Beverage Manager

Alessandro’s Enoteca + Alessandro’s Wood Fired Italian & Bar

About the Role

Alessandro’s Ventures is looking for a Beverage Manager to lead and develop the wine and cocktail programs across Alessandro’s Enoteca in Bryn Mawr and Alessandro’s Wood Fired Italian & Bar in Wayne.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who understands that a great beverage program is about more than building an impressive wine list or creating interesting cocktails. It has to work operationally, connect with the food, excite guests, develop the team, and contribute meaningfully to the financial performance of the restaurants.

The Beverage Manager will oversee wine, spirits, cocktails, beverage purchasing, training, inventory, costing, vendor relationships, and programming across both restaurants. The right person will bring strong beverage knowledge, but just as importantly, will be an engaged hospitality leader who is comfortable working the floor, developing staff, and collaborating closely with ownership, management, and the culinary team.

What You’ll Do Wine Program

• Lead the wine programs for both Alessandro’s Enoteca and Alessandro’s Wood Fired.
• Curate and evolve wine lists that complement each restaurant’s individual identity while maintaining a consistent Alessandro’s point of view.
• Develop a strong Italian wine foundation while incorporating thoughtful selections from important domestic and international regions.
• Manage wine purchasing, pricing, inventory levels, vintage changes, cellar organization, and product rotation.
• Build relationships with distributors, importers, winemakers, and producers.
• Maintain appropriate beverage cost, margins, and inventory turns.
• Create by-the-glass programs that are interesting, approachable, profitable, and easy for the service team to sell.
• Work with the culinary team on pairings, tasting menus, specials, and seasonal offerings.
• Develop reserve and special-bottle offerings for guests looking for a deeper wine experience.

Cocktail & Spirits Program

• Lead the development and execution of the cocktail programs at both restaurants.
• Create cocktails that are distinctive, balanced, operationally executable, and appropriate for each concept.
• Refresh cocktail menus seasonally and strategically rather than changing simply for the sake of change.
• Develop recipes, specifications, batching procedures, garnishes, glassware standards, and presentation standards.
• Establish consistent cocktail execution across bartenders, shifts, and locations.
• Manage the spirits portfolio with an emphasis on quality, profitability, and thoughtful assortment.
• Evaluate product mix and eliminate unnecessary or underperforming SKUs.
• Work with distributors and brand partners on programming while protecting the identity and integrity of the Alessandro’s beverage program.
• Monitor cocktail and spirits costs, pricing, pour costs, and overall profitability.

Training & Team Development

A major part of this position is making the beverage program accessible to the entire team, not just beverage specialists.

• Develop an ongoing wine, cocktail, and spirits education program for FOH employees.
• Conduct regular tastings and beverage-focused pre-shifts.
• Give servers the knowledge and language to comfortably recommend wine without sounding scripted or intimidating.
• Train bartenders on cocktail technique, consistency, efficiency, spirits knowledge, and guest interaction.
• Develop tasting notes and simple selling tools the team can realistically use during service.
• Mentor employees interested in developing deeper wine, spirits, or bartending expertise.
• Establish clear beverage service standards across both restaurants.
• Hold the team accountable for those standards during service.

Operations & Financial Management

The Beverage Manager is expected to understand the business behind the beverage program.

• Own beverage inventory systems and inventory accuracy across both restaurants.
• Establish pars and purchasing procedures that minimize over-ordering and unnecessary inventory.
• Monitor wine, liquor, beer, and overall beverage cost.
• Review beverage sales mix, margins, category performance, and product movement.
• Identify opportunities to increase beverage revenue and average guest spend without creating a transactional guest experience.
• Maintain accurate recipes, costs, pricing, and beverage documentation.
• Work closely with restaurant leadership on ordering, receiving, storage, transfers, and loss prevention.
• Identify waste, over-pouring, breakage, and other areas negatively impacting profitability.
• Participate in budgeting and forecasting for beverage operations.

Guest Experience

The Beverage Manager should be visible and engaged in the restaurants.

• Spend meaningful time on the floor during service.
• Assist guests with wine selections and pairings.
• Support managers, bartenders, servers, and sommeliers during busy services.
• Build relationships with regular guests and develop a following around the beverage programs.
• Create a beverage experience that feels knowledgeable and sophisticated without becoming pretentious.
• Help make wine and cocktails an important part of what guests associate with Alessandro’s.

Events & Programming

• Develop and host wine dinners, producer dinners, tastings, cocktail events, and other beverage-driven experiences.
• Collaborate with the culinary team on menus and pairings.
• Develop relationships with wineries, importers, distillers, distributors, and brand partners to create unique guest experiences.
• Support private events and special programming with customized beverage offerings.
• Identify opportunities to turn beverage programming into an additional revenue stream for the restaurants.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Work closely with the executive team, restaurant leadership, and the culinary team to ensure beverage and food programs evolve together.
• Partner with restaurant managers to maintain consistent standards across both locations.
• Communicate clearly with ownership regarding purchasing, costs, programming, opportunities, and challenges.
• Bring ideas to the table while understanding that execution and financial performance matter as much as creativity.
• Help develop the long-term beverage identity of Alessandro’s Ventures as the company continues to grow.

What We’re Looking For

• Significant beverage leadership experience in upscale, chef-driven, or high-volume restaurants.
• Strong wine knowledge with particular familiarity with Italian wine.
• Strong cocktail and spirits knowledge.
• Experience developing both wine and cocktail programs.
• Understanding of beverage costing, purchasing, inventory management, pricing, and profitability.
• Experience negotiating and managing distributor and vendor relationships.
• Strong training and communication skills.
• Ability to translate advanced beverage knowledge into approachable language for employees and guests.
• Comfortable working directly with guests and actively participating in service.
• Organized, accountable, and capable of managing programs across multiple locations.
• A hospitality-first mindset and genuine interest in developing people.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Sommelier, WSET Level 2 or higher, or comparable wine education preferred but not required.
• Advanced cocktail, bartending, or spirits education is a plus.
• Experience overseeing beverage programs for multiple restaurants.
• Experience opening restaurants or developing beverage programs from the ground up.
• Existing relationships within the Philadelphia wine, spirits, distributor, and hospitality community are a plus.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means the beverage programs become stronger creatively, operationally, and financially.

Wine and cocktail offerings feel intentional and distinctive. Beverage costs are controlled. Inventory is accurate. Bartenders execute consistently. Servers understand what they are selling. Guests trust the team’s recommendations. Beverage sales grow.

Most importantly, the beverage experience becomes a recognizable part of what differentiates both Alessandro’s Enoteca and Alessandro’s Wood Fired.

About Alessandro’s Ventures

Alessandro’s Ventures is a growing Philadelphia-area hospitality group led by Chef Alex Fiorello and his executive team. Our restaurants are built around great food, genuine hospitality, strong culture, and the belief that memorable restaurants are created by talented people who care deeply about what they do.

As the group grows, the Beverage Manager will have the opportunity to help define not only the programs at our existing restaurants, but the beverage identity of future Alessandro’s concepts.