Position Summary
The Retail Services Manager provides strategic leadership and operational oversight for The Bistro and Mary Lou’s Café, including café operations, beverage programs, retail foodservice, catering, merchandising, and special events. The position partners with Dining Services leadership to create exceptional hospitality experiences while ensuring operational excellence, financial stewardship, regulatory compliance, and outstanding service for residents, families, guests, and team members.
Mission Statement
To create exceptional hospitality experiences that enrich daily life at The Woodlands by providing welcoming gathering spaces, innovative food and beverage offerings, outstanding customer service, and operational excellence that supports resident sastisfaction, community engagement, and financial stewardship.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Retail operations, Hospitality & Resident Experience
- Provide strategic leadership for all retail, café, beverage, catering, and merchandising operations for The Bistro and Mary Lou’s Café.
- Create welcoming hospitality experiences by delivering exceptional service, innovative menus, seasonal promotions, specialty beverage programs, and engaging events that encourage resident participation.
- Maintain high standards for product quality, presentation, merchandising, cleanliness, and overall guest experience while proactively seeking resident feedback and implementing continuous improvements.
- Build collaborative relationships with vendors and internal departments to enhance community programming, introduce new offerings, and continuously elevate the resident experience.
- Maintains a highly visible, hands-on leadership presence in the Bistro and Café by actively participating in daily operations, serving as the primary bartender, and leading by example.
- Demonstrates exceptional hospitality, ensures consistent quality and service standards.
Financial & Inventory Management
- Provide financial stewardship for all retail, café, beverage, and catering operations, including budgeting, purchasing, labor management, inventory control, and cost containment.
- Oversee purchasing, receiving, storage, and inventory accountability for alcoholic beverages, coffee, café products, retail merchandise, and operational supplies.
- Analyze sales, financial performance, labor utilization, and operating metrics to identify opportunities that improve efficiency, profitability, and the resident experience.
- Ensue accurate point-of-sale operations, credit card transaction controls, inventory accuracy, and compliance with established financial and organizational procedures.
Leadership & Team Development
- Recruit, develop, schedule, coach, and evaluate team members while fostering a culture of accountability, teamwork, and exceptional hospitality.
- Provide ongoing coaching, recognition, and performance feedback that support employee growth and organizational success.
- Communicate operational priorities, service expectations, and organizational goals through regular team meetings and daily leadership.
Compliance, Safety & Risk Management
- Ensure compliance with all applicable food safety, sanitation, workplace safety, health department, and South Carolina alcohol regulations.
- Maintain safe, clean, and well-maintained facilities while ensuring consistent adherence to operational procedures, inventory controls, and equipment maintenance standards.
- Promote a culture of safety, accountability, and risk awareness through training, oversight, and continuous monitoring.
- Develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive cleaning and sanitation program for The Bistro and Mary Lou’s Café.
- Ensure all team members consistently adhere to the highest standards of cleanliness, food safety, sanitation, and regulatory compliance by monitoring completion of cleaning schedules, providing ongoing training, and conducting routine inspections to maintain a safe, welcoming, and inspection-ready environment.
Qualifications
- Minimum five (5) years of progressive hospitality, restaurant, café, or retail foodservice management experience with prior supervisory responsibility.
- Bachelor’s degree preferred (but not required) in Hospitality Management, Restaurant Management, Business Administration, or related field.
- Minimum five (5) years of progressive hospitality, restaurant, café, or retail foodservice management experience with prior supervisory responsibility.
- ServSafe Manager and Responsible Alcohol Service certifications required (or ability to obtain).
- Strong knowledge of hospitality operations, financial management, inventory control, merchandising, point-of-sale systems, and South Carolina alcohol regulations.
- Excellence leadership, organizational, communication, problem-solving, and customer service skills.
Physical Requirements
Ability to stand and walk for extended periods, frequently bend, reach, and lift up to 40 pounds, safely operate café equipment, and work evenings, weekends, holidays, or special events as operational needs require. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.
Success Measures
- High resident satisfaction with Bistro and Café services.
- Achievement of budgetary, labor, food, beverage, and retail financial goals.
- Accurate inventory management with minimal waste and full alcohol accountability.
- Successful implementation of innovative menus, promotions, and resident engagement initiatives.
- Strong employee engagement, development, and retention.
- Consistent compliance with food safety and alcohol service regulations.
- Continuous improvement in operational efficiency, profitability, and resident experience.
