Kitchen Manager

About Burrito Bear

Burrito Bear is bringing Denver-style breakfast burritos to New York City. Our founders grew up eating breakfast burritos regularly and believe they remain an untapped market in New York City.

We are launching a modern, fast-casual, grab-and-go concept focused on high-quality ingredients and specialty items brought from Colorado — delivered with hospitality and exceptional operational execution with a genuine story.

This is not an established corporate restaurant with years of systems already in place. It is an opportunity to help build a flagship concept from day one and be a part of an ambitious team looking to grow into a multi-unit brand. That said, Burrito Bear is not a typical startup operating without experience or support. The concept is backed by a strong team with significant hospitality and operational experience, along with the resources and infrastructure to hit the ground running. Our goal is to give the right person the excitement and influence of building something new, without the uncertainty and lack of support that often comes with a new restaurant opening.

Our burritos are inspired by the breakfast burritos of Denver and the Mountain West. Compared with larger California-style burritos, ours are streamlined, flavorful, and designed to satisfy without slowing customers down with massive portions or breaking the bank.

The centerpiece of the menu is our green chile: a rich, distinctive stew made with authentic Hatch green chiles from New Mexico.

Our strategy is simple: offer a focused selection of excellent breakfast burritos at a reasonable price and serve them remarkably quickly and leave you wanting more. 

Why Burrito Bear?

This is not just another restaurant management position. The biggest thing this role provides that most kitchen jobs do not is work/life balance without a complete sacrifice of financials. Most days you’ll find yourself out of the kitchen by 6pm but rarely in this industry are you provided adequate financials, quality work/life balance, and the ability to grow with a brand and concept where the sky is the limit with both the amount of storefronts and the opportunities that come along with it. Who doesn’t want to be a part of the next big thing?

As our Kitchen Manager, you will have a direct line to ownership and a meaningful voice. We are looking for someone who wants to build a brand that people love working at as much as they love eating at—and who is excited to grow alongside a brand with ambitious plans.

Your Role

We are seeking a talented, detail-oriented, and operations-focused, dare we say a semi-obsessive, Kitchen Manager that has ambition and foresight to see the potential of this concept and brand. This person will oversee all aspects of BOH, team development, product quality and consistency. You will be supported by strong counterpart FOH leadership. And ownership with one goal in mind. To dominate the NYC burrito market 

The right candidate enjoys organized chaos, stays calm during high-volume pushes, and takes pride in running an exceptionally clean, efficient, and welcoming restaurant. You should be energized by systems, solving/conveying problems, and finding better ways to operate every day. But most importantly, an individual who loves their team, who believes in the brand and can get others to believe in it too. Someone who understands a good team is a cornerstone of success. Being able to lead with a respectful approach versus doing it all yourself and leading with fear and truly knowing the difference between the two and the impact it has.

What You’ll Do

It’s very important to note that you’ll be supplied with assistance and the tools to execute the following responsibilities you see below. You will not be left in the fire to simply figure it out. Our goal is to ensure that you’re provided a structure that sets you up for success and supports you in the most stressful needed areas. These systems will take time to develop and solidify properly. Our goal is to provide guidance and presents every step of the way.

Daily Operations

• Take ownership of the restaurant’s daily back-of-house operations.
• Lead high-volume morning service.
• Ensure every order is prepared quickly, accurately, consistently, and to the highest quality standards.
• Work closely with the Head of Operations and founding team to solve problems.
• Identify potential improvements that can be discussed.
• Review P&L’s and POS back end data. 
• Review product mixes, financials, operational data, and logistics and provide monthly summaries.

Team

• Recruit, hire, train, schedule, coach, and retain a diverse hourly team.
• Create a positive, low-ego, and accountable culture where teamwork and respect come first.
• Set clear performance expectations and address issues directly and constructively.
• Develop team members into dependable shift leaders and future managers.
• Develop relationships that create future revenue streams via networking.
• Develop relationships with purveyors to maximize pricing opportunities while not putting the relationships at risk and where loyalty is valued both ways. 

Product Quality

• Serve as the steward of Burrito Bear’s intentionally focused menu.
• Maintain strict standards for recipes, portions, preparation, packaging, speed, and presentation.
• Create effective prep schedules and production plans for high-volume service.
• Ensure ingredients and finished products are handled, stored, and served correctly.
• Help establish and improve recipes, prep procedures, training materials, and standard operating procedures.

Category Management 

• Oversee scheduling, inventory, ordering, receiving, and daily financial reporting.
• Monitor food and labor costs. 
• Reduce waste through accurate forecasting, portion control, and inventory management.
• Build staffing plans for effective and efficient execution for various revenue situations. 
• Maintain accurate operational notes of both good and bad ongoings that are referable for future development. 
• Keep food cost software up to date with current pricing. 
• Maintain waste logs 
• Oversee order guides, par sheets, market pricing shifts and prep logs
• Keep all labor requirements in effect. 

Catering and Logistics

• Manage the Burrito Boxes catering program for local offices and businesses.
• Coordinate preparation and fulfillment of catering orders of 25 or more burritos.
• Ensure catering orders are accurate, properly packaged, and ready on time.
• Help develop systems and logistics that allow the catering program to grow without disrupting daily service.

Standards 

• Keep the restaurant exceptionally clean, safe, organized, and prepared for service.
• Maintain food-safety practices that exceed New York City health department standards.
• Ensure all equipment, storage areas, workstations, and customer-facing spaces are properly maintained.
• Take ownership of issues rather than waiting to be told what needs attention.
• Take initiative and pride in the areas that you oversee

Who You Are

• You have leadership experience in fast-casual, QSR, grab-and-go, catering 
• You thrive in high-volume environments. 
• You have experience overseeing both customer-facing operations and kitchen execution.
• You are calm under pressure and can find improvements in said pressure 
• You are highly organized and detail-oriented without losing sight of the bigger picture.
• You enjoy developing people and take pride in the teams that you built.
• You understand hiring people smarter than you results in true success.
• You hold yourself and others accountable while maintaining a respectful, team-oriented culture.

Qualifications

• You are comfortable using restaurant technology, POS systems, scheduling platforms, and inventory tools. And have a curiosity to how such tools can improve operations.
• 5 years or more in F&B
• Have had a supervisor or management role for 3 years or more 
• You are passionate about food quality, cleanliness, speed, consistency, and hospitality.
• You are comfortable working early mornings and weekends.
• You can lift at least 30 pounds.
• You hold, or can obtain before starting, a valid NYC Food Protection Certificate.
• You are able to take constructive criticism and guidance from others.
• Time management oriented 

Bonus Point Experience 

• Experience with opening a new restaurant or launching a new concept.
• Experience with SOPs, training programs, prep systems, or operating procedures.
• Experience with building and mentoring a large, diverse hourly team.
• Experience with managing office catering or other large-format orders.
• Spanish-language skills are helpful but not required.
• National management serve safe. 

Compensation and Benefits

We want exceptional talent and are prepared to invest in the right leader.

• Base salary of $75,000–$90,000
• Quarterly bonus opportunities 
• Health insurance
• PTO
• Long-term incentive opportunities based on success
• Direct path toward multi-unit opportunities as Burrito Bear expands