Director of Operations

The ecco/project is a new food company from James Beard award-winning Chef Spike Gjerde. Our focus is on returning maximum value to regenerative growers, to give rise to cleaner soil, air, and water; stronger small farms; and a better, more vibrant Baltimore. With ecco, we are exploring beloved global cuisines with our sourcing, plus applying our sourcing to new settings: hotels, universities, hospitals, wedding venues, retail, production, processing, and more...

Lots of restaurants tout farm-to-table credentials as a marketing tool. For the last 20 years at Woodberry Kitchen, we have rejected commodity agriculture and industrialized food systems as an operating principle. We cut out the middle men and build relationships with our vegetable growers, dairy farmers, and Chesapeake watermen.

At the same time, we operate fun, vibrant community restaurants that deliver on the highest standards of hospitality and culinary excellence. 

That’s how we’ve always done things. We hoped, as attention to local food grew over the last decade, that it would lead to big changes in the way our country farms and eats. That hasn’t happened, so we’re doing what we can by expanding our reach and creating new dining experiences that prioritize local, regenerative farm products one by one.

Our company is approaching a period of rapid growth, and your work will be at the center of this exciting expansion. Today, our company includes Woodberry Kitchen, La Jetée, Bar Dali, and cafe Terracotta JHH. Later this year, the company will expand to include an italian market as our center for operations and forthcoming openings are slated for 2027 across Baltimore and beyond.

The right candidate is someone who is:

• skilled in delighting guests with exceptional service... from fine dining to retail
• an inspiring, energetic leader who wants a hands-on role building a company
• passionate about a better food system

Responsibilities:

Daily Operations

-Spend focused time working on each business, each week. Work to ensure managers, teams, spaces, and products are at their best every day. Have a presence on the floor, at pre-shift meetings, and closings as needed. Manage important events, guest-of-note dinners, and high-touch services.

Front of House Team & Guest Experience Management

-Work with leadership to understand the vision for service and our success metrics for managers. Build systems and training manuals that execute that vision and measure and track team performance.

-Hire, train, and provide ongoing coaching and development for team members.

-Drive staff education, including knowledge of our menus, sourcing practices, the local food system, food and beverage, and service mechanics.

-Challenge the team to continuously improve.

-Perform corrective and disciplinary action as needed in compliance with company HR policies.

-Advocate for the business in employment issues and ensure compliance with employment laws.

Systems & Facilities

Work with managers at each property to:

–Ensure restaurants are well-functioning, clean, and organized places to work and dine.

–Define organizational systems for each Front of House area in the restaurant, communicate them to teams, and enforce them.

-Manage equipment maintenance and repairs on appropriate dining room facilities.

-Manage digital systems including menu printing, online menus, online ordering, Toast menus, reservation platforms, tripleseat/BEO management, and others.

Business Improvement & Growth

-Affect positive change on our top-line sales through the development of well-trained teams and service mechanics, exceptional offerings that satisfy demand and reflect our sourcing, and identifying and capturing opportunities for sales.

-Use an understanding of business metrics including Sales, COGS, Labor Cost, and Expenses to drive profitability at each location. Work with leadership to manage the financial success of each location.

Required Experience:

-5+ years in management/director positions

-Strong written and verbal communication skills

-Experience managing diverse teams including junior managers

-Understanding of financial metrics in F&B businesses

-Strong beverage & service knowledge

-Bachelor’s degree preferred

-Multi-unit experience preferred

Must be based in Baltimore