General Manager - Restaurant

White Labs Brewing Co. – Asheville, melds the science of fermentation with the culinary arts. Pairing our delicious beers with fermented foods! Founded by White Labs Yeast and Fermentation, White Labs Brewing Co. is known for their high-quality, innovative craft beer. The brewery’s evolution began when Dr. Chris White, Founder and CEO, decided to showcase the impact of fermentation. By splitting batches of beer at the fermentation stage with different yeast strains, we create variations of each beer. With access to an unlimited number of yeast strains, White Labs Brewing Co. creates high-quality beers that highlight both classic and new, novel yeast strains through their distinct profile taste and truly scientific experience.

Website: https://whitelabsbrewingco.com/asheville-nc/

White Labs offers comprehensive benefits for full-time employees, including health insurance (medical, dental, vision), long-term disability insurance, flexible spending account, 401(k), paid time off, paid holidays, milestone rewards, tuition fees reimbursement, and a variety of supplementary benefits (EAP, wellness incentives, financial fitness, discount tickets program, merchandise and festival discounts) through our partner vendors, training and professional development, company events and team-building activities.

Position Summary

Reporting to the Vice President, the General Manager is responsible for managing and enhancing the customer experience at White Labs Brewing Co. (WLBC) in Asheville and supporting White Labs’ external-facing initiatives, ensuring sales goals are met through food, beer, merchandise, and yeast sales. This role oversees the day-to-day front-of-house operations of the Asheville team and works closely with the Chef to support BOH operations.

The General Manager partners with the Head Shift Lead, who supports daily front-of-house operations and provides consistent leadership on the floor. While certain operational responsibilities may be delegated, the General Manager retains full accountability for overall performance, staffing, financial outcomes, and adherence to company policies and standards.

Additionally, the General Manager assists with tours as needed, providing a welcoming and educational experience for guests, and collaborates with brewing, education, and marketing teams to assess quality across beer, food, and guest experience. This role also partners with the Event Coordinator to plan and execute events and promotions that drive business into WLBC.

Essential Functions and Duties

Operations:

• Defines, implements, and revises operational policies and guidelines for WLBC Asheville, ensuring consistent execution across daily operations.
• Establishes SOPs for Asheville FOH and ensures adherence through daily operations, works with the Chef in overseeing BOH operations.
• Evaluates and ensures that food and labor costs are in line with company’s objectives.
• Understands and complies with all federal, state, county and municipal regulations (including North Carolina ABC laws) that pertain to health, safety and labor requirements of staff and guests.
• Oversees the development and training of staff in operational processes and standards, ensuring consistency through the leadership team.
• Ensures a clean and safe working environment for staff and guests by maintaining facilities and enforcing cleaning and maintenance standards.
• Maintains accurate keg and merchandise inventory through inventory systems.
• Works with other departments as assigned to utilize WLBC and customers for R&D projects, including product development.

Hospitality:

• Creates and maintains a high-level culture of hospitality for both staff and guests.
• Proactively seeks out and resolves potential guest concerns or issues.
• Develops steps of service program that focuses on creating unique, exciting and educational experiences for guests.
• Steps in as needed to support guest service standards, quality, and efficient operations, including assisting as a server or beertender during peak or high-demand periods.
• Maintains visibility into daily service execution through regular partnership with the Head Shift Lead.
• Oversees White Labs tour programs in Asheville and collaborates with Asheville and San Diego leadership to ensure alignment with company educational goals and consistent marketing messages.
• Partners with the Event Coordinator to ensure reservations, private bookings, and special events are effectively scheduled and aligned with business needs.
• Works collaboratively with brewing, education, and marketing teams to coordinate beer releases, obtain product details and stories, and ensure staff receive timely and accurate information for guest communication, events, and promotions.
• Assists in ensuring WLBC marketing, advertising, and promotional activities and campaigns are translated through interactions with customers.

Food Service: (in collaboration with Asheville Chef)

• Ensures food quality is up to company standards.
• Manages kitchen inventory and develops daily par levels.
• Provides input on menu creations and updates.

