Cafe General Managers

At George Howell Coffee Company cafés/restaurants, the General Manager (GM) is at the center of the guest's hospitality experience and our team's performance. Our managers create a warm, welcoming environment for the guests and staff. The General Manager is responsible for overseeing an extensive coffee program, often serving up to 10 different coffees and espressos on a daily basis, retail bag and equipment sales, daily customer coffee education program, controlling financial costs and working with the team to deliver on expectations set by leadership. The position will take ownership over the daily operations of the café's food service and service ensuring every aspect is executed with excellence in mind. We currently have five operational cafes, three cafe's are in Boston . We are growing and are looking for cafe leaders who will be responsible for our operation, SOP's, staffing, training and ensuring the customer experience is memorable. Our cafes will be open seven (7) days a week and you will be supported on-site by Assistant General Managers and a staff of up to twenty (15) hourly team members. Industry professionals with exceptional food, beverage and coffee experince are invited to apply. Additional experience with catering would be a plus

Authority, Duties, And Responsibilities In Summary Include

• Work with senior management to identify, develop and evaluate innovative offerings in the restaurant/café including coffee flight program, artisanal food, beverage and coffee products
• Ensure guests and staff are warmly received and welcomed at every opportunity and engage with our guests to deliver a personalized experience
• Manage the day-to-day operational and financial activities to optimize profits, ensuring top guest experiences and the highest team performance in a best-in-class work environment
• Assist in achieving sales and profitability goals while leading the team in providing an experience that is grounded in hospitality
• Control operating expenses through the timely maintenance of the café and equipment
• Coach, direct, support, and recognize Team Members through performance feedback, including disciplinary action when necessary
• Oversee and mentor a staff of 15+ team members
• Teach our company's quality standards to Team Members and ensure we maintain those standards.
• Oversees and coordinates the planning, organizing, training, and leadership necessary to achieve stated objectives in sales, costs, employee retention, guest service and satisfaction, beverage and food quality, cleanliness, and sanitation.
• Assist with launching a specialty coffee drink, food and dessert program.
• Ensure consistent achievement of speed and steps of service at all business levels
• Participate in ongoing personal training to advance your food and beverage knowledge and share this knowledge to the guests and staff
• Completely understands and supports all company policies, procedures, standards, specifications, guidelines, and training programs.

