Restaurant Manager

Restaurant Manager

This job posting is for employment with an independently owned and operated franchisee.

Job Requirements

As a Restaurant Manager, you will never be bored. You will be responsible for making sure the restaurant runs smoothly.

Responsibilities May Include:

• Ensuring that the restaurant is fully and appropriately staffed at all times.
• Maintaining operational excellence so our restaurant is running efficiently and effectively.
• Ensuring that all laws, regulations, and guidelines are followed.
• Creating a restaurant atmosphere that both patrons and employees enjoy.
• Direct daily front-of-house and back-of-house operations.
• Lead assigned shifts and ensure proper deployment during peak periods.
• Maintain speed of service, food quality, accuracy, cleanliness, and hospitality standards.
• Complete opening, closing, shift-change, and manager walk-through procedures.
• Provide coverage when the General Manager or another manager is unavailable.
• Maintain a visible management presence in the dining room.
• Address guest concerns promptly and professionally.
• Approve appropriate guest recovery measures, discounts, refunds, or meal replacements.
• Review guest feedback and implement corrective actions.
• Build relationships with regular guests and the surrounding community.
• Recruit, interview, select, onboard, train, coach, and retain team members.
• Prepare schedules based on sales forecasts, availability, and labor targets.
• Conduct pre-shift meetings and communicate daily priorities.
• Provide performance feedback, recognition, corrective action, and development planning.
• Identify and develop team members for future leadership positions.
• Promote a respectful, inclusive, harassment-free workplace.
• Assist in achieving sales, profit, food-cost, labor-cost, and controllable-expense goals.
• Review daily sales, labor reports, discounts, voids, refunds, overtime, and cash variances.
• Forecast staffing and product needs based on expected business levels.
• Control waste, portioning, complimentary meals, discounts, and unauthorized expenditures.
• Participate in profit-and-loss reviews and develop corrective action plans.
• Enforce food-safety, sanitation, temperature-control, allergen, and personal-hygiene requirements.
• Ensure compliance with health department, employment, wage-and-hour, safety, and alcohol-service regulations.
• Maintain required certifications, inspection records, training documentation, and incident reports.
• Correct unsafe conditions and report accidents, injuries, equipment failures, or suspected misconduct.
• Prepare the restaurant for brand, health, safety, and operational inspections.
• Order, receive, inspect, rotate, and secure food, beverages, supplies, and smallwares.
• Conduct inventory counts and investigate unusual usage or shortages.
• Maintain cash-handling, safe, deposit, point-of-sale, and refund controls.
• Help prevent theft, fraud, food loss, and misuse of company property.
• Coordinate equipment repairs and follow up on maintenance requests.
• Execute national promotions and local restaurant marketing initiatives.
• Support community partnerships, school programs, fundraising events, and grand reopenings.
• Encourage suggestive selling and improve dine-in, takeout, delivery, and online-order performance.
• Monitor nearby competitors and communicate opportunities to increase traffic and sales.
• Complete payroll, scheduling, training, sales, inventory, and operational reports accurately and on time.
• Maintain personnel documentation and confidentiality.
• Participate in manager meetings, business reviews, investigations, and performance discussions.
• Communicate restaurant needs, risks, staffing concerns, and operational opportunities to the General Manager or district leadership.
• Perform other duties as assigned to support restaurant operations, guest satisfaction, team development, financial performance, safety, and compliance with company and Denny's brand standards.

Work Experience

High school diploma or equivalent required; college coursework or a degree in hospitality, business, or a related field is preferred.

Minimum of two years of restaurant management or supervisory experience, preferably in a full-service, high-volume restaurant environment.

Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, motivate, and hold team members accountable.

Strong knowledge of restaurant operations, including guest service, food preparation, sanitation, scheduling, labor management, inventory, and cash controls.

Ability to understand and manage restaurant financial performance, including sales, labor costs, food costs, controllable expenses, and profit-and-loss results.

Strong communication, interpersonal, problem-solving, and conflict-resolution skills.

Ability to handle guest concerns professionally and make sound decisions in a fast-paced environment.

Experience recruiting, interviewing, training, developing, and retaining team members.

Working knowledge of food-safety requirements, employment practices, workplace safety, and applicable federal, state, and local regulations.

Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive employee and business information appropriately.

Proficiency with point-of-sale systems, scheduling programs, email, spreadsheets, and basic business reporting.

Ability to work a flexible schedule, including mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, and overnight shifts as business needs require.

Ability to remain standing and walking for extended periods and to bend, reach, lift, and carry items weighing up to 50 pounds.

Must possess reliable transportation and the ability to respond to restaurant needs when required.

Must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

Must meet all required food-handler, food-manager, alcohol-service, and other certification requirements applicable to the restaurant's location.

ServSafe Manager certification is preferred or must be obtained within the timeframe established by the company.

A valid driver's license may be required when the position involves bank deposits, supply pickups, training, or travel between restaurant locations.

Preferred Qualifications

Previous management experience with Denny's or another full-service restaurant brand.

Experience in a 24-hour restaurant operation.

Experience managing multiple dayparts and diverse teams.

Proven record of improving guest satisfaction, employee retention, sales, profitability, and operational standards.

Bilingual communication skills are a plus.

Benefits

Competitive Pay / Flexible Schedules / Bonus Plan / Health Care

Additional Information

This job posting is for a position at an establishment owned and operated by an independent franchisee. This means the independent franchisee is alone responsible for all employment related matters in the restaurant including, among other things, setting any requirements for this job and all decisions concerning hiring, firing, discipline, supervision, staffing and scheduling. The Franchisor will not receive a copy of any application you submit for this job posting and will have no control over whether you receive an interview and/or are ultimately hired, does not control and is not responsible for the employment policies and practices of independent franchisees, and does not employ independent franchisees' employees. If you are hired for this job posting, the independent franchisee will be your employer. This job posting contains some general information about what it is like to work in this position but is not a complete job description. People who work in this position perform many different tasks every day, and this posting may not list all the job's essential functions. Our brands are committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all persons regardless of age, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship status, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, genetic information, military or veteran's status, criminal background, or any other characteristic protected by Federal, State, or local law.