Assistant General Manager

Assistant General Manager, Path to General Manager

3rd St. Market & Deli

East Los Angeles, CA

Full-Time

Position Summary

3rd St. Market & Deli is seeking a hands-on, growth-minded Assistant General Manager to work directly with the owner and take on increasing responsibility as the cafe grows.

This is a key leadership role in a growing business. Because the owner currently oversees the operation directly, the Assistant General Manager will work closely with the owner to lead daily operations, support and develop the team, maintain food and service standards, solve problems, control costs, and build reliable systems.

This is more than a shift-lead position. The ideal candidate will become a trusted operating partner to the owner, gradually assume responsibility for larger areas of the business, and develop into the future General Manager as the operation and leadership structure grow.

Key Responsibilities

Operations & Service

• Lead shifts and support front- and back-of-house operations.

• Work closely with the owner to ensure opening, service, closing, and daily procedures are completed properly.

• Maintain standards for food quality, hospitality, cleanliness, organization, and customer service.

• Resolve operational and customer issues promptly and professionally.

• Step into operational positions when needed while maintaining oversight of the shift.

• Help ensure the cafe, production areas, and storage spaces remain organized and inspection-ready.

• Communicate important operational updates, problems, and follow-up items to the owner.

Team Leadership

• Supervise, coach, train, and develop team members.

• Support hiring, onboarding, and employee development in partnership with the owner.

• Hold employees accountable for attendance, punctuality, productivity, cleanliness, and performance.

• Address call-outs, tardiness, and performance concerns appropriately and communicate significant issues to the owner.

• Help develop strong employees into leads and future managers.

• Maintain a respectful, professional, and accountable work environment.

• Help establish clear expectations and consistent communication as the team grows.

Scheduling, Labor & Payroll

• Assist with scheduling based on sales, production needs, and staffing levels.

• Help manage coverage issues, call-outs, and overtime.

• Review timekeeping and communicate payroll concerns to the owner.

• Learn to manage labor costs and staffing efficiency.

• Help create dependable staffing systems that reduce last-minute scheduling problems.

Inventory, Purchasing & Cost Control

• Assist with inventory counts, ordering, receiving, and vendor coordination.

• Maintain proper storage, labeling, dating, rotation, and inventory levels.

• Monitor waste, shortages, unusual product usage, portion control, and food costs.

• Help prevent unnecessary emergency purchases and maintain accurate par levels.

• Communicate purchasing needs and cost concerns to the owner.

• Help build consistent inventory and ordering procedures as the business grows.

Production, Catering & Meal Programs

• Help oversee high-volume meal production, contract meal programs, senior center meals, and community meal programs.

• Ensure production deadlines, packaging, order accuracy, delivery preparation, temperature logs, and food-safety procedures are met.

• Assist with catering preparation, packing, staffing, equipment, transportation, and onsite events.

• Help improve production and catering systems.

• Communicate production challenges, staffing needs, and order issues to the owner in a timely manner.

Food Safety & Continuous Improvement

• Maintain food-safety, sanitation, temperature-control, storage, and cleaning standards.

• Ensure required logs, checklists, and SOPs are completed.

• Identify recurring problems, recommend solutions, follow up on assigned tasks, and improve workflows.

• Help create practical systems that make the operation more consistent and easier to manage.

• Help build an operation that can grow without requiring the owner to personally oversee every detail.

Working Relationship With the Owner

Because this is a growing business without an existing General Manager, the Assistant General Manager will work directly with the owner on both daily operations and long-term improvements.

The right candidate will:

• Communicate clearly and consistently with the owner.

• Bring problems forward with possible solutions.

• Follow through on commitments and assigned projects.

• Help turn informal processes into clear systems.

• Provide honest feedback about staffing, operations, costs, and customer experience.

• Earn greater authority by demonstrating sound judgment, reliability, and consistent results.

This role is intended to become an important operating partnership as the business grows.

Path to General Manager

This position is intentionally designed as a development path toward General Manager. As the business grows and readiness is demonstrated, the Assistant General Manager will progressively take on responsibility for:

• Scheduling, labor, food costs, inventory, and purchasing

• Hiring, training, employee development, and accountability

• Financial KPIs, sales performance, and customer experience

• Vendor relationships, production planning, and catering operations

• SOPs, systems, decision-making, and overall business performance

• Leading the team and operating the business when the owner is not present

Promotion to General Manager is based on demonstrated leadership, operational performance, financial understanding, accountability, communication, and the ability to manage the business independently.

The timing of this progression will depend on both the candidate’s development and the growth of the business.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate is:

• Ambitious and interested in becoming a General Manager

• Comfortable working directly with a first-time owner of a growing business

• Reliable, organized, and calm under pressure

• Comfortable giving direction and holding people accountable

• A strong communicator and independent problem-solver

• Willing to work alongside the team

• Interested in learning the financial and operational side of the business

• Able to think beyond the immediate shift

• Comfortable helping create systems where they may not yet exist

• Open to coaching and committed to continuous improvement

• Able to take ownership without needing constant direction

Preferred Experience

• 2–4+ years of restaurant, hospitality, food-service, or comparable operational experience

• At least 1 year in a leadership or supervisory role

• Experience supervising hourly employees

• Experience with scheduling, inventory, ordering, labor, or cost control preferred

• Strong understanding of food safety and sanitation

• Catering or high-volume production experience is a plus

• Familiarity with POS, scheduling, payroll, or restaurant-management systems helpful

• Spanish-English bilingual ability highly desirable, but not required

We will consider a strong developing manager who has not yet held an Assistant General Manager title but demonstrates leadership ability, sound judgment, initiative, and clear potential to grow.

Schedule Expectations

This is a full-time leadership position requiring schedule flexibility, including weekdays, weekends, opening and daytime shifts, occasional later shifts, and catering or special-event coverage when needed.

Reliable attendance and flexibility are essential. The Assistant General Manager must be willing to work where the business needs support while helping the owner build a more stable and sustainable operation.

Compensation

Compensation will be based on experience, leadership ability, and demonstrated operational skills.

The role includes a defined path toward increased responsibility and compensation as the Assistant General Manager progresses toward General Manager readiness.

Performance-based bonus opportunities may be available as the role expands and measurable business responsibilities are assumed.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means running organized shifts, maintaining team accountability and food-safety standards, controlling labor, inventory, and waste, completing production and catering orders accurately and on time, developing future leaders, improving systems, communicating effectively with the owner, and reducing the need for the owner to manage every daily detail.

The long-term goal is to develop the Assistant General Manager into a leader capable of taking full responsibility for the business as General Manager as the company grows.