Restaurant Owner / Operating Partner Opportunity
Hop Haus Southington is looking for the right person to step in as an Operating Partner with the long-term goal of taking over ownership of the restaurant.
This is not a normal management job. This is an opportunity for someone with strong restaurant experience, leadership skills, and the drive to grow a business with little to no money down through sweat equity and hands-on involvement.
The ideal candidate has several years of successful restaurant leadership experience as a General Manager, Operating Manager, or Chef/Manager. You must be comfortable running the floor, managing staff, controlling costs, helping with marketing, and jumping into the kitchen or behind the bar when needed.
Hop Haus Southington is a smaller restaurant with a focused menu, a lounge-style rebrand, late-night potential, and room to grow. The right person will bring vision, energy, financial discipline, and the ability to build a strong team while improving sales and consistency.
This role is best suited for someone who wants more than a paycheck — someone who wants a real path toward owning and operating their own restaurant.
Ideal Candidate:
Minimum 5–8 years of restaurant leadership experience
Strong front-of-house management background
Kitchen experience and ability to cook when needed
Bartending experience or ability to work behind the bar
Ability to hire, train, schedule, and lead a small team
Understanding of food cost, labor cost, sales growth, and profitability
Experience with marketing, promotions, events, and community engagement
Level-headed, hardworking, honest, and eager to build something
Willingness to work hands-on while growing into ownership
This opportunity is not for everyone.
I have been in the restaurant business as an owner for almost 20 years, and Hop Haus Southington is one of my original restaurants. It has meant a lot to me over the years, but I am at a point where I am burnt out and looking for the right person to step in, bring fresh energy, and help turn it into something special again.
The right person may want to rebuild the current Hop Haus brand, or they may have a vision to create something new under the same business structure, LLC, and permitting. Either way, this is a real opportunity for someone who wants to own a restaurant but may not be in the financial position to buy or build one from scratch.
Getting into the restaurant business normally takes hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is a chance to earn your way in with hard work, trust, consistency, and sweat equity. The income will come from growing the business and building profit, not from a high guaranteed salary.
I am looking for more than an employee. I am looking for a true operating partner — someone honest, hardworking, level-headed, and willing to put in the time it takes. Realistically, this will require 55–60 hour weeks, hands-on work, and the ability to lead without complaining when things get hard.
For the right person with vision, drive, and the ability to handle ownership, this could be a life-changing opportunity.
Pay: $50,000.00 - $200,000.00 per year
Application Question(s):
- How many years of restaurant leadership experience do you have as a General Manager, Operating Manager, Chef/Manager, or similar lead role?
- What size restaurant have you managed before, and what were the average weekly sales?
- Do you have hands-on kitchen experience, and are you comfortable jumping on the line to cook if a kitchen employee calls out?
- Do you have bartending experience, and would you be comfortable opening the bar, serving guests, and helping generate sales behind the bar?
- What experience do you have managing food cost, labor cost, inventory, purchasing, and overall restaurant profitability?
- Have you ever helped grow sales at a restaurant through marketing, events, promotions, menu changes, social media, or community involvement? Please explain.
- This opportunity requires the mindset of an owner, not just an employee. Realistically, it may take 55–60 hour weeks, hands-on work in the kitchen, behind the bar, and on the floor, and a lot of patience while the business grows. Tell me honestly why you believe you are the type of person who can handle that commitment.
- This is an opportunity to come into an existing restaurant with little to no money down and earn your way into ownership through trust, hard work, and growing the business. Most restaurant ownership opportunities require hundreds of thousands of dollars upfront. What does this opportunity mean to you, and why do you feel you would be the right person to build something special with me?
Work Location: In person
