Café and Retail Associate - Chestnut

Dandelion Chocolate; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 23,866 - 33,992; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental benefits

Vision benefits

401k program

Paid vacation

Job summary

Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco is hiring for a Café and Retail Associate at the Chestnut location. You will learn about chocolate, assist guests with drinks and pastries, and help maintain the café flow and cleanliness. The role starts at $21/hour plus tips and requires weekend and evening availability.

You’ll join a small, friendly team that values hospitality, chocolate education, and a high standard of customer service. Experience in retail and English fluency are valued assets.

Qualifications

• Weekend and evening availability required.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to engage customers.
• 1–2 years of retail or customer-facing experience in a fast-paced environment.
• Fluent spoken English required.

Responsibilities

• Prepare hot and cold beverages, espresso drinks, and chocolate samples.
• Provide excellent guest service and build relationships with visitors.
• Suggest chocolate pairings and explain our production process to customers.

Skills

Customer service

Espresso drinks

Teamwork

Interpersonal skills

English fluency

Job description

Job Title: Café and Retail Associate - Chestnut

Hours: Full time, 32-40 hours/week (weekends and evenings required)

Department: Retail team - Chestnut Location

Report: Chestnut Manager

Wage: Starts at $21/hour plus tips

About the Role

As an associate, you’ll first learn everything about chocolate from where it’s grown, how it’s processed, and how to make your own batch of chocolate. With the variety of visitors that come through the Chestnut every day, you'll become an expert taster of all of our drinks, treats, and bars and know how the cocoa origin impacts the flavor of the chocolate bar. While we’re chocolate makers, we are also passionate and excited about coffee, and we train with Ritual Coffee Roasters. This role starts at $21/hour plus tips.

A typical café day might start with reading the daily café report and knowing to expect the dishwasher repair person in the morning and a walking tour group around noon. When the line is down the corridor, your focus turns to ensuring each person receives a thoughtful, exquisite experience. During welcomed breaks from the rushes, you might restock the retail shelves, sweep the floor, or adjust the espresso machine to ensure that shots are pouring consistently.

Responsibilities

• Coffee & Chocolate Excellence: Create hot chocolate drinks and espresso drinks with our manual machine and brew coffee with a consistent level of excellence. Know allergen information and be able to answer questions about our chocolate, pastries, and drinks with ease. Make recommendations for pairing chocolate with espresso drinks based upon your chocolate knowledge and experience.
• Guest Service: Regardless of the day of the week or the crowds, guests can depend upon you for an amazing drink and pastry experience. Be timely, dress professionally, and develop long-standing relationships so that visitors look forward to your thoughtful attention.
• Systems & Processes: Identify ways to improve operating procedures, checklists, and documentation so that your individual observations benefit the entire team and lead to all‑around cafe improvements.
• Team-player: Be a positive, team-oriented player who brings the team up even when the line is out the door. Your coworkers want to work with you again (and again and again).
• Other tasks as necessary.

Requirements

• Weekend & Weekday Availability: Our shop is open 7 days/week so some flexibility in scheduling is helpful. We are looking for availability on weekends and evenings.
• Great Interpersonal Skills: You should be able to develop a quick rapport with customers by detailing our chocolate making process and why you relate to it, inspiring guests to learn more about chocolate! Proven ability to work well within a team environment.
• Previous experience: 1-2 years of retail or customer‑facing work experience in a fast‑paced environment. Experience making espresso drinks is a huge plus!
• Language Skills: Fluent spoken English is required. Additional language skills are a plus as we frequently host guests from all over the world!

Benefits

The benefits and perks continue beyond a robust chocolate education. Dandelion Chocolate constantly invests in our people and culture. All team members receive heavily subsidized medical, vision, and dental benefits as well as the option to enroll in our 401k program. All team members receive paid vacation time, holiday pay, and paid sick time. In addition, our team members enjoy commuter benefits, FSAs, chocolate tasting opportunities, and a range of opportunities to grow and develop within the company.