Kitchen Manager

Role Overview

The Kitchen Manager is the backbone of NAR’s back-of-house — responsible for ensuring every sandwich, salad, and sauce that leaves the kitchen meets our gold standard. This role combines leadership, organization, and hands-on cooking. You’ll oversee day-to-day BOH operations, uphold food safety and DOH compliance, manage prep and production systems, coordinate with our commissary, and train the team to execute every recipe with precision.

This is a build-phase role : you’ll help set up the kitchen systems, lead training, and support the opening and scaling of NAR’s first NYC location.

Key Responsibilities

Operations & Quality

Lead all BOH operations to ensure speed, cleanliness, and consistency during service.

Uphold NYC DOH standards and NAR’s food safety protocols (FIFO, labeling, temp logs, recipe adherence).

Be able to jump on the line, expedite, and model best-in-class execution.

Ensure kitchen equipment, storage areas, and prep zones are maintained and organized daily.

Team & Training

Hire, train, and develop BOH staff with a focus on consistency and pride in product.

Lead pre-shift meetings, communicate prep lists, and set daily kitchen goals.

Schedule and manage labor to meet budget targets while maintaining morale and teamwork.

Support the GM and founders with onboarding, feedback, and performance management.

Inventory & Purchasing

Oversee ordering, receiving, and inventory control of all BOH ingredients and supplies.

Maintain detailed cost sheets and ensure accurate daily and weekly counts.

Manage waste and portioning to hit food cost targets.

Keep all storage areas (walk-in, dry, freezer) organized and labeled.

Commissary Coordination

Work closely with NAR’s commissary kitchen to ensure product consistency and quality.

Verify deliveries and communicate any discrepancies in real time.

Act as the key link between in-store operations and commissary production.

Financial & Administrative

Track food and labor costs, identifying trends and areas to improve efficiency.

Communicate clearly across teams via Slack, email, and in daily check-ins.

Collaborate with the GM and founders on menu updates, R&D, and scaling processes.

Who You Are

3+ years of BOH management experience in a fast-casual or high-volume concept

Strong grasp of prep systems, recipe scaling, and kitchen organization

Comfortable in startup environments — proactive, resourceful, and adaptable

Food safety certified and passionate about operational excellence

Energized by teamwork, culture, and bringing new ideas to life