About Chichería Mexican Kitchen
Chichería Mexican Kitchen is a Baja-inspired Mexican restaurant located at The Works on Atlanta’s Upper Westside. Our food is rooted in fresh coastal Mexican flavors, handmade tortillas, thoughtful technique, high-quality ingredients, and a warm, energetic guest experience.
We are looking for a Kitchen Manager who is ready to lead. This is a key leadership position for someone who takes pride in food quality, kitchen organization, team development, financial accountability, cleanliness, consistency, and building a strong BOH culture.
This role is ideal for a mature, trusted, hands-on culinary leader who wants to help run and grow one of Atlanta’s most exciting Mexican restaurants.
Position Summary
The Kitchen Manager leads the back-of-house operations at Chichería and is responsible for upholding the restaurant’s culinary vision, ensuring food quality and consistency, managing the kitchen team, and partnering with the General Manager and ownership team to achieve operational and financial goals.
The Kitchen Manager is expected to be the most mature and trusted leader in the BOH. This person sets the tone for the entire kitchen and must lead by example with professionalism, integrity, organization, urgency, and enthusiasm. The uploaded job description emphasizes that the Kitchen Manager is responsible for culinary execution, BOH culture, food cost, labor management, staff development, sanitation, menu development, and guest satisfaction.
Key ResponsibilitiesBOH Leadership and Culture
- Lead the BOH team with integrity, professionalism, accountability, and enthusiasm
- Act as a role model for the kitchen team in attitude, work ethic, communication, cleanliness, and standards
- Build and maintain a positive BOH culture based on teamwork, respect, accountability, and inclusivity
- Coach, train, and develop Sous Chefs, line cooks, prep cooks, and dish team members
- Mentor high-potential team members for future leadership roles
- Address performance issues through coaching, structured plans, and corrective action when needed
- Conduct regular BOH meetings to communicate goals, review performance, and provide feedback
- Work closely with the General Manager and FOH managers to create seamless service and communication
Food Quality and Culinary Execution
- Oversee food preparation, recipe adherence, portioning, and plate presentation
- Ensure Chichería’s food is consistently fresh, flavorful, properly executed, and aligned with the restaurant’s culinary vision
- Maintain high standards for quality, consistency, timing, and presentation during every service
- Ensure the kitchen is fully prepped and ready before each shift
- Conduct daily pre-shift meetings to align the BOH team on goals, specials, prep, counts, and service flow
- Communicate specials, 86’d items, seasonal ingredients, counts, and important updates to FOH and management
- Taste food regularly and coach the team on seasoning, technique, timing, and presentation
- Maintain strong execution across dinner, lunch, brunch, private dining, catering, and events
Financial and Administrative Accountability
- Maintain food cost within budget through inventory control, waste management, portioning, and smart purchasing
- Manage inventory systems and ensure accurate tracking through Restaurant365
- Follow weekly purchasing budgets and BOH labor budgets
- Analyze food cost, labor cost, and profitability metrics with the GM and ownership team
- Work with vendors and perform periodic price comparisons to ensure competitive pricing
- Source high-quality, cost-effective ingredients
- Upload required documentation to Restaurant365 and communicate with the accounting team as needed
- Collaborate with the GM and ownership on BOH budget planning and performance tracking
- Help protect the profitability and long-term health of the restaurant
Sanitation, Safety, and Organization
- Ensure full compliance with health, safety, and sanitation regulations
- Maintain a clean, organized, sanitized, and inspection-ready kitchen at all times
- Ensure BOH team members follow proper food safety, labeling, dating, storage, cooling, hygiene, and uniform standards
- Maintain food safety documentation, training records, and required certifications
- Keep BOH areas, equipment, walk-ins, dry storage, and workspaces clean, organized, and fully operational
- Coordinate equipment repairs and preventive maintenance schedules
- Maintain a valid ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification
Events, Catering, and Guest Experience
- Plan and execute Banquet Event Orders, catering orders, private dining menus, and special events
- Work with FOH, event coordinators, and catering platforms to ensure strong guest experiences and positive reviews
- Adapt kitchen operations for large parties, private events, and off-premise catering needs
- Support Guest for Life initiatives by ensuring food quality and consistency that drive guest loyalty
- Engage with guests when appropriate by visiting tables, introducing specials or signature dishes, and gathering feedback
- Address guest concerns related to food quality quickly, professionally, and with ownership
Performance Expectations
The Kitchen Manager is responsible for helping the restaurant achieve strong results in the following areas:
- Food cost control
- BOH labor management
- Food quality and consistency
- Kitchen cleanliness and sanitation
- BOH team retention and development
- Staff food knowledge and menu rollout execution
- Secret shopper performance
- Guest feedback related to food quality
- Google and OpenTable food ratings
- Consistent execution with minimal waste
What We Are Looking For
The right candidate will be:
- Passionate about food, hospitality, and leadership
- Organized, efficient, and detail-oriented
- Hands-on and willing to work beside the team
- A strong communicator and good listener
- Calm, steady, and professional under pressure
- Able to hold people accountable while maintaining respect and trust
- Self-accountable, trustworthy, and consistent
- Open to feedback and committed to personal growth
- Creative, curious, and interested in improving systems
- Comfortable managing both people and numbers
- A team player who wants to be part of a growing company
- Humble, hardworking, and driven to succeed
Requirements
- Prior experience as a Kitchen Manager, Executive Sous Chef, Sous Chef, or strong culinary leader
- Experience leading a high-volume restaurant kitchen
- Strong knowledge of food safety and sanitation standards
- Valid ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification, or ability to obtain one quickly
- Experience with prep systems, inventory, ordering, waste control, and food cost management
- Strong understanding of kitchen operations, service flow, and station execution
- Ability to train, coach, and develop BOH team members
- Ability to manage labor, purchasing, and operational paperwork
- Strong communication skills with BOH, FOH, GM, ownership, vendors, and accounting
- Ability to stand for long periods and lift up to 50 pounds
- Night, weekend, and holiday availability required
- Spanish language skills are a plus but not required
- Experience with Restaurant365 is a plus
Who This Role Is Great For
This is a great role for someone who wants real ownership of a kitchen.
You may be a Kitchen Manager looking for a stronger company culture. You may be an Executive Sous Chef ready for the next step. You may be a talented Sous Chef who has proven you can lead people, manage systems, control costs, and execute consistently.
The ideal candidate wants to be involved in more than just cooking. We want someone who cares about people, training, financial results, cleanliness, menu development, guest feedback, and building a kitchen that gets better every week.
Pay: $60,000.00 - $75,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Employee discount
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Paid training
Language:
Work Location: In person
