General Manager

Le Pain Quotidien; California, Northern (MO, KY); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 82,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Real work-life balance - daytime hours

Medical, dental, and vision benefits

PTO starting at 3 weeks

401k with company match

Life insurance

Commuter benefits

Pet insurance

Team member discounts at all brands

Job summary

Le Pain Quotidien seeks a General Manager to lead a guest-centric restaurant, driving hospitality, culture, and business performance. You will own guest experience, coach leaders, and ensure consistent operations with a focus on food quality, safety, and profitability.

With 2+ years in GM roles in full-service settings, you will recruit and develop a high-performing team, forecast needs, and balance day-to-day operations with long-term business health.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of General Manager experience in a full-service restaurant or hospitality group.
• Experience with P&L, labor management, and food cost control.
• Ability to stand for long periods and lift up to 50 lbs; NYC Food Handlers License preferred.

Responsibilities

• You will lead the restaurant from the floor, guiding service and culture.
• You will own guest experience, coach the team, and resolve concerns with empathy.
• Build and develop a high-performing team through recruiting, onboarding, and coaching.
• Oversee operations, ensure food safety, quality, and cleanliness standards.
• You will manage financial performance using P&L, labor, COGS, and inventory.
• You will forecast needs and translate goals into actionable team plans.

Skills

People leadership

Guest experience

P&L ownership

Operational excellence

Talent development

Job description

Be home in time for dinner! At Le Pain Quotidien, we believe exceptional hospitality starts with purpose, in our ingredients, our standards, and how we care for people. When you join LPQ, you become part of a 35-year-old beloved brand built on warmth, community, and connection. From the bread we bake to the experiences we create, we take pride in doing things the right way, every day. Regular guests become familiar faces, teammates support one another, and every shift feels purposeful. We also offer something different from many restaurant environments: a more predictable schedule, a sustainable pace, and the ability to build a career without sacrificing your life outside of work. As part of Convive Brands, you’ll have opportunities to grow your career across a portfolio of restaurant concepts, including California Pizza Kitchen and Little Beet. At LPQ, you’re not just joining a restaurant, you’re joining a place where you can develop your skills and career, take pride in your work, and be part of building a strong community.

About the Role

As General Manager, you will lead the restaurant with a clear focus on people, hospitality, and business performance. You’ll set the tone for the restaurant culture, lead visibly from the floor, and inspire a team dedicated to creating memorable experiences for every guest. As the leader of the restaurant, you’ll have meaningful ownership across guest experience, team development, operational execution, and financial performance. You’ll build and develop a high-performing team, coach leaders in the moment, identify opportunities to improve the business, and create an environment where both our people and our guests want to return. This role is designed for an experienced hospitality leader who thrives in a fast-paced environment, leads with energy and authenticity, and is motivated by the opportunity to make a tangible impact on the people, performance, and culture of their restaurant every day.

You will

• Lead from the floor, staying highly engaged throughout service, connecting with guests, coaching the team in real time, and setting the standard for exceptional hospitality.
• Own the guest experience, anticipating needs, resolving concerns with empathy and urgency, and turning service recovery moments into opportunities to build loyalty.
• Build and develop a high-performing team by recruiting, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, coaching, and retaining top talent.
• Create a strong culture of accountability, recognition, development, and hospitality, ensuring team members understand what great looks like and have the tools to achieve it.
• Own restaurant operations, ensuring consistent execution across opening, service, and closing while maintaining high standards for food, service, cleanliness, and hospitality.
• Maintain rigorous standards for food safety, quality, cleanliness, and compliance.
• Own restaurant financial performance, using the P&L, sales trends, labor, COGS, inventory, and other key metrics to identify opportunities and drive results.
• Manage food costs and inventory, proactively addressing waste, variances, ordering opportunities, and operational inefficiencies.
• Partner with leadership to forecast business needs, set priorities, and translate financial goals into clear actions for the team.
• Lead with a long‑term mindset, balancing the immediate needs of the restaurant with the continued development of the team and the health of the business.

You have

• 2+ years of General Manager experience in a full‑service restaurant, hospitality group or comparable restaurant environment.
• We also welcome experienced Assistant General Managers or senior restaurant leaders with significant people, operational, and financial ownership who are ready to step into a General Manager role.
• A genuine passion for hospitality and a proven ability to lead with energy, empathy, accountability, and vision.
• A track record of building strong restaurant cultures where team members feel valued, motivated, challenged, and inspired to perform at their best.
• Demonstrated success in recruiting, developing, coaching, and retaining high‑performing teams.
• A proven track record of driving business results while maintaining high standards for hospitality, service, food quality, and guest satisfaction.
• P&L ownership and financial acumen, including experience with forecasting, labor management, COGS, inventory, and identifying opportunities to improve profitability.
• A leadership style that balances hands‑on floor presence with strategic thinking, knowing when to coach, when to delegate, and when to step in.

Must be able to stand for prolonged periods and lift and carry items weighing up to 50 lbs. A NYC Food Handlers License is required to be considered for this position. Proficiency in Spanish, French, and/or Arabic is a plus.

The annualized salary range for this position (plus a bonus) is: $70,000.00 - $82,000.00

Perks and Benefits

• Real work-life balance - daytime hours
• Medical, dental, and vision benefits
• PTO starting at 3 weeks
• 401k with company match
• Life insurance
• Commuter benefits
• Pet insurance
• Team member discounts at all our brands

Convive Brands is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, age, veteran status, or other protected class. Convive Brands celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Le Pain Quotidien means the daily bread. And to us, that means everything. It’s much more than mere sustenance; it’s a way of life. As our loaves emerge from the ovens, warm and fragrant, friends gather around our communal tables to share in the time‑honored tradition of breaking bread. The hum of conversation fills the air, jam is passed around the table, and, ever so gracefully, time slows.

Convive Brands is a New York-based hospitality group that builds and operates high‑quality restaurant brands. Convive operates 60+ restaurants nationwide across three concepts: Le Pain Quotidien, Little Beet, and Little Beet Table. As a patient, long‑term investor‑operator, it aims to build significant enterprise value through both organic growth and acquisition.