PRIMARY FUNCTION: Beverage Manager
DEPARTMENT: Food & Beverage
REPORTS TO: Director of Food & Beverage
SUMMARY:
The Beverage Manager is responsible for the oversight, execution, and continued elevation of The Dewberry beverage program across Food and Beverage outlets. This role supports daily beverage operations, bar leadership, beverage service execution, training, inventory controls, sanitation, menu development, and guest experience while maintaining Forbes-level hospitality across all outlets.
The Beverage Manager directly supports and oversees all Bar Leads to ensure consistent communication, accountability, service readiness, recipe execution, product knowledge, responsible alcohol service, and beverage standards. This position is expected to maintain an active floor presence, support service during peak business levels, and fill in for bartending positions when necessary based on staffing, business volume, events, or operational needs.
The ideal candidate is a proven hospitality professional with strong leadership experience in luxury hotels, upscale restaurants, refined cocktail programs, wine programs, or high-volume bar environments. This individual must demonstrate professionalism, accountability, strong beverage knowledge, financial awareness, and a clear understanding of luxury service standards, responsible alcohol service, bar operations, team leadership, and beverage program management.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:
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Lead the overall beverage program, including ordering, inventory management, and par control. Continuously assess new products and adjust ordering processes in alignment with seasonal specials, menu updates, and market trends.
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Maintain high standards for product quality and presentation, ensuring that the beverage offerings enhance the guest experience and align with the hotel’s culinary vision.
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Identify and leverage opportunities to promote beverage offerings across all hotel touchpoints. Communicate key marketing initiatives clearly to the broader team, ensuring alignment with the hotel’s brand standards and guest expectations.
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Ensure the profitability of the beverage department through strict control of inventory, labor costs, and waste reduction. Implement and maintain processes to monitor daily production and sales, ensuring that all decisions are data-driven.
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Track financial performance, manage costs, and regularly assess operations to drive efficiencies and improve the bottom line.
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Implement a robust training program for all bar staff, focusing on consistent delivery of high standards in service, product knowledge, and guest interaction. Foster a culture of continuous improvement and engagement.
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Provide ongoing coaching to bar staff, ensuring they are aligned with service expectations and brand standards. Guide the team to improve their skills and take corrective action when necessary.
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Recruit and hire bar staff according to business needs. Lead and direct the team to ensure smooth day-to-day operations and alignment with the hotel’s service standards.
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Partner with F&B leadership to support staffing needs, scheduling, service coverage, leadership coverage, and operational follow-through.
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Support Lead Servers and F&B leadership with the beverage portion of service training, menu education, staff tastings, and menu rollouts.
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Maintain approved beverage recipes, batch specifications, garnish standards, glassware standards, menu descriptions, and service talking points.
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Ensure all new menu items, recipes, cocktail changes, wine updates, spirit placements, and beverage offerings are reviewed, approved, trained, and executed consistently.
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Responsible for seasonal cocktail development, R&D preparation, beverage costing, vendor collaboration, product knowledge, and leadership review.
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Ensure monthly beverage inventory is completed accurately and submitted by 9:00 AM on the first day of each month.
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Ensure liquor requisitions, bar documents, prep sheets, opening duties, closing duties, and nightly communication are completed accurately and consistently.
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Hold Bar Leads accountable for bar readiness, prep standards, cleaning standards, weekly deep cleaning, sanitation, and proper closing communication.
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Ensure all batched cocktails, juices, syrups, garnishes, and prep items are properly labeled, dated, stored, rotated, and discarded according to company and DHEC standards.
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Complete routine checks of refrigeration, glasswashers, ice wells, drains, draft systems, bar tools, smallware's, sanitation supplies, and all DHEC-related standards.
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Report maintenance, sanitation, equipment, or compliance concerns immediately and follow up until resolved.
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Serve as the primary communication link between F&B leadership, Bar Leads, and the bar team.
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Escalate team, guest, service, safety, compliance, or operational concerns to F&B leadership when necessary.
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Support responsible alcohol service standards, including ID verification, monitoring signs of intoxication, refusal-of-service procedures, guest de-escalation, and timely leadership communication.
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Ensure responsible and accurate handling of cash banks, Point-of-Sale entries, guest charges, and company money-handling policies.
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Hold themselves and all Bar Leads to the highest standards of professionalism, accountability, punctuality, uniform appearance, product knowledge, communication, and service leadership.
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Lead by example and support a positive, accountable, team-focused bar culture.
QUALIFICATIONS:
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High school diploma/GED required.
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Minimum of five years of experience in a full-service restaurant, cocktail lounge, luxury hotel, or high-volume bar environment.
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Minimum of two years of beverage leadership, bar leadership, supervisory, or management experience preferred.
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Prior bartending experience required.
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WSET Level 2 Award in Wines or Court of Master Sommeliers Certified Sommelier certification required.
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Strong knowledge of wine, spirits, classic cocktails, beer, zero-proof beverages, beverage costing, and responsible alcohol service.
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Ability to train, coach, support, and hold Bar Leads and bar team members accountable.
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Current legal and unrestricted ability to work in the United States.
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Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
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Strong organization, follow-through, and leadership presence required.
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Consistent punctuality and reliable attendance required.
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Ability to stand and walk for extended periods of time.
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Ability to bend, squat, and stretch.
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Ability to lift and carry up to 50 pounds.
BENEFITS OF JOINING THE DEWBERRY TEAM:
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401K with Company Match (4%)*
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Education Reimbursement*
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Paid Maternity Leave*
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Complimentary Downtown Parking
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Complimentary Dry Cleaning
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Complimentary Daily Lunch Buffet
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Best-in-class health & supplemental insurance*
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Optional Supplemental Coverages*
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Financial Advising with Roadside Capital
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Competitive Pay
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Advancement & Growth Opportunities
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Full-Time and Part-Time Positions
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Flexible Paid Time Off
- Indicates eligibility requirement
WHO WE ARE:
We are a tight-knit group of passionate individuals who are unrelenting when it comes to offering a flawless experience at The Dewberry while maintaining our unique brand standards. Every Teammate plays a key role in contributing to the success of the whole hotel.
ABOUT THE DEWBERRY:
As the 2025 Virtuoso Best Independent Hotel in the World and a 2022 Condé Nast Traveler Gold List award recipient for Best Hotel in the World, The Dewberry is located in the heart of downtown Charleston, bordering Marion Square, just steps from the shopping and dining on King Street, Museum Mile and The Gaillard Center.
Offering 153 thoughtfully appointed rooms, world-class service and unparalleled views, The Dewberry occupies the former L. Mendel Rivers (circa 1964) federal building and pays homage to Charleston’s century architectural splendor. The hotel is the result of owner John Dewberry’s vision of “Southern ReimaginedTM,” which he developed over the course of an eight-year renovation and preservation of the building.
The Dewberry features several event spaces along with the nationally celebrated cocktail program at the brass bar in The Living Room, the whimsical cocktail lounge Citrus Club, treatments at our urban oasis, The Spa, as well as the curated boutique The Shop.
Recognized globally for its excellence, The Dewberry is known among teammates, guests, and the community as a leader in the field of hospitality. As a brand, The Dewberry teammates, experience, and brand are authentic, humble, and innovative operators driven to anticipate needs and exceed expectations.