Core Tasks

• Staff, Management, and Personnel:
• Achieve or exceed company objectives in sales, service, quality, facility and sanitation appearance, and cleanliness through training employees and creating a positive, productive working environment.
• Ensure that all coffee and food products are consistently prepared and served according to the café recipes, portioning, cooking, and serving standards.
• Identify and authorize staff members responsible for developing and evaluating innovative offerings in the café, including coffee and espresso drink creations, artisanal food, beverage, and coffee products, and review these potential offerings with senior management.
• Ensure that designated staff members identify, develop, and evaluate innovative offerings in the café, including coffee and espresso drink creations, artisanal food, beverage, and coffee products, and review these potential offerings with senior management.
• Oversee retail products and areas and ensure the retail areas have a complete inventory, organized coffee bags, and neatly displayed, clean equipment displays. Be creative and change displays frequently to showcase both new products and those we want to move inventory.
• Maintain an accurate and up-to-date plan of cafe staffing needs for front-of-house, back-of-house, retail, and customer-tasting areas. Review staffing levels to ensure that the cafe can be efficient and staffed at all times within the payroll budget allotted. Ensure that the café is running efficiently at all times and in a friendly manner by allocating staff assignments according to proven ability.
• Recruit, interview, hire, and effectively train new employees and provide ongoing training to ensure that service standards and coffee, espresso, and food product quality are consistent and maintained at all times. Work with the GHC Trainer for staff training to ensure drink quality is up to GHC standards. Complete and promptly deliver to the corporate office the required paperwork for new hires and articulate an accurate overview of employee benefits with the HR department's assistance.
• Make employment and termination decisions focusing on hiring experienced, service-dedicated, and interaction-focused coffee professionals whenever possible. New hires should have a strong interest in coffee and some food experience in barista, retail, and cashier positions.
• Manage the performance of all employees and, when necessary, discipline according to company policies with action steps and feedback as required. Provide frequent constructive feedback as needed and adhere to current HR policies on the annual review process.
• Ensure that all staff, including management, are provided with tools, materials, and knowledge to continuously improve to ensure our guests continue to return again and again.
• Continually strive to develop staff in all areas of managerial and professional development.
• Motivate and coordinate multiple activities and tasks for café staff to ensure guests are satisfied.
• Ensure that policies, procedures, and standards are maintained and followed in a fair and consistent manner.
• Hold staff meetings as needed (but at a minimum twice a year) and coordinate with the roastery for coffee-related educational components.
• Oversee direct team and tasks assigned to them. Provide support and opportunity for continuous productive feedback.
• Work on the floor serving guests as needed to meet target labor rates to the best of your ability without sacrificing quality service levels.
• Guest Service and Care:
• Continuously strive to ensure 100% guest satisfaction and that no guest leaves unhappy.
• Always ensure exceptional guest service in all areas. Ensure that all guests feel welcome and receive responsive, friendly, and courteous service.
• Be always easily accessible to guests and staff when on duty to enhance the beverage and dining experience and work environment.
• Display contagious energy
• Expediently respond to guest inquiries, concerns, or complaints, taking all appropriate actions to turn dissatisfied guests into return guests. Any serious or significant concerns or complaints from guests should be communicated to the Director of Cafe Operations in a timely manner.
• Fill in where needed to ensure guest service standards and efficient operations.
• Review online reviews (e.g., yelp, google, TripAdvisor) and adjust procedures accordingly. Work with the Director of Cafe Operations on any significant comments on responses.
• Operational / Financial:
• Schedule labor for each shift as required by anticipated business activity while ensuring that all positions are staffed when and as needed. Meet labor cost objectives. Always look for efficiencies and potential alterations to staff schedules to achieve exceptional guest experience and maintain the labor budget.
• Respond in a timely and complete manner to emails and information requests from senior management and accounting staff.
• Oversee the operation of the front of the house, including pour-over and espresso bars and retail, to maximize profitability and minimize liability. Conform to food handling safety regulations.
• Maintain a positive working relationship with vendors, suppliers, and maintenance personnel.
• Ensure all health and safety café policies and procedures are followed.
• Oversee the effective management of all food items, coffee supplies, other supplies, and all inventories as needed.
• Ensure that all assigned financial-related administrative duties are completed accurately, on time, and in accordance with company policies and procedures. This includes timely collection, review, and approval of invoices, packing slips, and other daily paperwork. Submit paperwork to the corporate office daily, as designated by the accounting department. Provide supporting receipts for all payouts and promotions. Provide necessary information and data to accountants and proper storage of receipts, invoices, packing slips, and any other critical accounting records, including invoicing and sales data (e.g., Toast reports).
• Take monthly inventory of all café products. Inventory is the General Manager's responsibility; however, if delegated to staff, review the inventory for accuracy and completeness before forwarding it to accounting. Consider recounting a few items for the accuracy of the staff's count.
• Review discounts daily for unusual transactions.
• Regularly review, develop, implement, and/or evaluate all operating procedures and systems to ensure relevancy, efficiency, and productivity.
• Perform operational functions using point-of-sale (POS) software application and have a deep understanding of how the POS system works to manage technical issues properly.
• Maintain and implement all technologies to ensure good working order and enhance efficient operations (such as phones, internet, computers, printers, scanners, etc.).
• Ensure the accuracy of recorded time worked by employees by reviewing and adjusting time entries recorded by employees in the POS system when necessary.
• Fully understand and comply with all federal, state, county, and municipal regulations that pertain to health, safety, and labor requirements of the café, employees, and guests. Contact the President, CFO, COO, or DO with any questions or clarifications on these matters.
• Coffee, Beverage and Food Planning, Health, and Safety:
• Demonstrate a passion for our quality artisanal products
• Ensure consistently high-quality preparation and presentation of batch-brewed coffee, single-cup pour-over coffee, and espresso drinks.
• Ensure consistently high-quality preparation and presentation of food.
• Enforce sanitary practices for food handling, general cleanliness, and maintenance of storage areas. Ensure compliance with operational standards, company policies, federal/state/local laws, and ordinances.
• Oversee the timely ordering and delivery of bulk and retail coffee, food, other beverages, and other supplies with vendors and distributors to ensure consistently maintained appropriate inventory levels at the restaurant.
• Ensure that all equipment is kept clean and in excellent working condition through personal inspection and by following the café's preventative maintenance programs. Complete the Maintenance Log for any work completed on any equipment or utilities at the cafes. Alert the President of any unusual issues or problems with equipment timely to determine service needs.
• Oversee the timely completion of daily, weekly, or monthly cleaning task list items.
• Ensure that the building, including the attached property and its infrastructure, is well maintained, kept clean, and in good working condition through proactive inspections and preventative maintenance programs. Immediately report any issues to the Director of Cafe Operations with a resolution summary or a request for assistance in resolution identification.
• Ensure that all products are received in the correct unit count, and condition and deliveries are performed in accordance with the cafés receiving policies and procedures. All receiving documents should be signed and dated as of the receipt date by the staff or General Manager. Ensure that incorrect items or pricing are resolved immediately, and all final vendor invoices are reviewed, approved for