Bar Director

Jupiter, a second restaurant from the team behind King, will celebrate the generous simplicity of regional Italian food and drink in New York’s iconic Rockefeller Center. Located at the North Side of the rink, the restaurant will become an essential part of Midtown’s new “town square” with its focused menu of antipasti and pasta, aperitivo and wines, and King’s signature warm hospitality. Opening first for dinner in September 2022, the restaurant will ultimately open for three services every day.

Position Summary
The Bar Director is an experienced and passionate cocktail professional who has the capabilities and ambition to oversee the bar program at this historic address. The Bar Director will focus on cocktails, beers, and non-alcoholic drinks and will uphold the quality of food, beverage, and service, while also managing beverage inventory, cost of goods and labor costs in the department. The Bar Director will work closely with ownership as well as the GM to deliver our drink, service, financial and culture goals.

Bar Design (pre-opening)

• Work closely with ownership to determine purchase needs for small wares equipment, bar smallware, and glassware.
• Create standard operating procedures for all bar stations, including prep and side work.
• Design and implement opening cocktail program, in conjunction with the bar consultant.
• Create and lead purchasing of initial liquor and beer inventory.
• Establish partnerships with relevant brands in conjunction with financial goals.

Team, Leadership, Culture

• Ensure compliance with occupational, health, and safety standards.
• Educate the food and beverage staff on the beverage offering, specs and concepts.
• Lead the bar team to ensure exceptional standards of service and product.
• Oversee and manage bar service for daily operations, including opening and closing shifts.
• Implement and maintain detailed opening and closing checklists for bartenders and barback.
• Help develop the training program and schedules for new bartender and barback hires.
• Create and maintain detailed schedules for daily side work.
• Carry out recruitment, scheduling, and disciplinary action of the bar team.
• Set up and maintain bar preparation systems including juicing, syrups, batching, kegging, and any other bar related preparation to see the successful running of the bar program.
• Work closely with ownership and General manage to develop future beverage offerings at Jupiter.
• Manage and maintain all BOH beverage spaces – bar prep room, bar walk-in, liquor room and storerooms.

Guest Service

• Act as a dynamic host to create a warm and personal experience for guests.
• Ensure guests consistently receive courteous and efficient service from all team members.
• Maintain a welcoming and orderly restaurant and bar environment.
• Respond positively and promptly to customer concerns and complaints.
• Maintain guest satisfaction by monitoring, evaluating and auditing food, beverage and service offerings to initiate improvements.
• Build relationships with repeat guests.
• Determine and prepare various bar operation guidelines and recommend improvements.

Financial

• Planning, purchasing, and organizing the bar program.
• Maintain COGs and sales targets as determined by ownership.
• Submit monthly liquor / beer / non-alcoholic beverage inventory.
• Work closely with beverage vendors and partners to achieve desired COGs.
• Order and maintain all barware and glassware in line with budget.

Service Standards

• Lead R&D for Jupiter, as well as any special events and off-site events.
• Maintain operations by preparing policies and standard operating procedures in cooperation with the General Manager; implementing production, productivity, quality, and guest-service standards; determining and implementing system improvements.
• Assist management team in opening and closing the restaurant.
• Follow all company policies and procedures including evolving COVID guidelines.
• Demonstrate knowledge of Department of Health (DOH) standards.

Essential Functions

• The ability to comprehend and follow written and verbal direction.
• The ability to work independently or as part of a team.
• Organized approach to projects.
• Able to take and give direction.
• Able to approach their work with a sense of ownership and work with a sense of urgency.
• Demonstrates positive and respectful leadership characteristics, which inspire team members to meet and exceed standards.
• Communicates information effectively and efficiently.
• Able to work nights, weekends and holidays, and variable schedule, per the needs of the business.
• Ability to perform essential job functions under pressure, maintain professionalism when working under stress.
• Ability to utilize traditional software programs such as Gmail, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint), POS Software, and any additional systems as needed; ability to access and accurately input information using a moderately complex computer system.
• Strong knowledge of industry critics and awards.
• Strong knowledge of classic cocktails and awareness around modern cocktails.
• Strong food knowledge.
• Knowledge of liquors: how they are made, brands, regional specifics.
• Participates in community events and ensures Jupiter's corporate social responsibility goals are met
• Ensures that all staff are compliant with Jupiter's policies and procedures, as well as city, state, and federal laws.
• Attends mandatory meetings including staff meetings, leadership meetings, etc.
• Completes other duties as assigned by GM and owners.
• Maintains knowledge by attending educational workshops, reviewing professional publications, establishing personal networks, benchmarking state-of-the-art practices, and participating in professional societies.

Physical Demands

The physical demands for this position are seeing, hearing, speaking, reaching, lifting 30+ pounds, sitting, standing, for 5 to 10 hours, bending, and moving intermittently during working hours. These physical requirements may be accomplished with or without reasonable accommodations.

Work Experience

• 2 + years’ experience as a bartender or bar manager in a fast-paced cocktail-centric environment
• High volume, fast-paced, high profile restaurant experience preferred

Recommended Skills

• Auditing
• Benchmarking
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Finance
• Financial Planning
• Leadership