Director of Food and Beverage

Overview

New York’s nightlife is back — and no one has built the venue for the cultural ecosystem this moment demands. 530 W27 is that venue: a seven-floor laboratory for theater, immersive experiences, and elevated sound, anchored by a culinary and bar program where artists perform, create, and shape the next generation of community.

Housed across six-plus floors at 530 West 27th Street in the heart of West Chelsea — a building with over two decades of cultural programming at the epicenter of New York's most active arts and nightlife district — the venue hosts theater residencies, immersive runs, mainstage productions, and evening programming alongside multiple bars and two future restaurants.

The Director of Food & Beverage will own all F&B operations across the property. In the near term, the role is focused on running a tight, profitable, and guest-obsessed operation in support of our daily immersive theater program. As new concepts are launched, the role will scale into a senior leadership position overseeing multiple venues, leadership team members, and a significantly larger staff.

We are looking for a hands-on operator who is equally comfortable on the floor during a packed show night, in the office building schedules and inventory systems, and in a strategy meeting planning the next concept opening. The ideal candidate brings the discipline of a seasoned hotel or multi-outlet F&B leader, the creativity of an independent operator, and the stamina to thrive in a venue that operates seven nights a week.

This is a builder's role: you will stand up systems, hire and train teams, and establish the F&B identity of a brand-new, category-defining venue. A successful candidate is a proven operator who thrives in fast-paced, high-volume environments, is unafraid to roll up their sleeves, and brings strong business acumen alongside genuine hospitality instinct.

• Lead all front-of-house and bar operations in support of nightly immersive theater performances, ensuring service, pacing, and guest experience meet the standards of the brand.
• Serve as the senior F&B leader on the floor during service; troubleshoot in real time and make decisions that protect both guest experience and show flow.
• Partner with the theater and production teams to align F&B service timing, capacity, and guest movement with show requirements.
• Uphold all health, safety, sanitation, and licensing standards, including DOH, SLA, and FDNY compliance.

• Own the full F&B staffing lifecycle: recruiting, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, training, evaluating, and offboarding.
• Build and publish weekly schedules for bartenders, servers, barbacks, runners, hosts, and supporting F&B staff, balancing labor cost targets against service standards.
• Develop and maintain training programs, service standards, and SOPs across every F&B touchpoint.
• Manage payroll review, tip reporting, and labor compliance in coordination with HR and finance.
• Build a culture that attracts and retains top hospitality talent in a highly competitive NYC market.

• Set and maintain pars for all bar, beverage, and ancillary F&B inventory.
• Manage all vendor relationships: spirits, wine, beer, NA beverage, smallwares, glassware, paper goods, and consumables.
• Place, receive, and reconcile orders; control invoices, COGS, and waste.
• Run monthly inventory counts, variance reporting, and corrective action.

• Own departmental P&L: revenue, COGS, labor, and controllable expenses.
• Build and manage budgets and forecasts; report performance and variance to ownership on a regular cadence.
• Develop pricing, menu engineering, and upsell strategies in partnership with the culinary and beverage teams.
• Identify and implement systems and tools (POS, scheduling, inventory, reservations) that scale with the business.

• Partner with ownership on the design, programming, and pre-opening of upcoming concepts: nightclub, restaurant, bar, spa, and rooftop.
• Build the organizational structure, staffing plans, and operating models needed to support a multi-venue property.
• Hire and develop the leadership bench (outlet managers, beverage director, sommelier, AGMs) as the team scales.
• Help shape concept identity, beverage programs, and service style for each new venue as it comes online.

• 7+ years of progressive F&B leadership experience in high-volume hospitality, with at least 3 years in a director, AGM, or multi-outlet GM role.
• Demonstrated experience leading bar and beverage operations in a venue doing meaningful nightly volume.
• Strong command of NYC hospitality operations, including DOH, SLA, and labor compliance.
• Proven track record managing P&L, building budgets, and hitting cost-of-goods and labor targets.
• Experience hiring, scheduling, and developing teams of 30+ hospitality employees.
• Proficiency with modern POS, scheduling, and inventory systems (e.g., Toast, Resy, 7shifts, Craftable, or equivalent).
• Availability to work nights, weekends, and holidays consistently.

• Pre-opening experience with new concepts, ideally in a multi-venue or hotel F&B environment.
• Experience operating in immersive, theatrical, nightlife, or entertainment-driven hospitality.
• Established vendor and talent network in the NYC food, beverage, and nightlife industry.
• Sommelier certification, advanced beverage education, or comparable industry credentials.

• A hands-on operator who leads from the floor and is energized by guest-facing service.
• A clear, calm communicator who can hold standards under pressure without losing the team.
• A systems thinker who can install structure, documentation, and accountability without making the operation feel corporate.
• Comfortable with ambiguity and excited by the opportunity to help build something from one venue into many.
• Deeply hospitable: you want every guest, every shift, to feel like they got more than they came for.

Compensation

Pay range: $120,000–$130,000, commensurate with experience.

Benefits

• Paid Time Off: 10 days of PTO pursuant to The Oberon Group’s standard PTO policy (manager approval required).
• Health Insurance: 100% coverage up through OS Benefits Advantage Tier
• Dental Insurance: 100% coverage up through OS Benefits Advantage Tier
• Vision Insurance: 100% coverage up through OS Benefits Advantage Tier
• Sick Leave: 40 hours per year, accrued pursuant to policy and applicable law.
• Dining Benefit: 20% employee discount at all Oberon Group restaurants.