Experienced Restaurant Host & Floor Lead

Speakeasy Host & Floor Lead

Thursday–Saturday Evenings | $18–$20/hour

Johnny's Speakeasy is looking for a confident, organized and hospitality-driven Host & Floor Lead to oversee our door, reservations and guest flow Thursday through Saturday evenings.

We're looking for someone who can take ownership of the reservation book and flow of the room during service , confidently lead the floor when needed, and create a welcoming, polished experience from the moment guests arrive.

What You'll Do

Reservations & Guest Experience

• Manage a busy reservation book and guest flow throughout the evening
• Review upcoming reservations before service to anticipate large parties, special requests, VIPs, seating challenges and potential timing issues
• Think several reservations ahead and strategically plan table usage and turns throughout the night
• Rotate seating between servers as evenly as possible while also considering pacing, guest experience and what's happening on the floor
• Manage walk-ins and communicate realistic wait times confidently
• Remain calm, patient and personable with guests even when we're fully booked or unable to accommodate a request
• Monitor and efficiently respond to our guest text line during service
• Read and communicate reservation notes, celebrations, special requests and other important guest information
• Recognize potential seating or reservation problems before they become problems and proactively find solutions

Floor Leadership

• Serve as a point person for the floor during service
• Communicate clearly with servers, bartenders and management regarding reservations, pacing, guest needs and changes throughout the evening
• Run pre-shift meetings and communicate reservations, large parties, VIPs, specials, events, 86'd items and other important service notes
• Maintain awareness of the entire room rather than remaining solely focused on the host stand
• Adjust seating when necessary to avoid overwhelming individual servers or sections
• Confidently handle routine table concerns, reservation misunderstandings and guest issues while recognizing when a situation should be escalated to management
• Give clear direction to the team when something needs immediate attention
• Address minor service issues in the moment and communicate recurring or larger concerns to management
• Help reset and prepare tables when needed to keep service moving efficiently
• Assist with closing responsibilities 1–2 nights per weekend

Food & Beverage Knowledge

Strong food and beverage knowledge is a plus .

We have an extensive wine, whiskey, spirits and cocktail program, and while you don't need to know everything on day one, we're looking for someone who is interested in learning and comfortable developing enough knowledge to:

• Answer common menu and beverage questions
• Speak confidently about our food and cocktail offerings
• Make basic wine and spirits recommendations
• Help guests navigate our beverage program without needing to immediately involve a manager for every recommendation

Who We're Looking For

You’ll be a great fit if you are:

• Highly organized and comfortable managing several things at once
• Naturally able to think ahead and anticipate what's coming next
• Calm and solution-oriented under pressure
• Warm, personable and confident with guests
• Comfortable saying "no" or delivering disappointing information while still making a guest feel welcomed and respected
• Confident enough to make reasonable decisions independently
• Self-aware enough to recognize when a situation needs management involvement
• A clear communicator who can provide direction without creating unnecessary tension
• Attentive to details and good at remembering moving pieces
• Reliable and comfortable taking ownership of your role without constant supervision
• Willing to jump in and help the team when needed — this is not a "stand behind the host stand all night" position
• Interested in food, wine, cocktails and hospitality
• Experienced in restaurant hosting, serving, bartending, floor leadership or another high-volume hospitality environment

Schedule

Thursday–Saturday evenings

Availability to close 1–2 nights per weekend is required.

Compensation

$18–$20/hour, depending on experience.

We're looking for someone who genuinely enjoys hospitality and gets satisfaction from making a complicated night run smoothly.