Front of House & Bartender
Blacks Corner at Culture House Sunderland
Do you thrive on delivering an exceptional customer experience? Do you have a passion for great food, drinks and hospitality? Are you an experienced server or bartender looking to take your skills to the next level?
We’re looking for confident, calm, organised, cheerful and experienced Front of House Servers and Bartenders to join the team at Blacks Corner, our farm-to-table delicatessen, eatery and wine bar at the brand-new Culture House Sunderland.
Recruitment Evenings
If your application is successful, we're hosting two recruitment evenings for our new team:
Wednesday 19th August – 6pm
Monday 24th August – 6pm
Weekend evening availability is essential for our roles.
About Blacks Corner
Situated at the heart of Riverside Sunderland, Culture House is a new cultural destination for the city, bringing together creativity, learning, events, exhibitions, digital experiences and a wide range of visitors under one roof.
And at the heart of that experience will be Blacks Corner.
Our food is rooted in exceptional British farmhouse produce, with handmade and freshly prepared dishes built around farmhouse cheeses, British charcuterie, local produce and carefully selected ingredients.
Alongside this, we’ll be serving a carefully selected drinks offering including small-batch and organic wines, beers and ales, cocktails, speciality coffee and loose-leaf teas.
We’re looking for people who understand that great hospitality is about much more than taking an order or making a drink.
It’s about creating an experience.
Front of House Server
As a Front of House Server, you’ll be the face of Blacks Corner, welcoming our customers, telling the story behind our food and drink, recommending dishes and wines, and helping to create the relaxed but lively atmosphere we want every visitor to experience.
You’ll work as part of a close team to deliver exceptional service from the moment a customer walks through the door.
You’ll be expected to:
- Welcome and look after customers with genuine warmth and enthusiasm
- Take orders and deliver food and drinks confidently and efficiently
- Learn our food and drink menus inside out
- Talk knowledgeably about British cheeses, charcuterie, farmhouse produce and our suppliers
- Develop a strong understanding of our wine, beer, cocktail, coffee and tea offering
- Make confident recommendations based on customers’ tastes
- Maintain excellent standards of presentation and service
- Work calmly and efficiently during busy periods
- Help create atmosphere, energy and a sense of occasion
- Work closely with the kitchen and wider Blacks Corner team
- Support events, tastings, workshops and supper clubs
- Help make every visit feel personal, memorable and worth coming back for
Previous experience in a quality restaurant, café, deli, wine bar, hotel or other premium hospitality environment is essential.
A genuine interest in food, wine and hospitality is particularly important.
Bartender
As a Bartender at Blacks Corner, you’ll play a key role in creating the atmosphere our customers experience.
You’ll be responsible for preparing and serving our drinks to a consistently high standard while engaging with customers and helping to make their visit memorable.
You’ll need to be comfortable working in a busy environment, managing multiple orders while maintaining a calm, friendly and professional approach.
You’ll be expected to:
- Prepare and serve cocktails, wine, beer, coffee and other drinks to a high standard
- Deliver warm, knowledgeable and engaging customer service
- Learn our drinks list and confidently talk customers through it
- Develop a strong knowledge of our wines, including the stories behind the producers and why we have selected them
- Make confident recommendations based on customers’ tastes and their food choices
- Maintain excellent standards of presentation, cleanliness and organisation
- Work efficiently during busy service periods
- Support the wider Front of House team when required
- Help create energy, atmosphere and theatre at the bar
- Work closely with the kitchen and FOH team to ensure food and drinks are delivered seamlessly
- Support tastings, events, workshops and supper clubs
- Take pride in every drink that leaves the bar
Previous experience in a quality restaurant, wine bar, cocktail bar, café, hotel or other premium hospitality environment is essential.
Weekend evening availability is essential.
More than just hospitality
We want our team to understand what we serve, why we serve it and where it comes from.
You’ll undertake training to learn our food and drink menus, our producers and suppliers, and the stories behind our products.
You’ll be encouraged to develop your knowledge of wine, cocktails, beer, coffee and food pairing, giving you the confidence to talk to customers rather than simply take an order.
There may also be opportunities to get involved in food and drink workshops, tastings and events alongside our farmhouse producers and suppliers.
We want our team to create theatre, atmosphere and a genuine sense of occasion for our customers.
We want people who love hospitality
Our ideal candidates will be:
- Positive, friendly and naturally personable
- Confident and calm under pressure
- Reliable and well organised
- Experienced in hospitality and customer service
- Strong team players
- Passionate about delivering exceptional service
- Interested in food, wine and drinks
- Keen to learn and develop their knowledge
- Comfortable talking to customers and making recommendations
- Attentive to detail and presentation
- Someone who enjoys creating atmosphere and making people feel welcome
Wine is important
A keen interest in wine is a must.
Our wine offering is an important part of the Blacks Corner experience, and we want our team to be able to talk about it with genuine enthusiasm.
You don’t need to be a wine expert already — but you should have a genuine interest and a desire to learn.
We’ll be asking you to demonstrate your wine knowledge and enthusiasm at interview.
Why Blacks Corner at Culture House?
This is an opportunity to join Blacks Corner at the beginning of an exciting new chapter and become part of one of Sunderland’s newest cultural destinations.
We want Blacks Corner to be a place where people come for great food and drink, stay for the atmosphere and leave wanting to come back.
We want it to feel welcoming, knowledgeable, relaxed, energetic and a little bit special.
If you love great food, great drinks, great people and delivering hospitality that goes beyond expectations, we’d love to meet you.
Good luck — we look forward to hearing from you!
Blacks Corner
Pay: £12.71 per hour
Work Location: In person
