rankhog's account-safety workflow.
Current public stats
- Members
- 63,343
- Verified
- October 20, 2026
- Category
- Restaurant owners and operators
Rules can change, so Rankhog keeps verification dates and the original public Reddit sources visible.
Rule summary
- Posts should foster reasonable discussion.: Posts should foster reasonable discussion.
- Keep submissions on topic and of high quality: Submissions should be directly related to restaurant operations. Please avoid generic blog spam / re-hosted content. Likewise avoid posting single images, links, memes, or single sentence text posts.
- No spam or self promotion.: Reddit may have relaxed its position on self-promotion, but /r/restaurantowners does not: - If a majority of your contributions to reddit constitute self-promotion, or you submit promotional material with a fresh account, you will be banned. - After polling the community, FOR SALE posts are allowed for individual restaurants and restaurant equipment ONLY. Multiple posts for the same listing will be deleted and the user may be banned on a per case basis. PLEASE POST FOR SALE RESPONSIBLY.
- No data collection for business services, app ideas, products, market research, or similar.: Surveys and data collection are obnoxious and prohibited.
- No unauthorized polls, surveys, or giveaways.: Links to polls or surveys for whatever whatever reason are prohibited.
- No affiliate or referral links.: No affiliate or referral links. You shouldn't be gaining anything from links posted.
- Keep it civil. Hateful comments or trolling will result in a ban.: Keep it civil. Hateful comments or trolling will result in a ban.
- Please search for your question before submitting a new thread.: Please search for your question before submitting a new thread.
- No bots.: No bots.
- Ban Evasion: You've been detected by Reddit for using an alternate account to circumvent a ban.
- NO POLITICS WHATSOEVER: if you have a specific piece of legislation that DIRECTLY impacts restaurants or ownership please feel free to discuss. If you start crying about your favorite political party, how much you hate a past, current or future politician, or in general post about politics at all- you will be permanently banned. Zero tolerance.
Works well
- A detailed text post asking owners how they handle a specific operational problem, like staffing, food cost, or slow seasons, written so people can share their own approach
- A write up of a real operational lesson from running a food business, with numbers or specifics, framed as a question about whether others handle it the same way
- A thoughtful comment answering another owner's operational question, with no link and no pitch, which is the safest way to build standing here
- A single for sale post for your own restaurant or restaurant equipment, posted once and responsibly, which the rules explicitly allow
Avoid
- Posting a link to your product or blog, which reads as generic blog spam or re-hosted content under “Keep submissions on topic and of high quality”
- Promoting your software or service with a fresh account, which the “No spam or self promotion.” rule says gets you banned
- Sharing a survey link to learn what restaurant owners want, which both “No data collection for business services, app ideas, products, market research, or similar.” and “No unauthorized polls, surveys, or giveaways.” prohibit
- Dropping an affiliate or referral link, which “No affiliate or referral links.” bans outright
- Complaining about a politician or political party, which “NO POLITICS WHATSOEVER” punishes with a permanent ban
- Asking a question that has been asked many times before, which “Please search for your question before submitting a new thread.” tells you to check first
What r/restaurantowners Is For
This is a community for restaurant owners who want to push their businesses to the next level. People share news, tips, and advice about running a restaurant. The rules make clear that the focus is restaurant operations, so the people posting here are operators talking about the real work of running their places. It is a working room, not a showcase room. If you are a founder selling something to restaurants, understand that you are a guest in someone else's shop.
Rules That Matter Before Posting
The rule that decides most things here is “No spam or self promotion.”, which warns that if most of your reddit activity is self promotion, or you post promotional material from a fresh account, you will be banned. “Keep submissions on topic and of high quality” limits posts to restaurant operations and rejects generic blog spam, re-hosted content, single images, memes, and single sentence text posts. “Posts should foster reasonable discussion.” sets the bar for what a post is even for. “No data collection for business services, app ideas, products, market research, or similar.” and “No unauthorized polls, surveys, or giveaways.” shut the door on surveys and data collection of any kind. “No affiliate or referral links.” bans any link that gains you something. “NO POLITICS WHATSOEVER” allows discussion of legislation that directly impacts restaurants, but a permanent ban for anything else political. “Please search for your question before submitting a new thread.” asks you to check for existing discussions first.
What To Post
A good post here starts a real conversation about restaurant operations. Write a text post with enough substance that owners can respond with their own experience, because “Posts should foster reasonable discussion.” is the first rule for a reason. Search the community first, since “Please search for your question before submitting a new thread.” tells you not to open a thread that already exists. If you sell to restaurants, the safe move is to show up as a helpful commenter who answers operational questions, not as a poster announcing your product. If you own a single restaurant or have equipment to sell, the rules do allow a for sale post, posted responsibly and only once. Keep politics out of it entirely unless a specific piece of legislation directly impacts restaurants.
What To Avoid
The fastest way out is self promotion, especially from a fresh account or an account where most contributions are promotional, because the “No spam or self promotion.” rule says that gets you banned. Surveys, polls, and any data collection for market research or product ideas are prohibited under “No data collection for business services, app ideas, products, market research, or similar.” and “No unauthorized polls, surveys, or giveaways.”. Affiliate and referral links are banned by “No affiliate or referral links.”. Generic blog spam, re-hosted content, single images, memes, and single sentence text posts fail “Keep submissions on topic and of high quality”. Politics gets you permanently banned under “NO POLITICS WHATSOEVER” unless the legislation directly impacts restaurants. Duplicate for sale listings can be deleted and can earn a ban. Trolling and hateful comments are a ban under “Keep it civil. Hateful comments or trolling will result in a ban.”.
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Common questions about r/restaurantowners
Can I include an affiliate or referral link?
No. “No affiliate or referral links.” says you should not gain anything from links you post.
Can I run a survey to learn about restaurant owners?
No. “No unauthorized polls, surveys, or giveaways.” prohibits links to polls or surveys for any reason, and “No data collection for business services, app ideas, products, market research, or similar.” bans data collection too.
Can I discuss legislation that affects restaurants?
Yes, if it directly impacts restaurants or ownership. “NO POLITICS WHATSOEVER” makes that one exception and permanently bans general political posts.
What should I do before asking a question?
Run a search first. “Please search for your question before submitting a new thread.” asks you to check whether your question has already been discussed.