Job Overview
We're looking for an experienced Front of House Manager to join our team at Hay Castle Café.
This role would suit someone who enjoys being part of the day-to-day running of a busy independent café. You'll be leading the team during service, organising rotas, managing stock, training staff and making sure each day runs as smoothly as it should.
We're looking for someone who leads by example, enjoys working alongside their team and takes real pride in creating a café that both customers and staff enjoy spending time in.
This isn't a role where you'll spend your day behind a desk. You'll be out on the floor, helping wherever you're needed, supporting the team through busy services, chatting with customers and making sure the little details don't get overlooked. We believe the best managers are the ones who are visible, approachable and willing to muck in when things get busy.
This is a full time position, our cafe is open 7 days a week between 10am - 5pm. The role would have usual working hours being approximately 9.30am - 5.30pm spread over 5 days to include weekends. There may be occasional evening shifts to assist with our events.
Duties
- Leading the team during service and setting the tone for the day.
- Writing rotas and making sure we're staffed properly.
- Ordering front of house stock and keeping on top of supplies.
- Opening and closing the café, including cashing up.
- Working closely with the kitchen so service runs smoothly.
- Looking after bookings and helping plan for busy days.
- Training new team members and helping everyone develop.
- Making sure the café always looks clean, welcoming and well looked after.
- Keeping on top of food safety, health & safety and the day-to-day jobs that keep the place running.
- Dealing with customer queries or complaints in a calm, friendly way.
- Looking for ways we can do things a little better tomorrow than we did today.
Requirements
- Have experience managing a busy café, restaurant or similar hospitality business.
- Enjoy leading a team rather than simply supervising one.
- Like being organised and planning ahead.
- Are comfortable writing rotas and managing staffing levels.
- Have experience with ordering and stock control.
- Stay calm when it's busy and know how to keep a team motivated.
- Have high standards
- Don't mind rolling your sleeves up and getting stuck in wherever you're needed.
- Genuinely enjoy hospitality and making people feel looked after.
Benefits
- A generous share of tips.
- Company pension.
- Discounted staff food while you're working.
- Unlimited drinks on shift
- Ongoing training and support.
- The chance to make the role your own and have a real say in how the café runs.
A bit about us
Hay Castle Café is run by Epicure Events, a small independent hospitality business. We care about serving good food, supporting local suppliers where we can and creating somewhere people genuinely enjoy visiting.
We're not interested in being the biggest—we just want to be really good at what we do.
The same goes for our team. We'd much rather have good people who care than a huge workforce.
Over the last few years we've built a loyal customer base and a reputation for great food, delicious coffee and friendly, welcoming service. As the café continues to grow, we're looking for someone with previous hospitality management experience who can lead our front of house team with confidence, support and a hands on approach.
If you're someone who takes pride in running a great service, enjoys leading a team and would like to be part of an independent business where your ideas are listened to, we'd love to hear from you.
Send us your CV and tell us a little about yourself. We'd much rather hear why you think you'd be a good fit than read a generic covering letter.
Pay: From £29,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Discounted or free food
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Hereford HR3 5DG: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Experience:
- Hospitality management: 1 year (preferred)
- Hospitality: 2 years (required)
Location:
- Hereford HR3 5DG (preferred)
Work Location: In person
