In Ohio we have two PC towns and both Taverns (one in each) are run by PC's- My PC Quinn owns the Amber Oak in Zarden (Summer) and Sarah's PC Lilliana runs the Warm Mug Inn in Ironton (Winter). Feel free to post on the Ohio boards for reviews of the Taverns/meals/etc. from our players...
Basically Ohio collects real-world money from all players for food (part of registration) and PC tavern owners get paid IG coin (a salary per weekend) by the NPCs who run the town for operating the tavern services. Since the Game usually pays for most food coin collected from PCs for meals (usually only 2 silver) or NPCs goes back to NPC camp though if a tavern owner pays real money to bring something extra to sell any coin they collect for that is theirs. For instance I usually bring baked goods and Sarah makes soup for some extra coin -- "luxury" items that aren't part of the regular meal but that people may want after running around all day.
Since the way we run our Taverns are for full home-cooked meals (like roast pork loins, baked turkeys, omelets/pancakes and french toast for breakfast, etc) both Sarah and I find that the Tavern takes up a LOT of time and I know we've both missed chunks of plot, battles and even entire game days cooking, cleaning and so forth...and that can put a dent in the treasure/coin you pull in but, really, the tips and extra coin from luxury items can really make up for it if you have appreciative PCs (both IG and OOG for all the work you're doing). I think I see more coin on a weekend as a PC than most other PCs in Ohio but I definitely miss out on magic items, ritual scrolls and reagents (and, as a Ritualist, thats annoying-- thank goodness for the team stockpiling)
Ohio also gives our PC Tavern keeps the chance to pull a reward as if they NPC'd due to the sheer amount of work and cleaning it takes.
My suggestion: after several events of going it alone I eventually began hiring other PCs to handle some of the day to day tasks- pay someone a few coins to do dishes, someone else a few more to do some prep work for me and then split tips with someone willing to help me serve at meal times. This not only involved a lot of other PCs in the tavern but its more fun for me, for them (I hope) and it gives me a little more free time away from the stove/sink to work on plot with everyone else. As time has gone on I've gotten a few regular employees who are willing to devote an hour or two of their game time to helping in the tavern for some coin (and ritual casting/spellcrafting as needed). In extreme circumstances I've even had random NPCs come into town looking for work as the plot team realized I needed help (or I asked them for help-- I'm not proud... much). When i started the tavern I went an entire weekend without stepping outside but after a summer season of events this year I was able to spend more than half my time out of the tavern with, I hope, no loss of quality (or quantity!) of food thanks to the support of the rest of Staff and all of the other Players.
And also: Enjoy the role as "Congregation Place". In Ohio everyone hangs out at the taverns- waiting for meals or for NPCs and having a Tavern Keep (or employee) around is useful for spreading information and plot hooks out to people who might not otherwise hear about them. In the Tavern I hear pretty much EVERYTHING so even if I can't get out to interact myself I never feel behind on what is happening in plot. Once again this has a lot to do with other players caring enough about the OOG work you're doing to remember to come tell you lol. As the Tavern Keeps a lot of NPCs react well to me and Sarah simply because we're town fixtures- people eat at our taverns between events and NPCs come there for food so we can be among the first to be approached by the local authorities or NPCs needing help or info because we're familiar to them and usually easy to locate.
On another note, as a Marshal, being in the Tavern is a convenient place for people to find me if they need to snag someone for a Rogue marshaling or a Ritual if all of the other NPCs/Marshals are busy or ... distracting... the rest of town lol.
In Ohio we're fortunate enough to have (usually) full kitchens to work with at the sites we pick for events. If we didn't we'd certainly have to adjust our menu's but I can't imagine an Ohio game without a Tavern of some kind- and I don't think we ever will. The Tavern in Zarden was run by PCs before I ever took over for it (Amanda/Charles then Brad Classic I believe) and while I may entertain selling it to another PC IG who really wants the RP and rewards (as its not really something my PC ever wanted to do and eventually wants to pass one to someone who really wants it) I wouldn't want it to become an NPC establishment.