General Manager (Restaurants)

Il Fornaio; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Benefits package

Paid vacation

Education assistance

Dining discounts

Job summary

Il Fornaio seeks an experienced General Manager to lead a single-location restaurant with accountability for the business, guest experience, and team development. You will own P&L, drive service standards, and cultivate a high-performing culture in a fast-paced hospitality environment.

You will recruit, coach, and retain talent, ensure compliance and food safety, and partner with the Managing Partner to execute company strategies and achieve sustainable profitability.

Qualifications

• 5-7 years of progressive restaurant management experience, ideally including General Manager or comparable senior leadership responsibility.
• Experience leading a high-quality, full-service restaurant is required.
• Demonstrated ownership of restaurant P&L performance, including sales, labor, forecasting, controllable expenses, productivity, and profitability.

Responsibilities

• Own full restaurant P&L and profitability.
• Lead the restaurant management team and staffing.
• Maintain exceptional guest experience and proactive guest recovery.
• Foster a culture of trust, accountability, curiosity, and continuous learning.
• Build community relationships to strengthen local relevance and business performance.

Skills

P&L ownership

Guest experience

Team development

Communication skills

Hospitality leadership

Tools

POS systems

HR/ATS

Scheduling software

Job description

General Manager

Business Leadership | Hospitality | People Development | Operational Excellence

Exceptional restaurants are built through exceptional leadership.

At Il Fornaio, the General Manager is the leader of the restaurant: accountable for the business, the guest experience, the team, and the standards that bring our hospitality to life. This role is for an experienced restaurant leader who combines strong business judgment with genuine hospitality, develops great teams, and takes ownership of results.

The Opportunity

Lead the overall performance of a single location while reporting to the Managing Partner. You will own the business results, lead the restaurant management team, strengthen the guest experience, build a high-performing culture, and drive disciplined execution across the operation.

What You'll Lead

• Full restaurant performance, including P&L ownership, sales growth, labor productivity, controllable expenses, forecasting, and profitability.
• A high-performing restaurant leadership team through effective selection, coaching, performance management, succession planning, and retention.
• Appropriate staffing for the restaurant, with clear accountability for recruiting, interviewing, hiring, onboarding, and developing talent.
• An exceptional guest experience through visible hospitality leadership, proactive guest recovery, and consistent execution of service and quality standards.
• Restaurant-level sales opportunities and community relationships that strengthen local relevance and business performance within company direction.
• A culture of trust, accountability, curiosity, adaptability, clear communication, and continuous learning.
• A leadership presence that reflects the needs of the business and reinforces safety, compliance, operational discipline, and company standards.

What You Bring

• 5-7 years of progressive restaurant management experience, ideally including General Manager or comparable senior restaurant leadership responsibility.
• Experience leading a high-quality, full-service restaurant is required.
• Demonstrated ownership of restaurant P&L performance, including sales, labor, forecasting, controllable expenses, productivity, and profitability.
• A track record of building strong management teams, maintaining appropriate staffing, developing people, setting clear expectations, and creating accountability for performance.
• Strong hospitality instincts and sound judgment in guest recovery and service leadership.
• Strong working knowledge of full-service restaurant operations and operational standards.
• Working knowledge of food safety, responsible alcohol service, workplace safety, and restaurant compliance requirements.
• High emotional intelligence, adaptability, curiosity, and the ability to lead with professionalism and composure in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Comfort with standard restaurant and business technology, including POS, scheduling and labor, inventory, financial reporting, HR/ATS, and related systems.
• Ability to obtain and maintain all certifications required by applicable law and company policy.

What You'll Receive

• Competitive Compensation around $100,000 annually plus bonus opportunities
• Complete benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401K, and employee assistance program
• Accrued Paid Vacation starting at 2 weeks annually (separate accrued sick time)
• Education Assistance and Dining Discounts

Il Fornaio is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with applicable law.