A Barista prepares and serves coffee and other beverages at coffee houses or coffee bars. Takes customer orders, serves baked goods and snacks, runs and maintains coffee making equipment and monitors supplies.
In-person About the Role We're opening a small neighborhood café and deli in Downtown Stockton and are looking for a hands-on Café Manager / Lead Operator to take ownership of the day-to-day business. This is not a traditional restaurant manager position where you'll spend your day managing a large staff. The café is approximately 1,300 sq. ft. with a simple operation focused on coffee, breakfast and lunch. We're looking for someone who is comfortable running the café independently from open to close and treating the business like it's their own. You'll make coffee, prepare sandwiches and other menu items, serve customers, handle the register, keep the café clean and stocked, manage inventory and ordering, and oversee the overall customer experience. As the business grows, you'll also have the autonomy to identify when additional help is needed and help hire and manage part-time staff. What You'll Own Open and close the café each day Prepare coffee, sandwiches and other café/deli items Provide friendly, efficient customer service Operate the POS and handle daily transactions Maintain a clean, organized and welcoming café Manage inventory, ordering and vendor needs Monitor food quality, freshness and waste Help refine the menu and day-to-day operation based on customer demand Build relationships with regular customers and surrounding businesses Identify opportunities to increase sales and improve the customer experience Hire, train and manage part-time help if/when additional staffing is needed Take overall ownership of making sure the café runs smoothly Who We're Looking For We're less concerned about having the perfect résumé and more interested in finding someone who is reliable, self-directed and takes ownership. You may be a great fit if you: Have previous café, deli, restaurant, barista or food-service experience Are comfortable working independently Know how to make quality coffee and/or prepare sandwiches and simple food Are dependable and punctual — you understand that the business relies on you being there Enjoy interacting with customers and building relationships with regulars Notice problems and solve them without needing to be told Keep a clean and organized workspace Are comfortable managing inventory, ordering and basic business operations Would enjoy having significant autonomy over a small café Restaurant or café management experience is a plus, but an ownership mentality is more important to us than a management title. Why This Role Is Different You'll have considerably more autonomy than a typical barista or restaurant employee. We want someone who can make decisions, improve the operation and become the person customers associate with the café. For the right person, this is an opportunity to run a small café almost like your own business without having to invest the capital to start one yourself.
