Food Operations Lead

Food Operations Lead

Reports to: General Manager (solid line); Owner / Chef (dotted line for food standards & culinary direction)

Locations: Restaurant + Commissary

Schedule: Full-time, hourly. Time will flex between the restaurant and commissary based on operational priorities.

About the Role

The Food Operations Lead is responsible for the quality, consistency, and execution of our food across both the restaurant and the commissary. This is a hands-on, working role for someone who can lead a kitchen on the line and build the systems behind it.

You will run the kitchen day-to-day at the restaurant, holding the standards on every plate that goes out. At the same time, you'll partner with ownership and the commissary team to systematize how we prep, label, and quality-check the product that flows from the commissary to the restaurant. The goal: food that is consistently excellent, every shift, in both locations.

This role exists because we are growing, and we need someone with culinary expertise to help us elevate and operationalize what we do across the business.

What You'll Own

At the Restaurant — Kitchen Leadership

Lead the kitchen day-to-day: run shifts, manage the line, hit ticket times, hold the team accountable

Enforce food quality, plating, and presentation standards on every plate

Manage prep, par levels, ordering, and inventory at the restaurant

Train, develop, and support BOH staff; participate in BOH hiring decisions

Partner with the GM on scheduling, labor management, and FOH/BOH coordination

Maintain food safety, sanitation, and health code compliance

Across the Operation — Food Systems & Standards

Partner with ownership to document recipes, specs, and prep procedures into a usable system

Own the quality of product leaving the commissary — quality checks, proper labeling, accurate par levels

Build and improve the commissary-to-restaurant handoff so the restaurant consistently receives quality product, ready to execute

Help roll out new processes, recipes, and standards to the team in partnership with the GM

Support food cost management: waste tracking, yield, vendor consistency

Continuously look for ways to elevate the standards of what we put out

Who You'll Work With

GM— your direct manager. You'll partner closely with her on operations, team, and how the kitchen integrates with the rest of the restaurant.

Chef (Owner) — the culinary head of the business. You'll work closely with him on recipes, food standards, and culinary direction. He sets the vision for the food; you operationalize it.

Commissary Lead— your partner on the commissary side. You'll work together on prep, quality, and the handoff to the restaurant.

Kitchen Team — the BOH staff you'll lead, train, and develop.

What We're Looking For

Experience

Culinary background with meaningful kitchen experience (culinary school or equivalent on-the-job training)

Has led a kitchen team — experience as a sous chef, kitchen manager, chef de cuisine, or similar

Comfortable in both restaurant and production/commissary environments preferred

Skills & Mindset

Strong systems and process orientation — you naturally want to document, standardize, and improve

Hands-on leader who leads from the line, not just from a clipboard

High standards on food quality and the discipline to hold a team to them

Calm under pressure during service

Good communicator who works well with both kitchen teams and front-of-house leadership

Genuine pride in execution and consistency, not just creativity

Other

Food safety certification (or willing to obtain)

Available to work a flexible schedule, including evenings, weekends, and shifts at both locations as needed

What Success Looks Like

In the first 90 days, you'll be focused on

Stabilizing kitchen execution at the restaurant — clean shifts, consistent food, a team that knows the standard

Tightening the commissary-to-restaurant handoff — quality checks, labeling, and par levels that make the restaurant's job easier

Beginning to document recipes and procedures into a system the whole team can use

Longer-term, you'll be the person who makes sure our food is consistently excellent across both locations as we continue to grow.