General Manager

Seeking a General Manager to oversee DANKE, a sandwich shop and wine bar, as well as our sister property Pizza Dada, both located in Sterling Food Hall.

Danke has been operating in the food hall for nearly 10 years, and is known for delicious, handcrafted sandwiches on our house-baked bread, as well as cheese and charcuterie plates. We pride ourselves on giving great service to regulars and new customers during our fast-paced, high-volume lunch service and happy hour. Guest experience is a hybrid of fast-casual service at the cash register and counter service at our 12-seat bar.

Pizza Dada was recently named the best pizza in Chicago by a prominent reviewer, and we are scaling our operation to meet extremely high demand.

The General Manager (GM) acts as point-person and support for FOH and BOH Staff. This position requires up to 50+ dedicated hours each week. The food hall is closed Saturday and Sunday.

Candidates should have or will need to obtain a City of Chicago Kitchen Manager certificate and Illinois BASSET. The GM will earn a salary of 60-80k per year depending on past experience and qualifications. Reviews for this position occur every 6 months from the job start date with a larger review at the start of each year. Each year that the individual holds this position with merit, they will be eligible for a raise as well as performance-based bonuses. The GM is entitled to 2 weeks of paid time off each year as well as most major holidays. Health insurance is available on the first day of the month following two full months of employment, with employee contribution of 50%.

Guests/Service Model/Day-to-Day: 

• Lead a team that delivers exceptional service to our guests
• Cultivate relationships with regulars. 
• Confidently act as point person when any guest issues arise
• Act as a liaison to Sterling Food Hall management and staff
• Lead daily service Monday-Friday, 10:30a-7:00p (no weekends)

Sales: 

• Manage weekly food and beverage promotions
• Coordinate logistics of off-site and on-site catering
• Work with ownership to promote and market catering and other opportunities to bring in additional streams of revenue

Revenue: 

• Manage cash drops at the EOD
• Work with ownership to track sales and costs

Employees: 

• Hire and train employees
• Lead ongoing training and development of employees
• Manage FOH & BOH employee schedule and timesheets

Ordering and inventory:

• Work alongside BOH staff to appropriately stock, order, and interface with vendors. 
• Keep an inventory on all FOH items, track and re-stock.
• Work with ownership to manage beverage program and update offerings

Health and Safety: 

• Have all employees certified with paperwork on-hand at all times
• Maintain the appearance and health standards required of our space
• Implement and follow end-of-service and end-of-week cleaning checklists

Marketing & Social Media: 

• Assist ownership in developing marketing promotions and collateral 
• Assist ownership in creating content and updating social media accounts