Many people enjoy eating out. But have you ever wondered who the owner of the restaurant is? Many restaurants have a manager who takes care of the place and may even approach customers asking them how their meal was. Many owners, on the other hand, tend to not be so seen. Whether you're just curious, have had a wonderful experience and would like to thank the owner personally, or you've had a terrible experience and you'd like to let the owner know, there are few tricks to finding out who the owner is.

Search the Internet. Many restaurants (even little "mom and pops") will have their own websites, and you can easily find the owner from the web page. Some places to look: Click on a "History" or "About Us" button. More than likely this is where you will find the owner. It will list the original (if different from the current) owner and who owns the restaurant to this date. For smaller restaurants, click on a "Careers" or "Contact Us" button. Normally, it will give the number to reach the owner under this category.

Ask around. This is a good way of finding out who owns a smaller restaurant. Talk to friends and family who have dined there. You may be surprised about how many people know the owner by name.

Call up to the restaurant or corporate office. For smaller joints, simply ask a worker or manager. You can call the restaurant or you can ask the next time you are in the restaurant. For a larger chain restaurant you can call the corporate number given on their website.

Go to your city clerk's office and ask there. Since restaurants need a city license, they have to give the city a lot of information to maintain the license. That information is considered public record. You can simply go into the city clerk's office and find out within a few minutes.