Cafe Manager

The Indigo Road Hospitality Group; Charlottesville (VA); On-site; USD 25,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

The Indigo Road Hospitality Group is seeking a Cafe Shift Lead to oversee our cafe operations with hands-on leadership and a focus on guest experience, service quality, and financial performance. The successful candidate will manage staff, create schedules, train teams, monitor daily operations, and ensure safety and brand standards in a fast-paced hospitality environment.

This role requires nights and weekend availability and a collaborative mindset to drive guest satisfaction and operational

Qualifications

• 3+ years of progressive front-of-house experience in a full-service, elevated dining environment.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, and develop teams in a high-touch hospitality setting.
• Strong floor presence with excellent problem-solving and guest service skills.
• Detail-oriented with a commitment to quality, consistency, and brand alignment.

Responsibilities

• Supervise, hire, train, and evaluate all café staff.
• Create and manage schedules to align staffing with service demands and labor efficiency.
• Develop and lead comprehensive training programs focused on service standards, guest experience, and safety.
• Provide daily, visible leadership, coaching, and in-the-moment support.
• Conduct daily pre-shift meetings to align and energize the team.
• Train and mentor staff on hospitality, service standards, and technical execution.
• Support onboarding and cultural integration of new team members.
• Monitor sales, labor, and cost performance; identify areas of improvement to drive financial health and guest satisfaction.
• Oversee daily operations of IRHG’s café, ensuring smooth counter service and an exceptional guest experience.
• Collaborate with the culinary team to refine menus for both concepts, ensuring offerings are high-quality, brand-aligned, and operationally efficient.
• Ensure menu materials and digital ordering interfaces are accurate, up-to-date, and visually consistent.
• Address and resolve guest concerns promptly and professionally.

Skills

Front-of-house leadership

Staff training

Guest service

Problem solving

Job description

Cafe Shift Lead

What attracts the best people to work? The same qualities that attract the best customers. The Indigo Road Hospitality Group (IRHG) engages in Enlightened Hospitality which begins with how we treat our teammates. This determines how they treat the guests who visit our hotels and restaurants. This approach produces a team that cares about our guests, our stakeholders, and the physical assets under our care. However talented and committed the team may be, it must be led by dedicated, experienced professionals with the skills to teach and lead other team members.

We are seeking a Cafe Shift Lead who is responsible for overseeing our cafe. This role combines hands-on leadership with strategic planning to ensure exceptional guest experiences, smooth service execution, and strong financial performance. The ideal candidate is hospitality-driven, systems-oriented, and adept at leading teams in dynamic service environments.

As a member of our team, you will be leading and working alongside like-minded individuals in a safe, energetic, and creative environment. Our team strives to collaborate, show compassion, and demonstrate a strong work ethic to provide superior hospitality. We believe that our success begins with you.

Summary of Key Responsibilities

• Supervise, hire, train, and evaluate allCafé staff.
• Create and manage schedules to align staffing with service demands and labor efficiency.
• Develop and lead comprehensive training programs focused onservice standards, guest experience, and safety.
• Provide daily, visibleleadership, coaching, and in-the-moment support.
• Conduct daily pre-shift meetings to align and energize the team.
• Train and mentor staff on hospitality, service standards, and technical execution.
• Support the onboarding and cultural integration of new team members.
• Monitor sales, labor, and cost performance;identifyareas of improvement to drive financial health and guest satisfaction.
• Oversee daily operations of IRHG s café, ensuring smooth counter service and an exceptional guest experience.
• Manage Dining operations, aligning execution with IRHG standardsand ensuringtimely,accurateorder fulfillment.
• Maintain a clean, organized, and guest-ready café environment in adherencewithhealth and safety regulations.
• Oversee procurement and inventory for both outlets, ensuring proper stock levels of food, beverage, packaging, andsmallwares.
• Track and resolve inventory variances; proactively prevent shortages or overages.
• Collaborate with the culinary team to refine menus for both concepts, ensuring offerings are high-quality, brand-aligned, and operationally efficient.
• Ensure menu materials and digital ordering interfaces areaccurate, up-to-date, and visually consistent.
• Address and resolve guest concerns promptly and professionally.
• Serve as the primary contact for café and IRD-related vendors; coordinate maintenance and support with BOH and facilities teams.
• Collaborate with the Beverage Manager to ensure coffee and beverage equipment is well-maintained andfunctioningoptimally.

Requirements for Success:

• 3+ years of progressive front-of-house experience in a full-service, elevateddining environment.
• Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, and develop teams in a high-touch hospitality setting.
• Strong floor presence with excellent problem-solving and guest service skills.
• Detail-oriented with a commitment to quality, consistency, and brand alignment.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, guest-centric environment whilemaintainingpoise and professionalism.
• Systems-driven mindset withabilityto create and implement SOPs.
• Team-oriented leadership style withstrong communicationand training skills.
• Enthusiastic, motivated, and capable of balancing creativity with operational discipline.
• Flexible to work nights and weekends when necessary, based on business and staffing needs.

The above job description is not an exhaustive list of all the duties and responsibilities of the position, nor should it be construed as a contract. As with all positions at The Indigo Road Hospitality Group, employment is “at will” or voluntary on both the part of the employee or employer. That means employment can be terminated by either party with or without notice and/or with or without cause.

The Indigo Road Hospitality Group is an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment on any basis prohibited by federal, state, or local laws. This policy governs all aspects of employment, including selection, job assignment, compensation, promotion, discipline, termination, and access to benefits and training.