Build the brands Chicago talks about
Banksia Hospitality is a fast-growing Chicago restaurant and bar group building distinctive neighborhood institutions across coffee, casual dining, sports bars and entertainment venues.
We are looking for a hands-on Marketing Manager who can turn good venues into busy venues. This is not a role for someone who only wants to create presentations, post on Instagram or manage agencies from behind a desk. You will be inside the business, working directly with operators, launching campaigns, building local partnerships, capturing what is happening in our venues and measuring whether the work actually brought in guests.
This role is designed for someone ready to take ownership now and grow into a senior growth leadership position as Banksia expands.
What you will own
- Driving venue traffic and revenue
- Build practical marketing plans for each Banksia location based on its concept, neighborhood, sales targets and daypart opportunities.
- Create campaigns that generate measurable visits, reservations, event attendance, delivery orders and repeat business.
- Identify weak dayparts and develop targeted initiatives to improve them.
- Work with operations to launch and market new menus, events, seasonal programs and new locations.
- Track results and clearly explain what worked, what did not and what should happen next.
Local store marketing
- Build relationships with nearby hotels, apartment buildings, offices, universities, gyms, concierges and neighborhood organizations.
- Create local partnerships and cross-promotions that introduce each brand to new guests.
- Develop street-level and in-venue activation plans, including signage, sampling, hotel referrals and community events.
- Ensure every location has a current local marketing calendar and a clear plan for the next four weeks.
- Spend meaningful time in the venues observing guests, meeting operators and identifying opportunities.
Content and social media
- Own the content calendar across Banksia’s brands.
- Coordinate photography, video, graphic design and creator partnerships.
- Capture strong phone-based content when speed matters.
- Ensure each brand has a distinct voice and does not feel like generic restaurant social media.
- Turn real venue moments, food, drinks, staff personalities and events into content people want to share.
- Maintain a consistent cadence without sacrificing quality.
Digital and guest acquisition
- Coordinate paid social, search and local digital campaigns, directly or with outside specialists.
- Maintain accurate and compelling Google, Yelp, Apple, delivery marketplace and reservation-platform profiles.
- Grow and activate guest databases through email, SMS, loyalty and CRM campaigns.
- Work with platforms including Toast, SevenRooms, Resy and DoorDash to improve visibility and conversion.
- Track acquisition cost, campaign revenue, database growth, repeat visits and return on marketing spend.
Events, partnerships and launches
- Develop marketing plans for sports programming, karaoke, nightlife, restaurant events, hotel partnerships and neighborhood activations.
- Build relationships with Chicago creators, community figures and relevant media.
- Support brand partnerships and sponsorship opportunities.
- Create complete launch plans for new locations, from pre-opening awareness through the first 90 days.
- Attend selected evening and weekend events when the work requires it.
What success looks like
Within your first six months, we should see:
- A clear marketing plan and campaign calendar for every location.
- Consistent, brand-appropriate content across the portfolio.
- Measurable improvement in priority dayparts and underperforming locations.
- A growing guest database with regular email and SMS activation.
- Stronger neighborhood, hotel, creator and corporate partnerships.
- Accurate reporting that connects marketing activity to traffic and sales.
- Campaigns launched on time with operations fully prepared to execute them.
- A repeatable marketing playbook Banksia can use as it opens additional locations.
You may be the right person if
- You have 3 to 5 years of marketing experience, ideally within restaurants, bars, hotels, entertainment or another location-based consumer business.
- You understand that restaurant marketing happens in the venue and neighborhood, not only online.
- You are comfortable moving between strategy and execution.
- You can build a campaign, write the copy, brief a designer, coordinate the launch and report the result.
- You understand social media, email, SMS, local partnerships, events and basic paid acquisition.
- You are commercially minded and genuinely interested in sales, guest counts and return on investment.
- You are highly organized and can manage multiple brands without making them all sound the same.
- You have strong instincts for what feels current, culturally relevant and worth sharing.
- You take ownership, move quickly and do not need constant follow-up.
- You want to build something and grow with it.
Apply today to be a part of a small & high-growth team!
Pay: $55,930.29 - $67,356.90 per year
Benefits:
- Employee discount
- Flexible schedule
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Chicago, IL 60610
