The study begins with a review of existing typologies in the restaurant management literature. Segment labels from three typologies are used as keywords to collect 251 empirical studies from nine relevant academic journals serving the restaurant management discipline. Content analysis of titles, abstracts, and methodology sections reveals inconsistent use of existing typologies and limited use of effective restaurant descriptors. Recommendations are offered to optimize the use of restaurant descriptors so that the content of empirical studies may be more effectively accessed, digested, and compared across, thereby enhancing the communication of advances in the restaurant management body of knowledge.