Director of Operations – Multi Unit

About Us:

Lyfe Hospitality is a multi-concept hospitality group focused on building and scaling modern, experience-driven food and beverage brands. Our portfolio ranges from sourdough-focused pizza and wellness cafés to next-generation dessert concepts and long-standing Italian restaurants, reflecting both innovation and legacy. With six operating locations and two additional units opening in Q3 2026, we are in a strong growth phase. We operate as a platform organization — combining clear brand positioning, efficient systems, and strategic planning to expand into new markets and concepts. Team members join a culture that emphasizes quality, thoughtful design, and operational excellence.

About The Role

Lyfe Hospitality is looking for a hands-on Director of Operations to be the owner's right hand across multiple restaurant concepts and locations. This is not a desk job. Most days you will be in the restaurants — leading managers, coaching teams, jumping on the line, running the register, or covering a station when the business needs it. If you are looking for a purely office-based role, this is not the right fit. You are responsible for driving operational performance, ensuring brand standards, and delivering exceptional guest experiences while maintaining profitability and compliance. This role partners closely with finance and executive leadership on budgeting, forecasting, and long-term planning — and shows up in the restaurants every single day to make it happen.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead daily operations across all Lyfe Hospitality locations, ensuring each unit is properly staffed, executing standards, and delivering an exceptional guest experience
• Act as the owner's right hand — be the primary operational point of contact for managers, troubleshoot issues in real time, and make decisions to keep the business moving
• Hire, train, and develop store managers and key hourly team members, building a strong leadership bench across all locations
• Support new unit openings from planning through grand opening: staffing, training, build-out readiness, and on-the-ground execution
• Visit locations regularly to coach managers, reinforce standards, and step into any role needed — register, expo, line, floor — to support the team and protect the guest experience
• Oversee catering operations: ensure inquiries are answered, orders are taken accurately, and execution meets brand and guest expectations
• Partner with culinary and production teams to maintain product and recipe consistency across all concepts and support new menu rollouts
• Ensure all locations meet food safety and regulatory standards, including temperature logs, sanitation, and health inspection readiness
• Set and monitor performance metrics; use data and guest feedback to drive operational decisions and continuous improvement
• Implement and enforce SOPs, checklists, opening/closing routines, scheduling best practices, and communication processes across all units
• Collaborate with finance and executive leadership on budgeting, labor planning, cost control, and forecasting

Hands-On Expectations — Please Read

This role requires a "whatever it takes" mindset. You will be expected to:

• Maintain regular, in-person presence across all locations including peak hours, nights, weekends, and holidays
• Work any station in the restaurant — register, line, expo, floor, support — when coverage is short or standards need to be demonstrated
• Be reachable and available 7 days a week as operational needs arise
• Lead by example on the floor, not just from behind a laptop or clipboard

Qualifications

• 5 years of multi-unit restaurant or hospitality operations leadership, or 5 years leading a single high-volume unit with clear readiness to scale
• Proven success hiring, training, and holding managers and frontline teams accountable in a fast-paced environment
• Strong analytical skills — comfortable with KPIs, P&L analysis, and data-driven decision-making
• Budgeting and financial management experience: labor planning, cost control, COGS, and forecasting
• Comfortable and willing to work any station in the restaurant when needed — this is a non-negotiable part of the role
• Excellent communication, coaching, and conflict-resolution skills; able to have hard conversations professionally and maintain a high-accountability, team-first culture
• Comfortable with systems and technology: POS, scheduling, inventory, and reporting tools; experience building or standardizing SOPs is strongly preferred
• Valid driver's license and reliable transportation for travel between locations
• Background in opening new units or scaling restaurant concepts is highly beneficial

What We Offer

• Competitive base salary with performance-based bonus opportunities tied to location and company growth
• Direct access to ownership and a real voice in operational, people, and growth decisions
• The opportunity to build systems and a leadership team from the ground up as we scale
• An entrepreneurial, fast-paced environment with a clear path to grow into a larger multi-unit leadership role as the company expands