Store Manager

Chaia is looking for a hands-on, hospitality-minded shop manager to help lead our team and day-to-day restaurant operations.

This is a working manager role. You’ll be on the floor alongside the team—welcoming guests, keeping service moving, solving problems, coaching employees, and making sure the restaurant looks and feels the way it should.

We’re looking for someone who takes ownership, notices the details, and genuinely enjoys creating a great experience for both guests and the people they work with. For the right person, this role has the opportunity to grow quickly into broader leadership at Chaia.

What You’ll Do

• Lead shifts with warmth, confidence, and a strong sense of hospitality
• Work alongside the team during service and step in wherever needed
• Create a welcoming, thoughtful guest experience
• Coach and support team members throughout each shift
• Keep the restaurant clean, organized, stocked, and ready for service
• Maintain Chaia’s standards for food quality, presentation, cleanliness, and food safety
• Manage opening and closing procedures
• Oversee daily POS procedures
• Help manage ordering, receiving, inventory, and product availability
• Monitor labor and team deployment throughout the day
• Assist with onboarding and training new employees
• Address guest concerns calmly and professionally
• Communicate clearly with restaurant leadership about staffing, maintenance, product, and operational issues
• Notice the small things—and take care of them before they become bigger things

Who We’re Looking For

You’re someone who likes being part of the action. You’re comfortable talking with guests, giving direction to a team, and jumping behind the counter when things get busy.

You’re organized, dependable, positive, and able to stay calm when there are ten things happening at once. Most importantly, you care about doing things well and helping the people around you do the same.

Qualifications

• Previous restaurant, café, retail, or hospitality experience
• Some supervisory or shift-lead experience preferred
• Strong communication and people skills
• Reliable, organized, and detail-oriented
• Comfortable giving feedback and holding team members accountable
• Able to work independently and make good decisions during a shift
• Comfortable learning restaurant systems including Toast POS
• ServSafe certification preferred or willingness to obtain certification
• Flexible availability, including some mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays

About Chaia

Chaia is a DC-born, vegetable-forward taco restaurant built around great ingredients, handmade corn tortillas, seasonal cooking, and warm hospitality.

We believe a great restaurant is about more than what’s on the plate. It’s the music, the energy, the details, the people behind the counter, and the way a guest feels when they walk through the door.

We’re a small, entrepreneurial company, which means good ideas are heard and strong performers have the opportunity to take on more responsibility quickly.

Compensation: $55,000 - $60,000, based on experience

Benefits & Perks:

• Paid sick and vacation time
• Employee meals
• Flexible scheduling
• Opportunities for advancement
• Additional benefits based on eligibility

If you love hospitality, enjoy leading people, and want to help build a restaurant rather than simply work in one, we’d love to meet you.