Barista

Sidecar Doughnuts; Costa Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 25,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid vacation

401(k) with match

Job summary

Sidecar Doughnuts is seeking a skilled barista in Costa Mesa to craft exceptional coffee and doughnut experiences. You’ll pull espresso, steam milk, and create beverages with precision while training your palate and building consistency during busy periods.

We value guest hospitality, reliability, and teamwork, with opportunities to grow across front-of-house roles. This role offers health benefits, discounts, and ongoing training in a vibrant, craft‑driven environment.

Qualifications

• Minimum 2 years as a barista at reputable coffee concepts.
• Real understanding of espresso and drip coffee — what quality tastes like and how to dial it in.
• Ability to recalibrate to achieve a target tasting profile and hold it batch after batch.
• A personal, friendly, and professional way with guests — every single time.
• Ability to stay warm, accurate, and calm when it’s busy and the line is out the door.
• Willingness to flex into server and, when trained, back‑of‑house roles as directed.
• Dependable, on time, and ready for early‑morning, weekend, and holiday shifts.
• Knowledge of food safety and sanitation practices (or willingness to get certified).

Responsibilities

• Craft the coffee — pull espresso, steam milk, and build quality beverages to spec, fast, consistently.
• Latte art — finish drinks with clean, basic latte art.
• Taste & calibrate — identify quality espresso and drip, recalibrate grind, dose, and extraction.
• Know the menu — master our coffee and doughnuts and guide guests to the perfect choice.
• Welcome & connect — greet guests warmly and remember regulars.
• Flex where needed — serve or back‑of‑house as required.
• Cleanliness & safety — keep bar and front of house clean and safe.
• Teamwork — communicate clearly and support the line during rushes.

Skills

Barista experience

Espresso knowledge

Customer service

Calm under pressure

Reliability

Team player

Job description

Benefits

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Employee discounts
• Free food & snacks
• Free uniforms
• Health insurance
• Training & development

Coffee made right.

At Sidecar, we don’t just pull shots — we’re revolutionizing the way people experience coffee and doughnuts. Everything is made from scratch, in small batches, with the best ingredients we can find. Behind the bar, that standard is yours to protect, cup after cup.

If you taste the difference in a well-dialed espresso, take pride in your craft, and want your work to be the reason someone’s day got a little better, read on.

Why Sidecar

Our mission is simple and ambitious: revolutionize the way people experience doughnuts. We pursue that every day through three commitments — bringing people together, creating meaningful experiences, and crafting everything with excellence. For a barista, all three live at the bar: you craft the coffee, you welcome the guest, and you turn each visit into a moment worth remembering.

We aim to be “The Happiest Part of Your Day,” and that goes for our team, too.

Sidecar runs on five values:

• Warm. Kindness in action — toward guests and the teammates working beside you.
• Fun. We’re serving doughnuts, not curing cancer. The work is serious; the spirit is joyful.
• Fresh. Stylish, refined, and original. What we make is distinctly Sidecar — never a copy.
• Creative. We experiment and refine so we never grow stale, while staying true to our roots.
• Excellent. High standards, no compromises — in product quality, consistency, and cleanliness.

What You’ll Do

Our baristas run the coffee bar and grow their craft over time. Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Craft the coffee. Pull espresso, steam milk, and build quality coffee beverages to spec — fast, consistent, and beautiful, even at full rush.
• Latte art. Finish drinks with clean, basic latte art that signals the care behind every cup.
• Taste & calibrate. Identify quality-tasting espresso and drip coffee, and recalibrate grind, dose, and extraction to hit the desired tasting profile.
• Know the menu. Master our coffee and doughnuts — ingredients, tasting notes, and pairings — so you can guide guests to the perfect choice.
• Welcome & connect. Greet every guest warmly, remember regulars and their favorites, and make each person feel welcomed, remembered, and important.
• Flex where needed. Step into a serving role, and a back-of-house position when trained, as the day and the team require.
• Cleanliness & safety. Keep the bar, equipment, and front of house clean, calibrated, and food‑safe, following all health and sanitation standards.
• Teamwork. Communicate clearly, support the line during the rush, and help the next shift start strong.

What You Bring

• Experience. Minimum 2 years as a barista at reputable coffee concepts.
• Coffee knowledge. A real understanding of espresso and drip — what quality tastes like and how to dial it in.
• Calibration. Ability to recalibrate to achieve a target tasting profile and hold it batch after batch.
• Hospitality. A personal, friendly, and professional way with guests — every single time.
• Pace. Ability to stay warm, accurate, and calm when it’s busy and the line is out the door.
• Versatility. Willingness to flex into server and, when trained, back‑of‑house roles as directed.
• Reliability. Dependable, on time, and ready for early‑morning, weekend, and holiday shifts.
• Standards. Knowledge of food safety and sanitation practices (or willingness to get certified).

Compensation & Growth

At Sidecar, your pay grows as your craft does. The more you master, the more you earn. Starting pay varies by location and follows the local market.

• Start strong. Baristas begin at a pay rate set by location and experience, with full, hands‑on training on our bar.
• Earn tips. Once you’re trained on two skills, you become eligible to share in tips.
• Earn raises. Learn additional skills and stations, and your hourly base pay increases.
• Grow into leadership. Earn certifications across all front‑of‑house skills and cross‑train into roles like server and baker to become eligible for leadership roles.

Benefits

• Health insurance. Available to full-time employees.
• Paid vacation. Available to full-time employees.
• 401(k) with match. We match up to 4% of your contributions.

Perks

• On us. A free doughnut and coffee beverage every shift you work.
• Employee discount. On product and merch.

Why You’ll Want to Stay

This is a place where craft matters, where your name is on the best cup someone has all week, and where the team actually likes showing up. If great coffee and taking care of people both mean something to you, you’ll be at home here.