Kitchen Manager

Kitchen ManagerThe Kitchen Manager is a hands-on leader responsible for the daily execution, organization, and culture of Santonia Cantina's back-of-house operation. This role ensures that every dish is prepared safely, consistently, and according to Santonia's recipes and standards while building a kitchen team that works with urgency, pride, accountability, and respect. The Kitchen Manager partners closely with the General Manager to deliver a welcoming, high-energy cantina experience rooted in the flavors and hospitality of the North Mexico–South Texas borderlands.Essential Functions• Lead the successful day-to-day operation of the kitchen, including prep, line execution, food production, sanitation, opening, and closing standards.• Maintain Santonia's food quality and consistency by actively monitoring recipes, portioning, temperatures, preparation methods, presentation, and ticket execution.• Become thoroughly knowledgeable in Santonia recipes, prep procedures, station standards, and quality identifiers, and coach the team to execute them consistently.• Protect food safety at all times, including proper receiving, storage, cooling, reheating, holding, labeling, allergy awareness, and sanitation practices.• Conduct thorough line checks before and during service and immediately correct any food-quality, readiness, cleanliness, or safety issue.• Build strong prep and production systems that support projected volume, minimize shortages, and reduce unnecessary waste.• Manage weekly inventory, ordering, receiving, product rotation, and storage while working toward established food-cost and waste goals.• Monitor yields, portion control, waste, and usage trends and communicate opportunities or concerns to the General Manager.• Assess BOH staffing needs and participate in hiring team members who demonstrate hospitality, urgency, reliability, and pride in their work.• Train, cross-train, coach, and develop BOH Team Members across prep, line, grill, fry, expo, dish, and other assigned stations.• Organize, validate, and follow up on BOH training programs and ensure new team members are properly prepared before working independently.• Set clear expectations for speed, accuracy, cleanliness, teamwork, and professionalism, and hold the team accountable in a respectful and consistent manner.• Partner with the General Manager on BOH scheduling and labor deployment so the kitchen is appropriately staffed for business levels and special events.• Ensure the BOH is correctly set up before every shift and fully cleaned, stocked, labeled, and broken down at the end of service.• Lead or participate in pre-shift meetings and communicate menu notes, 86'd items, specials, reservations/events, safety reminders, and operational priorities.• Work collaboratively with FOH leadership to support smooth ticket flow, accurate communication, guest recovery, and a unified Santonia experience.• Support menu rollouts, recipe testing, seasonal changes, special events, and opening-period adjustments as directed by Santonia leadership.• Maintain kitchen equipment and smallwares responsibly, report maintenance needs promptly, and help prevent avoidable damage or downtime.• In partnership with Silver Ventures People & Culture, support team-member training, development, documentation, disciplinary action, and separation as necessary in accordance with company policies and applicable law.• Model Santonia's culture through calm leadership, ownership, curiosity, hospitality, and a willingness to work alongside the team wherever needed.Required Education and Experience• 2+ years of kitchen management or senior kitchen leadership experience in a high-volume restaurant environment.• Strong working knowledge of kitchen stations and systems, including prep, line, grill, fry, expo, sanitation, and quality-control standards.• Demonstrated ability to train, coach, organize, and lead a diverse BOH team.• Strong understanding of food safety, sanitation, allergy awareness, and safe food-handling practices; current manager-level food-safety certification preferred or ability to obtain as required.• Experience with inventory, ordering, receiving, food-cost control, portion control, and waste management.• Working knowledge of restaurant financial drivers; experience with food cost, labor, and P&L accountability is strongly preferred.• Comfort using POS, inventory, scheduling, communication, and HR systems, with the ability to learn new restaurant software quickly.• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to work effectively with both BOH and FOH leadership.• Resourceful, organized, and steady under pressure, with strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail.• Availability to work a flexible schedule including mornings, nights, weekends, holidays, and special events as business needs require.• Ability to stand and work in a commercial kitchen environment for extended periods and lift up to 50 lbs.• Bilingual English/Spanish is a plus, but not required.Santonia CultureSantonia Cantina is committed to creating extraordinary hospitality experiences and a workplace where team members can learn, contribute, and flourish. We lead with respect, accountability, generosity, and shared pride in the experience we create together. SILVER VENTURES, INC.