Restaurant General Manager

Restaurant General Manager

Tranquility Bay Beachfront Resort blends luxurious comfort with the serene charm of the Florida Keys, creating an unforgettable tropical haven in the heart of Marathon. This 103-room resort, set on 12 acres with a 2.5-acre private white-sand beach, offers standalone beach houses and garden guest rooms, three sparkling pools, and vibrant dining at Butterfly Café and TJ's Tiki Bar. With a focus on exceptional service and immersive water-centric experiences, Tranquility Bay captures the laid-back elegance of island life.

Reporting to the resort General Manager, the Restaurant General Manager is accountable for the overall guest experience, front-of-house and back-of-house performance, team development, revenue, labor, cost controls, and departmental profitability. The role requires a visible presence during service and direct engagement with guests and employees, working closely with kitchen leadership to ensure a coordinated operation.

Restaurant Operations and Guest Experience

• Lead daily operations across Butterfly Café, TJ's Tiki Bar, and banquet, catering, and special event service.
• Maintain a visible presence during peak meal periods, weekends, holidays, and events; step into operational roles when needed to support the team.
• Establish and uphold standards for service, food and beverage presentation, cleanliness, hospitality, and timely execution.
• Conduct pre-shift meetings covering business levels, reservations, menu features, special occasions, allergies, and service expectations.
• Coordinate front-of-house and kitchen teams to manage pacing, ticket times, order accuracy, and guest requests.
• Address guest concerns promptly, coach employees in service recovery, and use reviews and feedback to improve performance.
• Ensure opening, closing, cash-handling, and security procedures are followed consistently.

Culinary Operations and Food Quality

• Oversee kitchen performance in partnership with kitchen leadership, including staffing, preparation, production, sanitation, and food quality.
• Apply culinary experience to evaluate cooking techniques, flavor, presentation, portion consistency, and readiness for service.
• Collaborate on menu development, seasonal features, recipes, menu costing, and pricing to balance guest appeal with profitability.
• Ensure standardized recipes, portions, preparation procedures, and presentation standards are maintained across outlets and events.
• Oversee purchasing, receiving, storage, stock rotation, inventory, and waste reduction; maintain appropriate product quality and par levels.
• Ensure dietary requests and food allergies are communicated and handled according to established procedures.
• Coach kitchen employees and coordinate with kitchen leadership to resolve production and quality issues.

Banquets Catering and Events

• Lead the planning and execution of the resort's limited banquet, catering, group, and special event business; banquet and event experience is required.
• Coordinate with Sales, kitchen leadership, and resort departments on event requirements, menus, pricing, staffing, equipment, and timelines.
• Review banquet event orders and communicate all service, dietary, setup, and production requirements before each event.
• Oversee event setup, food and beverage service, timing, guest and client communication, and breakdown.
• Manage event labor, purchasing, portions, and billing accuracy; evaluate results and implement improvements.
• Support seasonal promotions and signature resort experiences that incorporate food and beverage.

Leadership and Team Development

• Recruit, train, schedule, coach, and hold accountable service and culinary leaders and employees.
• Create a professional culture with clear expectations for attendance, appearance, productivity, food quality, and guest service.
• Ensure training in menu knowledge, culinary and service standards, suggestive selling, food safety, sanitation, and responsible alcohol service.
• Provide regular feedback, recognition, performance management, and development opportunities.
• Partner with People + Culture on hiring, retention, employee relations, and corrective action.

Revenue Profitability and Financial Performance

• Own departmental revenue, expenses, labor productivity, food and beverage costs, and overall profitability.
• Develop budgets, forecasts, operating plans, and goals with resort leadership and Finance.
• Analyze outlet and event results; implement corrective action when performance falls below expectations.
• Grow revenue through menu strategy, pricing, promotions, programming, event opportunities, and thoughtful suggestive selling.
• Align staffing and schedules with forecasted volume and productivity targets.
• Maintain controls for purchasing, inventory, cash handling, discounts, voids, and complimentary items.

Compliance and Resort Collaboration

• Maintain compliance with applicable food safety, sanitation, workplace safety, responsible alcohol service, and company standards.
• Ensure a clean, safe, organized environment throughout kitchens, restaurants, bars, storage, and event areas.
• Ensure equipment and supplies are maintained; coordinate repairs with Engineering and communicate replacement needs.
• Work with Front Office, Sales, Finance, People + Culture, and other departments to deliver a coordinated guest experience.
• Participate in resort leadership meetings, planning, budgeting, and operational initiatives.

Required Qualifications

• Minimum of 4–5 years of progressive food and beverage experience, including significant management responsibility in a resort, upscale hotel, restaurant, or comparable hospitality operation.
• Demonstrated culinary experience, including practical knowledge of kitchen operations, food preparation, menu development, recipe costing, production, and quality control.
• Banquet, catering, and event experience, including planning, staffing, execution, and coordination between service and culinary teams.
• Proven ability to manage both front-of-house and back-of-house performance and financial results.
• Strong financial acumen with experience in budgets, forecasts, labor management, purchasing, inventory, and cost of sales.
• Proven ability to recruit, train, coach, motivate, and hold teams accountable.
• Strong communication, organization, problem-solving, and decision-making skills; ability to remain composed during busy service periods.
• Working knowledge of POS, scheduling, inventory, and Microsoft Office software.
• Ability to meet applicable food safety and responsible alcohol service training and certification requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous experience leading multiple food and beverage outlets.
• A degree or formal training in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, Business Administration, or a related field; equivalent practical leadership experience will be considered.

Schedule and Physical Requirements

• Requires a strong, visible presence during key restaurant service periods, with the expectation of leading dinner service a minimum of three nights per week. The position also requires schedule flexibility, including availability to work weekends, holidays, special events, and peak operating periods, based on the needs of the business.
• Ability to stand and walk for extended periods and work in indoor and outdoor resort environments, including heat and humidity.
• Ability to bend, reach, stoop, and safely lift and carry supplies and equipment associated with restaurant operations, with reasonable accommodation as applicable.

Leadership Profile

The successful Restaurant General Manager combines strong restaurant leadership with culinary knowledge and event execution experience. This leader takes ownership of the entire Food & Beverage operation, develops employees, anticipates guest needs, and delivers consistent quality while maintaining disciplined financial controls.

Tranquility Bay Beachfront Resort is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws.