Confidential: Café Manager

The Opportunity

A highly successful, fast-paced neighborhood staple—known for its artisanal coffee program, scratch-made baked goods, and curated retail provisions—is seeking a Strategic Café Operations Manager.

This is a confidential search for a leader who excels in high-volume counter service environments. We aren’t just looking for a café manager, we need a highly skilled people leader with a passion for hiring, training, and supporting staff to deliver exceptional and efficient customer service in a busy café/bakery environment. The right candidate is a highly strategic and empathetic leader who can elevate the staff experience while strategizing food and beverage preparation throughout the day, ensuring the operation remains two steps ahead of peak demand without sacrificing quality or guest experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Exemplary People Leadership: Lead the hiring, training, and ongoing development of a large part-time team. You must possess excellent people management skills, fostering a culture of high accountability, professional growth, and genuine hospitality.
• Strategic Operations Management: Mastermind the daily "game plan." You will oversee the flow of a multi-faceted business, using a strategic mindset to balance labor, inventory, and kitchen/barista prep cycles to handle intense volume seamlessly.
• Workflow Systemization: You can identify bottlenecks in the current workflow and implement strategic solutions to increase efficiency.
• Lead the Café Service Team: Act as the primary leader of Café employees during peak hours. You must have the ability to manage an extremely busy business with a calm, decisive presence—monitoring ticket times, stock levels, and guest satisfaction simultaneously. You will lead hiring, training, and scheduling of all FOH team members. 
• Business Oversight: Manage administrative duties including on hand inventory during the shift and high-volume catering coordination.

Requirements

• Proven Track Record: At least 2+ years of management experience in a high-volume hospitality environment (premium café, bakery, or scratch kitchen fast-casual).
• Operational Foresight: Demonstrated ability to strategize prep schedules and resource allocation in real-time to meet fluctuating demand. Direct experience leading high volume food or beverage prep production in a café/restaurant environment isa must. 
• Strategic Thinking: You don't just "work the shift"—you analyze patterns, identify inefficiencies, and propose long-term improvements.
• High Emotional Intelligence: Ability to build instant rapport with a diverse staff and sophisticated customer base.
• Resilience: Thrives under the pressure of a "line out the door" environment while maintaining an organized, detail-oriented approach.
• Commitment: A 45–50 hour/week role requiring weekend availability and an "owner's mindset" regarding the shop’s success.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary: $75,000 – $85,000 (Based on experience).
• Healthcare: Comprehensive HMO health plan (50% employer-covered).
• Generous PTO: 15 days of paid vacation plus 5 days of paid sick time.
• Daily Perks: Complimentary meals and premium coffee; discounts on retail provisions.
• EOE - We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status.