Food & Beverage Manager

Rusty Lantern Markets (RLM) is looking for an experienced Food and Beverage Manager to work at our new store in Waterville, ME.

Company Overview

Rusty Lantern Markets is a rapidly growing chain of convenience stores located throughout New England. We pride ourselves on our bright, spacious, and welcoming stores that provide outstanding customer service, fresh hand-made barista coffees, grab-and-go food items, and custom meals made to order.

Summary

This is not a traditional restaurant job - we move fast, keep high standards, and focus on both quality and efficiency.

The Food and Beverage Manager (FBM) helps guide the team in preparing and serving menu items according to Rusty Lantern's standards by teaching and training kitchen personnel and supporting day-to-day operations. Reporting directly to and working in conjunction with the Store Manager, this position is responsible for ensuring kitchen staff consistently follows quality expectations as well as all rules and regulations required of RLM employees.

Our goal at RLM is to raise the bar for food service in convenience retail. We're looking for a hands-on Food and Beverage Manager to help run a high-quality food program in our stores. This role is perfect for someone who loves great food, leads by example, and can keep a busy kitchen running smoothly and consistently.

What You'll Do as a Food and Beverage Manager

• Run daily kitchen operations and ensure all food is prepared to recipe, standard, and food-safety requirements
• Hire, train, coach, and develop team members using available tools, certified trainers, and standard practices.
• Make sure every guest gets a great experience through consistent, high-quality food and friendly service
• Oversee inventory, ordering, prep lists, production flow, and kitchen schedules
• Lead and train your team of approximately 2 - 5 in real time - coaching, motivating, and helping them grow
• Hold your team to clear standards and follow up when they're not met, sometimes having to implement an action plan, write ups or terminate team members.
• Manage food cost, labor, waste, and daily operational controls
• Work closely with store leadership and other departments to keep everything running smoothly
• Help implement new menu items and support changes as our food program grows

Why Join Rusty Lantern Markets

• Be part of a growing, food-focused brand
• Work in an environment where quality matters
• Opportunity to help build and shape our food program
• Professional, supportive culture with high standards
• Opportunities to advance as the business grows

Perks & Benefits

• Paid vacation and sick time
• Birthday off
• Monthly store bonuses (!!)
• Holiday pay, plus floating holidays
• 401K with employer match
• Benefits: Health, dental, vision, life and other ancillary benefits with generous employer contributions for employees and family
• Annual raises
• Store discount for all team members
• Employee referral program.

Experience We're Looking for in a Food and Beverage Manager

• Strong leadership presence in a high-volume deli or prepared foods environment
• Self-motivated, organized, and operationally disciplined
• Excellent time management and ability to prioritize in a fast-paced environment
• Open availability with flexibility to support business needs
• Committed to food quality, team performance, and customer satisfaction
• Comfortable managing costs without compromising standards

This role is responsible for protecting the food, supporting the team, and delivering an experience guests trust and return for.

If you love leading a team, care deeply about food quality, and want to help build something special, we'd love to meet you.