Job descriptionGeneral Manager — Buddy & Sons
Location: Buddy & Sons at PUBLIC Hotel, Lower East Side, New York, NY
Reports to: Ownership/Director of Operations
Employment type: Full-time, exempt,
Growth track: Director of Operations
About Buddy & Sons:
Buddy & Sons is a seasonal brasserie inside PUBLIC Hotel on the Lower East Side — 95
seats in the dining room, 35 at the bar, and a beautiful 60+ seat garden. The cooking is ingredient-
driven and unfussy: sophisticated in sensibility, simple in execution, built around sourcing and seasonality. Great hospitality starts with the people who create it, and a room is only as good as the way it makes people feel.
Buddy & Sons is a room for the neighborhood — for the artists, makers, regulars, and
wanderers who have always defined the Lower East Side — and for the seasonal visitors
who come to stay at the hotel. Whether someone is a daily local or here for a single night,
everyone matters equally. The daily energy the neighborhood brings is what gives the room
its pull: locals fill the space with life, and that life is exactly what draws hotel guests down
out of pure curiosity, wanting to be part of it. Service begins with dinner and brunch and will build into lunch — seven days a week.
The Role:
Buddy & Sons is seeking a General Manager to lead the floor, the team, and the guest
experience. The role suits someone who is equal parts host and operator: polished,
buttoned up, genuinely gracious, and fluent enough in wine and food to set the standard for
the room. The General Manager owns the nightly experience and the P&L behind it, builds
and protects a culture the team is proud of, and becomes the face of Buddy & Sons to a
neighborhood that notices who's paying attention.
It is also a role with a horizon. The right person grows into a Director of Operations seat as
the business does.
Core Responsibilities:
Guest Experience & Floor Leadership
Set the tone for every service — present, warm, and unhurried, working the floor as
the room's host and its standard-bearer. Look after regulars, neighbors, and hotel guests alike, treating every one of them as though they matter equally, because they do. Know guests by name and remember them. Name recall is one of the most powerful tools in the room, and here it is non-negotiable. Own service standards end to end: sequence, pacing, table touches, and graceful recovery when something slips. Read the room and adjust in real time — energy, sound, light, and flow.
Wine & Beverage Program
Shape and steward the wine program across the dining room and 35-seat bar — a list
that is thoughtful, seasonal, and unintimidating.
Lead by example on the floor, guiding guests through the list with confidence and
generosity, never pretension. Train the team to sell and serve wine and cocktails with real fluency.
Manage inventory, pricing, cost, and vendor relationships across the beverage program.
Team & Culture
Hire, train, schedule, and develop the front-of-house team, holding a high bar with warmth. Live the house ethos — take care of the people first, so they can take care of everyone else. Run pre-shift, coach in the moment, and give feedback that makes people better. Partner closely with the kitchen so front and back of house move as one.
Operations & Financial Performance
Own day-to-day operations and the numbers behind them: revenue, labor, cost of goods, and margin. Build schedules that serve both the guest and the P&L. Manage ordering, par levels, and vendor relationships across front-of-house and beverage. Read the reporting, spot the trends, and act on them.
Standards, Discretion & Compliance
Uphold Buddy & Sons and PUBLIC Hotel standards without exception — including strict guest privacy, media and press discretion, and confidentiality around high-profile and celebrity guests. Ensure the team follows all Hotel facility and access protocols. Maintain a workplace that is safe, respectful, and fully compliant with company policy and New York law. Model the conduct, professionalism, and care the handbook asks of every team member.
Community & Neighborhood
Make Buddy & Sons a room where the Lower East Side feels at home — where artists, creatives, and longtime neighbors are recognized and genuinely welcomed. Cultivate the daily local energy that gives the room its pull — the very thing that makes hotel guests want to come down and be part of it. Bring real awareness of the neighborhood's art and cultural history to how the room is hosted. Build relationships across the community, and be a presence people come back for.
The Ideal Candidate
Buttoned-up and smart. Organized, articulate, and detail-obsessed, with a natural polish. Genuinely gracious. Hospitality is instinct, not performance. People feel better in their presence. Sharp on names. Remembers people — names, faces, the drink they had last time — and uses it to make everyone feel known. Wine-fluent. Deep, current wine knowledge, and a love of sharing it in a way that draws people in. Culturally literate. Art-aware and attuned to the Lower East Side's history and character — and it shows in the hosting. A builder. Leads people well, holds standards high, and wants to grow into something bigger.
Experience & Qualifications
5+ years in restaurant management, with meaningful time as a GM or senior AGM in a high-standard, high-volume dining room. Demonstrated wine expertise; sommelier certification (or equivalent depth) strongly
preferred. Proven command of restaurant financials — P&L ownership, labor and cost management, forecasting. A track record of leading, developing, and retaining strong front-of-house teams. Comfort operating inside a hotel or within an environment that demands discretion and polish. Fluent in Toast across the board — POS, all back-of-house reporting, and API integrations. Full availability across a brasserie's schedule, including evenings, weekends, and holidays.
The Path Forward
Buddy & Sons is the first chapter, not the whole story. The role is built for someone who wants to grow — into a Director of Operations seat, with responsibility across more of the business as it expands. It is a partnership in that growth, and the investment goes to the person who is ready for it.
Details
Full-time, on-site at PUBLIC Hotel, Lower East Side.
Compensation: [$90,000 - $120,000] with full benefits.
Reports to Ownership and Director of Operations.
