Café & Restaurant Manager

Position Summary:

The Café & Restaurant Manager is responsible for leading the day-to-day operations of both the resort’s café and restaurant, delivering an elevated, warm, and welcoming experience that reflects the character of a luxury ranch destination. Overseeing all front-of-house operations across both outlets — from the barista and server teams to inventory, guest experience, and financial performance — this role sets the standard for hospitality from morning coffee through dinner service. The ideal candidate is a polished, hands-on hospitality leader with strong café and restaurant experience, a passion for gracious service, and the ability to inspire teams to deliver memorable dining and café moments in a serene and authentic ranch setting.

 

Key Responsibilities:

Café & Restaurant Operations

• Lead day-to-day operations of both the café and restaurant, ensuring smooth, polished, and consistent service across every meal period
• Manage opening, service, and closing procedures for both outlets, ensuring they are always guest-ready
• Oversee reservations, table management, and pacing to create a seamless flow of restaurant service
• Oversee café flow, guest touchpoints, and service pacing throughout the day
• Serve as the manager on duty during service, supporting the teams on the floor and ensuring quality at every touchpoint
• Coordinate closely with the kitchen and culinary team on menu, timing, pastries, grab-and-go items, and special guest needs

Team Leadership & Development

• Directly oversee the café and restaurant teams, including the Lead Barista, baristas, servers, hosts, and bussers
• Recruit, hire, train, and develop front-of-house team members across both outlets
• Build strong schedules that balance guest demand, labor budgets, and team well-being across the café and restaurant
• Lead pre-shift meetings, service education, and ongoing training on menu, coffee, wine, and service standards
• Set clear performance expectations, provide ongoing coaching, and conduct performance reviews
• Foster a positive, respectful, and service-oriented culture that reflects the resort’s hospitality values
• Model professionalism, warmth, and a calm, collected composure under pressure

Guest Experience

• Champion a warm, gracious, and personalized guest experience worthy of a luxury ranch resort across both outlets
• Welcome and engage with guests, anticipating needs and creating memorable moments at the café and the table
• Handle guest requests, dietary needs, and concerns with warmth, urgency, and a solutions-focused approach
• Gather guest feedback and lead initiatives to continually elevate the café and restaurant experience
• Support VIP, group, and private dining or café experiences in partnership with the sales and events team

Coffee, Beverage & Menu Standards

• Maintain deep knowledge of the coffee, tea, café menu, food menu, wine list, and beverage program, and ensure the team is equally well-versed
• Partner with the Lead Barista, culinary team, and beverage team on menu launches, seasonal drinks and dishes, tastings, pairings, and roaster relationships
• Uphold espresso, milk, brew, plating, service, and presentation standards across every guest touchpoint
• Support responsible alcohol service practices and ensure compliance across the team
• Ensure espresso machines, grinders, café and bar equipment are properly cleaned, calibrated, and maintained

Inventory, Ordering & Financial Management

• Oversee food and café inventory kept in stock across both outlets — including produce, proteins, pantry items, coffee beans, milk, syrups, teas, pastries, grab-and-go offerings, and other consumables — ensuring par levels, freshness, and quality
• Support ordering, receiving, and rotation of café, restaurant, and beverage supplies, and manage vendor coordination with roasters, milk suppliers, wine and beverage distributors, and other partners
• Manage café and restaurant budgets, including labor, cost of goods, supplies, and other operating expenses
• Monitor daily sales, covers, ticket counts, average check, and key performance metrics, and identify opportunities to improve
• Drive upsell opportunities and revenue-supporting initiatives without compromising service quality
• Ensure accurate cash handling, tip reporting, and end-of-shift reconciliation

 

Safety, Compliance & Facilities

• Ensure compliance with all health, safety, sanitation, and labor regulations
• Maintain clean, organized, and beautifully presented café, dining room, bar area, service stations, and back-of-house spaces
• Support safety training and food handling standards across the team
• Report and coordinate maintenance needs to keep facilities and equipment in top condition

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with the culinary, events, guest services, and reservations teams to deliver a seamless resort experience
• Coordinate closely on group dining, private events, and special occasions that touch the café or restaurant
• Communicate clearly and proactively with leadership and cross-department teams
• Contribute to a positive, collaborative, and service-oriented team environment across the property

Qualifications:

• 3–5+ years of café, restaurant, or hospitality management experience, preferably in specialty, luxury, fine-dining, or resort settings
• Proven ability to lead front-of-house teams — including baristas and servers — and deliver elevated, high-touch service
• Working technical knowledge of espresso preparation, milk texturing, brew methods, and coffee programs
• Strong knowledge of restaurant operations, service standards, wine, and beverage programs
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills
• Financial acumen, including experience with budgeting, cost control, and performance metrics
• Working knowledge of health, safety, and food-handling standards
• Proficiency with POS, reservation, and scheduling systems
• Ability to maintain a calm and collected composure when working with guests and the operations team, particularly during busy periods or unexpected situations
• Ability to work flexible hours, including early mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays
• Must meet the legal age requirement to serve alcohol in the state of Texas

Preferred Attributes:

• Experience at a ranch resort, luxury hotel, boutique property, specialty café, or fine-dining restaurant
• Barista certifications or formal coffee training (SCA, guild, or equivalent)
• TABC and Food Handler certifications
• Warm, gracious, and guest-focused approach with polished presence
• Detail-oriented, with pride in craft, service, quality, and presentation
• Strong storyteller who can bring the ranch’s brand, menu, and coffee program to life for guests
• Passion for coffee, culinary craft, hospitality, and creating memorable guest experiences
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) is a plus

 

Work Environment:

This role is based onsite at a luxury ranch resort and involves work across the café bar, dining room, kitchen, service stations, and event spaces. The position requires standing, walking, carrying trays, and working with heat, steam, hot liquids, and cleaning chemicals for extended periods. The Café & Restaurant Manager must be available across a flexible schedule — including early mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays — while maintaining a polished, professional, and welcoming presence in a tranquil ranch setting.

 

Note: The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this classification. They are not to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified. All personnel may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed. Milk and Honey Ranch is an equal opportunity employer