Food & Beverage, Retail, Coffee

Cafe Manager | Chicago

Chicago, ILOnsiteFull TimeManager / Head$70,000–$95,000 /yrPosted 5 days agoVisa sponsorship available

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Required skills

Hospitality
Team Management
Inventory Management
Supply Chain Ordering
Specialty Coffee
Customer Service
Unionized Environment
Decision Making
Multi-tasking
Interpersonal Communication

Nice to have

espresso
equipment

Role summary

Blank Street is seeking a Cafe Manager for its Chicago location. This role is central to the success of the store, with full ownership of operations, team development, and business growth. The Cafe Manager will lead by example in facilities, product quality, and customer experience, while maintaining strong operational standards through effective inventory and performance management. Responsibilities include hiring, training, scheduling, managing inventory and vendor relations, and driving financial performance. The ideal candidate has 4+ years of experience managing single-unit hospitality operations, a love for coffee and customer service, and strong decision-making and multitasking skills.

About Blank Street

At Blank Street, we’re on a mission to become the defining food and beverage brand of our generation. From the very beginning, we’ve set out to add a spark to ordinary experiences through elevated products, attention-to-detail, and a commitment to making every moment memorable. We’re motivated by the millions of customers we serve across cities, and know that our potential is unlimited. It all starts with our people and their commitment to make magic happen each and every day. Like the sound of this? Keep reading

Add a Spark to the Ordinary…

General Managers are central to the success of Blank Street and take full ownership of their four walls. They are accountable for training and developing all team members, leading by example on facilities, product quality, and customer experience, and maintaining strong operational standards through effective inventory and performance management. General Managers are also responsible for hiring great talent, driving business growth and continuous improvement, and may support light project work that contributes to the broader business and their own professional development.

Who We’re Looking For

Experience hiring, developing and managing hospitality teams

Experience managing inventory and supply chain ordering

Love for coffee and customer service

Experience working in a unionized environment is a plus

Strong knowledge of specialty coffee, espresso and equipment is a must

Strong decision making and multi-taking skills

Strong interpersonal communication skills

What You’ll Own

Create a motivating and engaging team culture by consistently celebrating, training, coaching, and mentoring your team.

Step in to cover scheduling gaps or time off in the store schedule

Create and publish staff schedules according to state and local labor laws

Review and approve timecards and paid time off requests in a timely manner ensuring your team is paid accurately and on time

Recruit super star talent in collaboration with the People Team

Oversee and validate the quality of training being executed by your Shift Leads, providing feedback and coaching where needed

Ensure coffee accreditations are handled on time for new employees in line with company standards

Work to maintain the very best team engagement scores

Maintain food and beverage quality standards across your store and ensure recipes are executed accurately and consistently by your team

Own all ordering, vendor relations, waste management, inventory counts and general compliance of our Inventory Management System

Spend 50-70% of your week leading by example behind the bar through customer service and production of technically excellent food and beverage products

Ensure the safety, cleanliness and presentation of your location in line with company policies

Maintain operational excellence achieving company standard scores and above via our auditing platform

Develop meaningful ties with neighborhood businesses and people to help grow local brand loyalty

Be a champion of your store’s financial performance and peak business throughput

Grow your store AOV, meet sales goals through creative initiatives and gain team buy in to share the same vision

Ensure your location meets operations and product quality audit standards, quickly action any feedback to improve

Requirements

4+ years of experience managing and leading single-store unit operations in high growth hospitality or consumer brands

Full Time availability: 45 hours per week, 5 days of availability required and must be available to work 2 peak days (usually weekend days, weekend as described as Friday, Saturday, Sunday)

Benefits & Perks

$70,000 – $95,000 annual salary

Blank Street, in good faith, believes that the posted salary range is accurate for this role in Chicago at the time of posting. Our salary ranges are rooted in the desire to pay competitively relative to our organization size and industry, reflecting just one part of the total compensation package. Blank Street may pay more or less than the posted range based on factors such as relevant experience and skills, qualifications and location, among others. This range may be modified in the future.

15 days of paid annual leave (on top of company-observed holidays and sick time)

Three health plan options, with full coverage available for two employee-only tiers.

Commuter benefits

Parental leave

Bereavement leave

Exclusive access to our coveted Regulars program – yes, that means free coffee, matcha and more! ☕️

Regular social outings with the team

Free Blank Street swag

This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed in this role. It is not an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or qualifications. Responsibilities and expectations may change from time to time based on business needs, and Blank Street reserves the right to modify, add, or remove duties at any time.

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