FT Kitchen Assistant Manager

Socket.dev; Clifton (NJ); On-site; USD 30,000 - 37,000; Full time

Job summary

Stew Leonard's is seeking a Kitchen Assistant Manager for its New Jersey operations. This full‑time hourly role supports overall kitchen department performance and profitability with limited supervision.

You will help merchandise the salad bar, manage displays, ensure production plans are met, and assist in hiring, training, and performance discussions. Competitive pay and growth opportunities are offered.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or equivalent with 1–3 years' culinary experience.
• Safe operation of kitchen equipment (choppers, ovens, fryers) and knife handling.
• Understand product costing and how to minimize waste.
• Basic math skills for recipes and portioning.
• Excellent customer service skills.
• Proficient in MS Excel and Outlook; HRIS and purchasing systems.
• Strong communication, organizational skills; ability to delegate and multitask.

Responsibilities

• Merchandise salad bar and ensure signage is visible.
• Keep displays full and product rotated properly.
• Meet daily production plan and assist with goals.
• Show and sell, cross-merchandise when possible.
• Place vendor orders and transfers as needed.
• Participate in inventories and meetings.
• Assist in hiring, promoting, and training team members.
• Provide timely performance feedback and set schedules in HRIS.
• Ensure SOPs and health codes compliance.
• Lead monthly safety and department meetings.
• Oversee daily production to sales balance.

Skills

Culinary experience

Knife handling

Product costing

Basic math

Customer service

MS Excel

Outlook

HRIS systems

Purchasing & transfers

Inventory systems

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Delegation

Multitasking

Education

High School Diploma or equivalent

Culinary program preferred

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Outlook

HRIS

Purchase orders / transfers

Inventory systems

Job description

Stew Leonard's, a family-owned and operated fresh food store founded in 1969, has locations in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. Stew's earned its nickname, the \"Disneyland of Dairy Stores\" because of its country-fair atmosphere, with costumed characters and animated entertainment throughout the store that keep children entertained while parents shop.

Kitchen Assistant Manager

Full Time Hourly - $22.00 - $27.00 per hour

depending on qualifications and experience

Must be at least 18 years and older

Position Description

With limited supervision, the assistant manager is responsible for assisting with the overall operations, sales goals and profitability of the Kitchen Department.

Your day-to-day

• Ensure the salad bar and displays are merchandised and appropriate signage is visible
• Ensure displays are full and product is rotated appropriately

• Ensure daily production plan is met
• Show and sell and cross merchandise whenever possible
• Review One Idea Report to identify opportunities to achieve goals
• Place orders with vendors and transfers, when needed
• Participate in monthly, quarterly and yearly department inventories
• Attend department BASH and Strategy meetings
• Assist in hiring, promoting, and training team members
• Provide timely feedback by completing and delivering comprehensive 90 day and mid-year Performance Chats
• Provide feedback to department manager for Annual Performance Appraisals
• Create schedules and enter them into HRIS system for team members to access at least 3 weeks in advance
• Ensure team member time cards are accurate for weekly payroll processing
• Following and enforcing SOP's
• Conduct and/or actively participate in monthly department communication meetings
• Address disciplinary issues in a timely fashion
• Ensure compliance with all employment laws

• Ensure the department is in compliance with all health codes, sanitation and safety regulations
• Ensure representation is present at all monthly Safety Committee Meetings
• Conduct/oversee daily/periodic department cleaning
• Any other projects, as needed
• Oversee daily production to sales within the department to control over/ under sales.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or equivalent with 1 to 3 years' culinary experience. Successful completion of an accredited culinary program preferred, but not a requirement
• Safely operate a choppers, ovens, fryers and all other equipment used in the day to day operation of the kitchen department
• Demonstrate safe knife handling skills
• Demonstrate an understanding of product costing and how to minimize waste
• Demonstrate a basic knowledge of simple math (measurements and conversions for recipes)
• Great customer service skills
• Good computer skills and a basic knowledge of Microsoft Excel and Outlook and the HRIS, purchase order/transfer, and item maintenance systems
• Good communications skills, both written and oral
• Good organizational skills
• The ability to delegate tasks and give clear directions
• The ability to multi-task

What you bring to the team

• Lead by example
• Excellent work ethic
• Excellent interpersonal skill
• Honest
• Confidential
• Quick thinker
• The ability to problem solver
• Firm, but fair
• Flexible

Working Conditions

• The temperature in the department can be warmer than room temperature due to the ovens, fryers and other equipment used in department production
• Exposure to different weather conditions may be possible when the seasonal grill is in operation (April to October)
• Exposure to smoke produced by grills and grease and oil from fryers may be possible
• The position requires frequent walking, standing, lifting, pushing, pulling, squatting, and reach is required with a maximum of 50lbs.

Why you’ll love working here!

Family Oriented

We respect the personal balance between work and family with career opportunity and growth- over 80% of our managers have been promoted from within.

Benefits

High value, high quality Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage, 401 K plan for FT & PT team members, family & personal time, life insurance, short term disability insurance, legal insurance, sick time off, profit sharing, commuter assistance, Annual performance reviews.

Environment

Have you seen the Avocado Girls? Chiquita Banana? Or the singing Parrot?

Pay Day

We're thrilled to offer our Team Members Sunday premium pay, Holiday pay, Dayforce Wallet - a new way to get paid. Say bye-bye to pay day and hello to pay your way. Get your pay as soon as you earn it, at no cost to you - It's your money, why should you have to wait? Request your pay as you earn it.

We take pride in the power of diversity, inclusion, and being socially responsible to the communities which we live and do business

Stew Leonard's is an equal opportunity at will employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of age, race, religion, color, disability, sex, sexual orientation or national origin.