Assistant General Manager

About Alfalfa

Alfalfa was born at a farmers market in Hoboken, NJ in 2018 with a simple idea: inspire joy through balance. The bi-coastal all day California inspired eatery brings forward a menu with an ingredient-driven approach to providing real food and delightful hospitality in the communities it serves. We’re ingredient-obsessed, people-driven, and community-rooted. We are growing fast and building teams who care deeply about the experience they create.

The Role

The Alfalfa Assistant General Manager is the General Manager’s right hand and second in charge of the restaurant. This role is built on balance, you lead the kitchen with the ownership of a Kitchen Manager, while supporting hospitality and the Front of House so the guest experience is consistent from the line to the guest. Like every Alfalfa manager, you are a restaurant operator. You own the shifts you run, the team you lead, and the results you deliver.

As the Assistant General Manager you are accountable for kitchen operations, including food safety, food quality, recipe adherence, prep execution, yield, and cost of goods. You partner with the General Manager on labor, the P&L, team development, and the overall guest experience, and you run the restaurant in the GM’s absence, making sound decisions and solving problems in real time. The General Manager holds final accountability for the location’s success, your role is to help drive it every shift while building the skills to lead a restaurant of your own.

Job Responsibilities

• Serve as second in charge to the General Manager, lead the restaurant in the GM’s absence, making sound decisions and escalating to the GM and leadership when needed
• Own kitchen operations ensure every item leaving the kitchen meets Alfalfa’s recipe, portioning, and presentation standards and that all in store and online orders are completed accurately and in line with Alfalfa’s prep time standards
• Ensure prep is completed daily against proper par levels based on projected volume; monitor yield
• on all proteins, produce, and prepared items and address variance immediately
• Drive cost of goods through disciplined ordering, accurate receiving, yield management, proper portioning, and waste reduction; conduct inventories, place accurate vendor orders, and track and log daily waste
• Partner with the GM on prime cost and P&L performance; build schedules aligned to projected volume, manage labor during shifts, and enforce clock-in/out and break compliance per state and local law
• Support the Front of House and hospitality, be present on the floor, engage guests, resolve guest concerns, and coach FOH team members on Alfalfa’s hospitality standards
• Support guest feedback results, including Tattle, Google, and Yelp scores; review feedback with the GM and turn it into action in both FOH and Kitchen
• Maintain passing Ecosure audit scores and an ‘A’ grade on local Health Inspections; enforce food safety procedures across all stations: handwashing, allergen handling, temperature monitoring, FIFO, labeling, and sanitation; ensure all logs are completed accurately every shift
• Recruit, onboard, train, and develop team members in both Kitchen and FOH; drive training by utilizing company resources such as Opus
• Coach supervisors and team members in real time, conduct regular performance conversations and support formal reviews. Partner with the GM on disciplinary action and PIPs
• Lead the pre-shift ‘daily sprouts’; build a culture of accountability, urgency, hospitality, and pride in
• craft fully aligned with brand standards
• Keep open communication with the GM on shift results, team concerns, and operational issues; keep Kitchen and FOH working as one team

Job Requirements

• Minimum 3 years of restaurant management experience in a high volume quick service or fast casual environment, with kitchen management experience strongly preferred
• Deep knowledge of prep management, yield, portioning, recipe adherence, and food safety
• standards
• Strong hospitality mindset with working knowledge of FOH service, cash handling, and resolving guest concerns
• Proven ability to train, develop, and hold a team accountable across Kitchen and FOH
• Strong understanding of scheduling, labor management, and compliance with state and local labor laws
• ServSafe certified or willing to become certified
• Ability to read P&L reporting and translate insights into operational action
• Experience conducting inventories, placing accurate vendor orders, and receiving to quality standards
• Sound judgment and problem-solving skills; able to lead the restaurant independently in the GM’s
• absence
• Bilingual (English/Spanish) strongly preferred
• Must be able to stand for the duration of your shift, lift, push, pull, and move product and supplies up to fifty (50) pounds. Work requires bending, twisting, squatting, and reaching
• Commitment to upholding The Alfalfa Way and maintaining a respectful, high performing team environment
• Flexible availability including weekends and holidays
• Schedule: 40-50 hour workweek
• Must be available Saturday and Sunday

Job Type: Full-Time / Exempt

Compensation: $75,000 - $80,000 / annually, commensurate with experience

Benefits:

• Alfalfa contributes 75% toward employee healthcare and dental premiums
• Competitive salary commensurate with experience
• 10 Paid Time Off days per year
• Eligible for the bonus program after completion of full financial period
• Paid Sick Leave
• Supportive and collaborative work environment with a team of passionate professionals dedicated to inspiring joy