Administration and Financials:

• Contributes to the financial planning of Asheville operations.
• Develops and oversees yearly plans for revenue growth and increased traffic, partnering with the Event Coordinator to execute events, promotions, and initiatives that drive business into WLBC.
• Oversees labor strategy and makes recommendations based on business or seasonal changes, ensuring alignment with labor cost objectives.
• Researches, creates, and implements processes and procedures to maintain the overall cost of goods.
• Oversees inventory management and forecasting.
• Makes suggestions on purchasing needs based on allocated budget.
• Maintains inventory levels and establishes guidelines for product ordering and receiving.
• Manages daily, weekly, and monthly inventories to ensure timely completion and accuracy.
• Ensures all invoices have been coded correctly and forwarded to the accounting department.
• Manages daily sales reports, analyzing for errors and/or causes for concern and making corrections as needed.
• Deposits cash and credit cards per the company’s established procedures.
• Follows the company's established procedures for accepting and handling all cash and non-cash payments (i.e., credit card, promotion, or discount coupon).
• Processes and reconciles all month-end reports.
• Reviews and submits payroll (including tips sheet) for WLBC staff.

Supervisory:

• Provides overall leadership and direction for the Asheville FOH team, including the Head Shift Lead, Servers, and Event Coordinator, and partners with the Chef on BOH leadership.
• Responsible for recruiting, hiring, training, and performance evaluation of FOH staff and the Event Coordinator, partnering with the Chef in BOH hiring and development.
• Manages scheduling and staffing of Asheville FOH team and Event Coordinator.
• Creates and fosters a positive team environment through effective communication, engagement, and leadership presence.
• The General Manager is responsible for all performance management, employee relations, and disciplinary actions, with support from the Head Shift Lead in coaching staff, monitoring performance, documenting concerns, and escalating issues to the General Manager for review and appropriate action.
• Conducts regular meetings with WLBC teams.

Supervisory Responsibilities? Yes

Position(s) that directly report to this position: Head Shift Lead, Lead Servers, Servers, Event Coordinator, Chef (Asheville).

Necessary Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Must be 21 years of age.
• Bachelor’s degree in Restaurant/Hospitality, Business Management or related field preferred.
• 5 years of supervisory experience in full-service restaurant/bar/brewery tasting room.
• Knowledge of brewery operations and craft beer industry.
• Budgeting and P&L experience required.
• ServSafe certification required (or ability to obtain within 2 weeks upon hire).
• Cicerone Certified Beer Certification required (or ability to be certified within 3 months upon hire).
• LEAD certification a plus.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word and Excel) or Google Workspace.
• Working knowledge of Toast and 7Shifts highly preferred.
• Working knowledge of Asana and NetSuite a plus.
• Capable of managing multiple projects simultaneously, working under pressure in fast-paced hospitality environment.
• Customer-focused and deadline-oriented.
• Exemplary customer service skills. Ability to interact professionally and effectively with both staff and guests.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to communicate across FOH and BOH teams.
• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in cross-functional teams.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and adapt through changes.
• Strong leadership skills. Ability to mentor, motivate and lead restaurant team.
• Ability to work evenings, weekends and holidays as needed.
• Ability to travel periodically as business needs require.

Physical Demands

May have a workstation or office, time spent conducting sedentary work is less than 50%. Noise level may be disruptive at times because of kitchen and customer seating areas. Requires walking or standing for more than 50% of the workday. Lifting 50 pounds maximum with frequent lifting and/or carrying of objects weighing up to 25 pounds. Work takes place in a restaurant environment that may have moderate noise levels. Occasional travel required.

Pay: $68,000.00 - $75,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• Dental insurance
• Employee discount
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Paid training
• Vision insurance

Experience:

• Supervising: 5 years (Required)

Ability to Commute:

• Asheville, NC 28801 (Required)

Ability to Relocate:

• Asheville, NC 28801: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person

Salary : $68,000 - $75,000