Beverage Manager

Group Beverage Manager

Elk Ave Hospitality is building teams for people who want more than just a job. We are looking for leaders who want to shape beverage culture, develop teams, strengthen systems, and help grow a multi-concept hospitality company in the Gunnison Valley.

If you love creating thoughtful beverage programs, developing people, and connecting great drinks with strong systems, sales strategy, purchasing, quality control, and profitability, we want to hear from you.

Whether your passion is skiing first tracks, biking wildflower-lined trails, fishing alpine waters, or simply soaking in the beauty of the Rockies, this is an opportunity to build a meaningful hospitality career while enjoying the lifestyle of one of Colorado's most remarkable mountain communities.

We are growing quickly and actively building career paths for people who want to expand their knowledge, strengthen their leadership, and contribute to a hospitality culture built around quality, accountability, and genuine care.

This is a full-time salaried leadership position.

You may be a strong fit if you:

• Take pride in building thoughtful, profitable beverage programs
• Understand cocktails, wine, beer, spirits, and beverage service
• Can develop bartenders, bar leads, managers, and service teams
• Balance creativity with systems, cost control, and consistency
• Think strategically about beverage sales, purchasing, margin, and guest experience
• Can design and manage beverage programs for both restaurant operations and large-scale events
• Have a strong eye for quality control and execution
• Can build training materials and development programs that teams actually use
• Communicate clearly with venue leadership, culinary teams, and senior leadership
• Can operate effectively across multiple concepts and service styles
• Are committed to continued education and growth within the beverage field

Our core values are Communication, Humility, Accountability, Integrity, and Respect, and we are looking for a beverage leader who will model those values throughout the organization.

In this role, you will be expected to:

• Maintain a professional appearance and model leadership standards
• Work evenings, weekends, holidays, and extended hours when business needs require
• Travel between concepts and maintain regular presence in the bars and restaurants you support
• Communicate clearly and constructively with senior leadership, managers, bartenders, servers, culinary teams, and the Events Department
• Protect beverage standards while respecting the identity of each concept
• Build systems that support quality, speed, cleanliness, inventory accuracy, training, sales, and cost control
• Step directly into service when additional leadership, training, quality control, or support is needed
• Pursue sommelier certification and remain committed to continued learning

Cross-Training and Growth

We believe strong beverage leaders understand the entire operation, not just what happens behind the bar. The Group Beverage Manager works across multiple concepts, service styles, and leadership teams to build shared standards while preserving the identity of each venue.

This role offers the opportunity to shape the long-term beverage direction of Elk Ave Hospitality, develop future beverage leaders, and create systems that support sustainable growth across the company.

Professional development is an expectation of the role. The Group Beverage Manager must be willing to pursue sommelier certification and remain actively engaged in continued learning around wine, spirits, beer, cocktails, purchasing, sales, and profitability.

About Elk Ave Hospitality

Elk Ave Hospitality is a growing family of restaurants and hospitality businesses in Crested Butte and the Gunnison Valley. Our concepts range from elevated dining to high-volume casual hospitality, historic mountain-town service, destination dining, events, bakery, market, and provisions.

Our portfolio includes Elk Prime, Bruhaus, Wooden Nickel, Bar 47, Mule's Ear Market and Provisions, and a growing events operation.

We believe hospitality can be both a craft and a career. With multiple concepts, varied service models, and meaningful opportunities for advancement, we are building a company for people who want to work hard, contribute to a strong culture, and grow their skills over time.

About Shared Services

The Group Beverage Manager is part of Elk Ave Hospitality's Shared Services team, supporting beverage performance across the company rather than operating within a single venue.

This position reports to the Director of Operations and works directly with the Profitability Manager to connect beverage strategy with sales, purchasing, inventory, cost control, and margin performance.

The Group Beverage Manager also partners closely with General Managers, culinary leaders, bar leads, and the Events Department to turn company beverage strategy into consistent venue-level execution.

Position Summary

As Group Beverage Manager, I lead beverage standards, menus, recipes, sales strategy, strategic purchasing, inventory, margin control, training and development, quality control, bar logistics, event beverage programs, and continued beverage education across Elk Ave Hospitality.

I am responsible for ensuring each concept delivers a beverage experience that is consistent, profitable, well executed, and aligned with its individual brand.

I balance creativity with operational and financial discipline. I understand that a strong beverage program requires thoughtful menu development, strategic purchasing, accurate costing, disciplined inventory, effective training, quality control, responsible alcohol service, strong salesmanship, and consistent follow-through.

Benefits and Perks

• Competitive compensation
• Health benefits
• Paid time off
• Employee housing opportunities, depending on availability
• Opportunities for growth and advancement within Elk Ave Hospitality
• Support for continued beverage education and sommelier development
• The chance to shape beverage programs across multiple concepts
• The opportunity to live and work in one of Colorado's most remarkable mountain communities

Key Responsibilities

Beverage Menu, Recipe, and Sales Strategy

• As Group Beverage Manager, I set and manage beverage menus across Elk Ave Hospitality.
• I develop, document, cost, and maintain cocktail, wine, beer, spirit, and non-alcoholic beverage offerings.
• I own recipes, builds, garnishes, glassware, presentation standards, and service expectations.
• I evaluate menu performance based on sales, seasonality, guest response, margin, and operational feasibility.
• I create strategies to improve beverage capture, average check, and overall beverage revenue.
• I work with venue leadership to ensure each beverage program reflects its concept while remaining aligned with company standards.

Strategic Purchasing, Inventory, and Margin Control

• I lead strategic beverage purchasing across the company.
• I evaluate quality, cost, availability, volume opportunities, vendor relationships, and concept fit when making purchasing decisions.
• I work directly with the Profitability Manager to ensure purchasing, pricing, and inventory decisions support budget and margin goals.
• I oversee beverage inventory, ordering, receiving, storage, rotation, and par levels.
• I monitor recipe cost, pour cost, waste, comps, breakage, inventory variance, and product usage.
• I investigate variances and take corrective action when performance moves away from expectations.
• I maintain productive relationships with distributors, wineries, breweries, distilleries, and other beverage partners.

Beverage Training and Development

• I lead beverage training across Elk Ave Hospitality.
• I create, maintain, and continuously improve training programs for bartenders, servers, managers, and other guest-facing employees.
• I develop beverage guides, recipe standards, wine and spirits education, service standards, quizzes, testing, and reference materials.
• I build structured onboarding and ongoing education programs.
• I train teams on wine, spirits, beer, cocktails, non-alcoholic beverages, responsible alcohol service, product knowledge, and beverage sales.
• I identify knowledge gaps and create targeted development plans.
• I evaluate training effectiveness through observation, testing, execution, sales performance, and guest feedback.

Quality Control and Beverage Standards

• I own beverage quality control across Elk Ave Hospitality.
• I regularly evaluate cocktails, wine service, draft systems, beer presentation, spirit pours, non-alcoholic beverages,