General Manager

Celestino's is the flagship of Lume Hospitality Group. We're a family-owned operation building toward 15 restaurants across Northern New Jersey. We're hiring a GM who will run the flagship and helps us build what comes next. This is a real operator's role. You lead from the floor during service and run the business when it slows. We're not looking for a strong shift manager with a title...we're looking for someone who has already run a high-volume restaurant well and wants a bigger table to play at with a greater upside potential. What You'll Own The store Full P&L ownership: labor, food cost, prime cost, budget adherence, complaint rate All four channels — dine-in, off-premise (takeout and delivery), catering, and our event room Scheduling to volume in a way that protects margin without burning the team out Inventory, ordering, vendor relationships and negotiation Presence on the floor during peak service, setting the tone for pace, hospitality, and standards The team Hiring, developing, and when necessary exiting your staff — you build the team you lead Direct leadership of the AGM/FOH manager and the kitchen manager Building the bench: we can't open future locations without managers who came up here The systems Developing training programs, position checklists, and certification standards Labor efficiency work across departments Assist in the continued development of our internal playbook by building documented recipes and SOPs Who We're Looking For Multiple years as a GM in a high-volume restaurant, pizzeria, or fast-casual environment - you've successfully carried a P&L, not just executed someone else's plan Multi-unit, multi-department, or above-store experience is a strong plus. If you don't have it yet, you should want it and be able to show us why you're ready You've built systems, not just followed them: training programs, SOPs, scheduling models, something that outlasted your shift You've developed managers who've got promoted Fluent in restaurant economics: labor %, food cost %, prime cost, SPLH, scheduling to forecast A leader people respect because of how you show up, not because of the title Calm under pressure, decisive when it counts, humble enough to keep learning The business runs nights and weekends, and you run the business Proficient with technology - Our tech stack includes Toast, 7shifts, Google Sheets, Shipday, Ovation, Marqii, and more. What We Offer Salary: 80-100k based on experience + quarterly performance bonus Real autonomy to run your store, with a founder who is in the business and accessible, not a corporate layer between you and decisions A defined path above store level. As we open locations, our best operator becomes the person overseeing them. That's the intent of this hire, not a maybe Paid holidays and additional benefits as outlined in our team handbook A culture built on hospitality, standards, and genuine care for the people doing the work. No yelling. No chaos. No old-school nonsense A Word on Culture We're family-owned and culture is non-negotiable. We're building the restaurant group we'd want to work for - where people are proud of the work, where standards are high because we respect each other, and where doing things right matters more than doing it loud. If you've run a restaurant well and you're looking for the place where that work compounds, we should talk. #J-18808-Ljbffr