Restaurant Manager

Position Summary:

Please make an application promptly if you are a good match for this role due to high levels of interest.

We are conducting a confidential search for an experienced, hands-on Restaurant Manager to join a growing, independently owned food-service concept operating within a high-volume university environment in Richmond, Virginia. This individual will serve as a key operational partner to ownership and will help lead day-to-day restaurant operations across people leadership, kitchen execution, scheduling, customer experience, food safety, inventory, and shift performance

The ideal candidate is an experienced restaurant operator who is equally comfortable leading a team, running a kitchen, building schedules, managing high-volume service periods, and stepping directly into the operation when needed.

Location

Richmond, VA | On-Site | Full-Time

Compensation

$60,000–$70,000 annually, commensurate with experience

Key Responsibilities:

Restaurant Operations

• Support the day-to-day operation of a high-volume restaurant location, including opening, service, closing, food preparation, sanitation, and overall shift execution.
• Serve as the operational leader during assigned shifts and make real-time decisions to maintain food quality, service levels, and appropriate staffing.
• Ensure the restaurant is fully prepared for service, including staffing, food preparation, station readiness, supplies, equipment, and product availability.
• Identify operational bottlenecks and implement practical solutions to improve speed of service, kitchen flow, and customer experience.
• Support inventory management, product ordering, waste reduction, portion control, and food-cost management.
• Ensure established cash-handling and point-of-sale procedures are consistently followed.

People Leadership & Scheduling

• Assist with recruiting, onboarding, training, coaching, and development of restaurant employees.
• Develop and manage employee schedules based on operating hours, customer demand, employee availability, and labor requirements.
• Proactively manage attendance, punctuality, shift coverage, schedule changes, breaks, and staffing gaps.
• Provide clear direction and accountability to cooks, prep employees, cashiers, runners, and shift leads.
• Create a positive, respectful, high-accountability working environment.
• Address performance or conduct concerns promptly and appropriately.
• Develop employees and create reliable bench strength across critical restaurant positions.

Kitchen & Culinary Execution

• Maintain an active presence within the kitchen and assist with food preparation and line execution when business needs require.
• Support consistent execution of recipes, food quality, presentation, portion standards, and preparation techniques.
• Partner closely with culinary leadership to translate food and quality standards into repeatable operating practices for the broader team.
• Train employees on food preparation, kitchen organization, station execution, and proper food-handling practices.
• Ensure production levels appropriately reflect anticipated demand while minimizing waste and product shortages.

Food Safety & Compliance

• Maintain strong food-safety, sanitation, cleanliness, and workplace-safety standards.
• Ensure proper food storage, labeling, temperature controls, cleaning, and handling practices.
• Maintain required operational and food-safety documentation.
• Support health inspections and other operational or compliance reviews.
• Immediately escalate significant food-safety, employee-safety, or operational concerns.

Customer Experience

• Maintain a visible leadership presence during peak service periods.
• Monitor service levels, wait times, food availability, cleanliness, and employee responsiveness.
• Resolve customer concerns professionally and with an appropriate sense of urgency.
• Help create an environment that drives repeat business and builds strong customer loyalty.

Qualifications:

• 3+ years of restaurant, food-service, hospitality, or related operating experience preferred.
• Prior experience as an Assistant Manager, Kitchen Manager, Shift Manager, Restaurant Manager, or comparable restaurant leadership role strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience working in and/or overseeing a commercial kitchen.
• Experience developing employee schedules and managing shift coverage required.
• Strong understanding of kitchen operations, food preparation, food safety, sanitation, and restaurant workflow.
• Bilingual English/Spanish strongly preferred.
• Culinary certificate, culinary coursework, hospitality credential, or equivalent hands-on culinary experience preferred.
• ServSafe Manager certification preferred, or willingness to obtain certification following hire.
• Experience with food ordering, inventory management, waste controls, and basic restaurant financial metrics preferred.
• Experience working within a high-volume, fast-paced, or extended-hours restaurant environment strongly preferred.
• Comfortable using POS systems, employee scheduling tools, spreadsheets, and other basic business technology.
• Strong leadership, communication, problem-solving, organizational, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to remain composed and decisive during high-volume service periods.
• Willingness to work directly alongside the team and step into any area of the operation when necessary.

Schedule:

This role requires scheduling flexibility based on business needs and may include evenings, late nights, weekends, peak seasonal periods, and special events . The operation follows an academic-based calendar, which may result in changes to business hours during holidays, breaks, and other seasonal periods.

What Success Looks Like:

The successful candidate will:

• Build credibility quickly with both employees and ownership.
• Maintain consistent food quality and customer service during high-volume periods.
• Create reliable, efficient employee schedules aligned with business demand.
• Develop and retain a dependable restaurant team.
• Improve operational discipline without sacrificing hospitality or culture.
• Maintain strong standards for cleanliness, food safety, and execution.
• Proactively identify and solve problems before they impact customers.
• Become a trusted operational leader capable of independently managing the restaurant for extended periods.

About the Opportunity:

This is an opportunity to join an entrepreneurial, growing restaurant concept at an early stage of its development . The individual selected for this role will have meaningful influence over operational practices, team development, service standards, and the continued growth of the business.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, military status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Reasonable accommodations are available to qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the application and employment process.

Employment Eligibility

Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States. xhyhwjd The Company will comply with all applicable employment eligibility verification and anti-discrimination requirements.