hi there
im kinda sitting with a similar problem regarding the amount of staff to employ, but i have had a fairly large amount of experience in the restaurant game.
what i have seen so far is that you wont get away with too few staff members but believe me, more is not always the answer.
keep your staff amounts low enough in order for you to handle all their problems personally, this also ensures that you wont ever have waiters standing about doing nothing. (i hate sitting in a restaurant with 1 waiter helping you and 13 standing around coz their tables are emty).
what to pay them...?
i pay mine per shift...minimum wage as per government requirements.
in south africa thats just over R800 per month (doesnt sound like much but take into account that the waiters get good tips).
your amount of staff will also be determined by your business hours.
how many shifts are we talking about here, and how long do you want a shift to last?
let me know...maybe i can help you work something out.