Barista

Job Description

Job Description

Vesuvio Bakery is a long-standing New York institution, first opened in 1920 in the heart of SoHo. Known for its iconic lime green storefront and deep neighborhood roots, Vesuvio continues to honor more than 100 years of history through fresh Italian pastries, breads, cookies, soft serve gelato, and thoughtfully crafted coffee.

Today, Vesuvio’s reimagined cafés celebrate the spirit of old New York while delivering a warm, polished, and memorable guest experience across Vesuvio SoHo, Vesuvio Moynihan Train Hall, Vesuvio Park, and the Anthony Dapolito Recreation Center.

Role Summary

The Barista represents Vesuvio with warmth, generosity, precision, and pride in every guest and team interaction. Reporting to the Café Manager, this role is ideal for a polished hospitality professional who thrives in a fast-paced café environment, brings strong technical coffee skills, and understands how to make everyday service feel personal, elevated, and memorable. This is a hands-on position within a close-knit team where no task is too big or too small. The successful candidate will bring energy, consistency, product knowledge, and genuine hospitality to every shift while helping uphold the quality, pace, and charm that define the Vesuvio experience.

Key Responsibilities

• Deliver warm, polished, and engaging service to locals, commuters, tourists, and regular guests.

• Prepare and serve high-quality espresso, drip coffee, tea, and specialty beverages with consistency, speed, and attention to detail.

• Execute quality coffee service standards, including precise espresso extraction, milk steaming, drink finishing, presentation, and guest customization.

• Maintain strong knowledge of Vesuvio’s coffee program, pastries, breads, gelato, and seasonal offerings to confidently guide guests.

• Support a memorable order of service through accuracy, efficiency, thoughtful pacing, and genuine hospitality.

• Build rapport with regular guests and create an inviting café experience rooted in warmth, recognition, and care.

• Set up, maintain, and break down the coffee station to Vesuvio standards across daily, weekly, and monthly routines.

• Maintain impeccable cleanliness, organization, restocking, and operational readiness throughout service.

• Operate the POS accurately for ordering, billing, cash handling, and guest transactions.

• Support pastry, bakery, retail, and café service as needed to protect the flow and integrity of operations.

• Communicate clearly and professionally with management and team members during all service periods.

• Handle guest questions or concerns with grace, urgency, and a solutions-oriented mindset.

Candidate Profile

• 3+ years of barista experience in fast-paced, high-volume hospitality, café, bakery, restaurant, or luxury service environments.

• Strong espresso bar skills, including dial-in awareness, milk texture, drink builds, speed, cleanliness, and consistency.

• A naturally warm, positive, and guest-focused presence with excellent communication skills.

• Highly attentive to detail, cleanliness, presentation, and the small moments that elevate service.

• Comfortable working early mornings, weekends, and high-traffic service periods with urgency and composure.

• Team-oriented, flexible, and willing to support wherever needed to ensure a seamless guest experience.

• Able to balance hospitality, speed, accuracy, and product quality in a busy café environment.

• Must be available for early morning shifts, including 5:00am, 5:30am, and 6:00am start times.

• Must be able to lift and move up to 25 lbs, and occasionally lift or move up to 50 lbs.

• Must possess, or be willing to obtain, a valid Food Handler certificate.

Compensation

The anticipated range for this position is $18.00 - $20.00 per hour dependent on experience.

Vesuvio is committed to equitable and competitive compensation and benefits packages for our team members. Offers of employment may consider qualifications, relevant experience, specific skills, certifications, business needs, and location. The compensation range listed above does not include any additional components or benefits that may be available.

Diversity & Representation

Vesuvio is committed to building and supporting diverse and representative teams, long-term career opportunities, and equal employment opportunities for qualified applicants and employees. Employment decisions are made without regard to age, race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy status, marital status, military or veteran status, genetic disposition, or any other status protected by law.