New Cafe Opening Specialist (NYC)

Job Description

Job Description

Job Title: New Cafe Opening Specialist

Reports to: Sr. Director New Cafe Development

With a projected 1,000 cafes in the United States by 2030, Paris Baguette is one of the fastest-growing neighborhood bakery cafés in the world. Our vision is to reestablish the neighborhood bakery café as the heart of the community around the world.  Paris Baguette’s mission is to bring expertly crafted baked and brewed goods through a warm and welcoming bakery café experience that delivers joy to everyone.

If you are someone who has heart, wants to spread joy, nourish community and is ready to rise to the occasion, we are looking for you to join our growing team!

WHAT WE ARE HUNGRY FOR

As a New Café Opening Specialist (NCOS), you will support successful new café openings across Paris Baguette through hands-on training, operational support, and brand execution in partnership with the NCO Team, franchise owners, managers, and café teams. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in dynamic environments, enjoys coaching others, and is passionate about creating exceptional guest experiences. As a Paris Baguette Brand Ambassador, you will bring the brand to life through hospitality, merchandising, product presentation, cleanliness, and meaningful guest interactions—including creating a welcoming environment and greeting guests with “Happy to see you!”

The role is split between traveling to new café openings and supporting existing company-operated cafés, predominantly in New York. Between openings, you will help café teams elevate guest experience, merchandising, cleanliness, and overall brand execution. The ideal candidate has a strong eye for detail and a genuine pride in café cleanliness and presentation, proactively ensuring every guest-facing area is clean, inviting, well-stocked, and reflective of the Paris Baguette brand.

KNOWLEDGE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

New Café Opening Support

• Support the NCO Team with the planning, setup, training, and execution of new café openings.
• Assist with café readiness, including inventory, merchandising, product presentation, signage, cleanliness, and operational setup.
• Deliver Front of House training and coach franchise teams on operational and guest service standards.
• Reinforce food safety, sanitation, quality, cleanliness, and presentation standards.
• Train teams on POS, cash handling, inventory, guest service, and daily café operations.
• Partner with NCO, Production, Franchise, General Manager, and Field Operations teams throughout the opening process.
• Identify and communicate operational, training, cleanliness, merchandising, and guest experience opportunities.
• Support grand opening initiatives and ensure cafés are ready to deliver an exceptional guest experience from day one.

Brand Ambassador & Field Operations Support

• Serve as a visible Brand Ambassador for Paris Baguette in assigned cafés between scheduled openings.
• Model Mission, Vision, and Values to life through exceptional hospitality, positive energy, and authentic guest engagement.
• Consistently create a warm and welcoming environment and model the use of “Happy to see you!” when greeting guests.
• Proactively engage with guests, anticipate their needs, and look for opportunities to elevate their overall café experience.
• Lead by example in delivering friendly, attentive, and personalized service.
• Coach team members on service excellence, product knowledge, hospitality, and effective guest interactions.
• Observe the guest experience from the customer's perspective and identify opportunities to improve service, flow, presentation, and overall café experience.

Merchandising, Cleanliness & Brand Presentation

• Own and elevate café merchandising, product presentation, and overall visual standards.
• Maintain a clean, organized, inviting, and guest-ready café environment.
• Ensure guest-facing areas, displays, signage, and marketing materials meet Paris Baguette standards.
• Identify and communicate cleanliness, maintenance, and presentation opportunities to café leadership.
• Coach café teams on maintaining cleanliness, merchandising, and presentation standards throughout the day.
• Maintain professionalism and adaptability in a fast-paced environment.

Field Operations Support

• Reinforce consistent café standards and exceptional guest experiences.
• Provide observations and recommendations to café and Field Operations leadership.
• Support training refreshers, onboarding, Field Operations initiatives, and special projects.
• Serve as a champion of learning, development hospitality and continuous improvement.
• Identify and communicate operational trends, opportunities, and concerns.
• Provide Field Operations support between scheduled café openings.
• Spend the majority of non-opening time support company-operated cafes, primarily in New York market.
• Ability to travel extensively to support new café openings and maintain a flexible work schedule based on operational needs.
• Support additional projects and responsibilities as assigned.

WHAT YOU NEED TO HAVE

• At least 2-4 years of restaurant, bakery café, hospitality, or retail management experience preferred.
• Experienced training, coaching, or developing team members strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of hospitality, guest service, and operational excellence.
• Flexible, adaptive, upbeat, open and visible management style.
• Solution oriented in all ways. Excellent judgement and decision making skills in the field.
• Passion for people! Dynamic and engaged leader who has a passion for empowering, inspiring, motivating & developing team members.
• Exceptional organizational and communication skills with the ability to effectively balance priorities and deliver results in a fast-paced, ever-changing, and highly entrepreneurial environment.
• Feedback is a gift! Ability to provide constructive feedback and recognition to every member of the organization, to ensure we have an open and transparent culture of high performance standards
• High emotional intelligence with the ability to work with, and manage diverse teams by being highly empathetic, intuitive, self-motivated and driven.
• Teams Win! Has to be a team player who fosters a collaborative and engaged teamwork environment.
• Being a Brand Ambassador, with an excellent knowledge of and commitment to Paris Baguette’s Mission, Vision, Brand Values and Culture.
• Love of travel! Ability to travel to all Corporate and Franchise locations, nationally, as well as in some cases internationally.

SWEET BENEFITS

• Competitive compensation
• Free Cake for your Birthday
• Medical, Dental, Vision benefits
• 401K Retirement Plan
• Paid time off, paid Holidays
• High-Performance Culture