Purpose of the Position
The Evening Restaurant Server is responsible for delivering fast, friendly, attentive, and consistent food and beverage service within Mountain Lake’s casual dining operations. Mountain Lake is a first-class, historic mountain resort, and every dining experience must reflect the quality, hospitality, and genuine care our guests expect. While the restaurant atmosphere may be casual, our service standards are not.
This is a fast-paced, hands-on position requiring the ability to manage multiple tables and covers simultaneously while maintaining a strong sense of urgency, accuracy, cleanliness, teamwork, and genuine guest engagement. The Server takes ownership of the guest experience from the initial greeting through final payment, table clearing, and reset.
Essential Duties & ResponsibilitiesGuest Service & Hospitality
· Warmly acknowledge and greet guests promptly and create genuine guest connections while maintaining efficient, professional service.
· Demonstrate working knowledge of menus, daily features, beverages, preparation methods, ingredients, available modifications, and resort offerings.
· Accurately take, enter, and communicate food and beverage orders, including modifications, allergies, and dietary requests.
· Anticipate guest needs rather than waiting for the guest to ask; regularly check back after food delivery and throughout the meal.
· No beverage should ever run empty. Continuously monitor beverage levels and provide refills proactively whenever applicable.
· Respond promptly and professionally to guest concerns and involve restaurant leadership when additional assistance or service recovery is needed.
· Thank every guest sincerely and invite them to return to Mountain Lake.
Food Quality & Delivery Standards
· Hot food is served hot. Cold food is served cold. Help ensure every item reaches the guest promptly and at the proper temperature.
· Visually inspect plates before delivery. If the presentation, temperature, portion, cleanliness, accuracy, or overall quality does not meet Mountain Lake standards, do not serve it.
· Use the Mountain Lake quality test: never deliver food you would not proudly serve your own grandmother. Expect nothing less.
· Run food promptly when it is ready, whether or not it belongs to your assigned table. Finished food should never sit unnecessarily in the kitchen or service window.
· Verify the correct table, seat, entrée, sides, modifications, and special requests whenever possible before presenting food.
· Immediately communicate missing, incorrect, improperly prepared, or poor-quality items so they can be corrected before they become the guest’s problem.
· Treat food allergies and dietary restrictions seriously and follow all established food-safety and allergy procedures.
Fast-Paced Service & Table Management
· Manage multiple tables and covers simultaneously while maintaining attentive, personalized service.
· Know where each table is within the dining experience and anticipate what the guest needs next.
· Balance greeting, order taking, beverage service, food running, check-backs, pre-bussing, payment processing, clearing, and resetting with urgency and organization.
· Maintain service speed without making guests feel rushed.
· Communicate proactively with hosts and restaurant leadership when table volume or service conditions could affect Mountain Lake standards.
· Remain composed, professional, positive, and guest-focused during peak service periods, including sold-out weekends, holidays, festivals, weddings, group programs, and Dirty Dancing Weekends.
· Recognize that being busy is never an excuse for ignoring a guest. Speed matters. Accuracy matters. Hospitality matters. All three are required.
Table Maintenance, Bussing & Side Work
· Pre-bus continuously throughout the meal and remove empty glasses, used plates, trash, and unnecessary items promptly.
· Never allow dirty dishes to accumulate unnecessarily in front of guests.
· Depending on staffing and business volume, be prepared to bus, clean, sanitize, and reset some or all of your own tables.
· Maintain clean, organized, stocked, and presentation-ready server stations and service areas.
· Complete assigned opening, running, and closing side work before leaving the shift.
· Assist other servers, bussers, hosts, bartenders, food runners, culinary associates, and restaurant leadership whenever needed.
Teamwork & One Team Expectations
· Support coworkers during busy periods without waiting to be asked.
· Run another server’s food, refill a beverage, pre-bus a neighboring table, or assist a waiting guest when needed.
· No associate walks past a dirty table, empty glass, waiting plate of food, spill, or guest needing assistance simply because “it isn’t my table.” Every guest is our guest.
· Communicate respectfully and professionally with culinary, stewarding, host, bar, banquet, and restaurant teams.
· Ask for assistance before service quality suffers and offer assistance when another associate needs support.
· Contribute to a positive workplace and demonstrate the Mountain Lake Promise through care for guests, fellow associates, the property, and the mountain.
Resort & Event Service Expectations
Mountain Lake is a destination resort. Guests may be celebrating weddings, anniversaries, family vacations, holidays, reunions, festivals, Dirty Dancing experiences, or once-in-a-lifetime visits. The restaurant experience can significantly influence the guest’s overall impression of Mountain Lake. Evening Servers must remain flexible and may support restaurant, buffet, group, banquet-style, or special-event service based on operational needs and appropriate training.
Guest Experience Standards
Casual dining does not mean casual service. Every interaction should reinforce Mountain Lake’s commitment to genuine hospitality. Servers are expected to be approachable, attentive, professional, proactive, and aware of the entire dining room - not only their assigned section.
The Mountain Lake 10-Foot Rule
Every guest within 10 feet should receive eye contact, a smile, and an acknowledgement. When close enough for personal engagement, provide a warm verbal greeting or offer assistance whenever appropriate. This standard applies whether the guest is assigned to your table or not.
Property Inspection Standards
· Continuously observe dining rooms, service stations, entrances, floors, tables, chairs, restrooms associated with the outlet, and guest-facing areas for cleanliness, presentation, maintenance, and safety concerns.
· Correct items immediately when possible and report maintenance or safety needs through established resort procedures.
· Never walk past a guest-experience, cleanliness, maintenance, or safety issue without taking ownership or ensuring it is assigned for correction.
· Follow recycling, waste-reduction, and sustainability practices and respect the historic character and natural environment of Mountain Lake.
Service Recovery Expectations
When a guest raises a concern, the Evening Restaurant Server is expected to:
· Listen carefully and allow the guest to explain the concern.
· Acknowledge the concern and respond with genuine care.
· Take ownership rather than redirecting or blaming another associate or department.
· Correct what can be corrected within the Server’s authority and immediately involve restaurant leadership when needed.
· Follow up with the guest whenever practical to confirm the concern was resolved.
Core Competencies
· Guest Focus - Anticipates needs, creates genuine connections, and treats every guest interaction as part of the Mountain Lake experience.
· Sense of Urgency - Moves with purpose and responds promptly without sacrificing accuracy or hospitality.
· Table & Cover Management - Organizes multiple tables, priorities, and service steps effectively in a high-volume environment.
· Food Quality Awareness - Protects temperature, presentation, accuracy, and quality before food reaches the guest.
· Teamwork - Supports the entire Food & Beverage team and operates with a One Team mindset.
· Communication - Communicates clearly and respectfully with guests, culinary associates, and fellow service associates.
· Accountability - Owns assigned tables, side work, guest concerns, and observed service issues through completion.
· Professionalism - Maintains composure, appearance, courtesy, and a positive attitude during demanding service periods.
· Stewardship - Protects Mountain Lake’s guests, associates, historic property, reputation, supplies, and natural resources.
QualificationsRequired
· Strong guest-service and interpersonal skills with a genuine desire to take care of people.
· Ability to work quickly, accurately, and calmly in a fast-paced casual restaurant environment.
· Ability to manage multiple tables, guests, and priorities simultaneously.
· Ability to communicate effectively with guests and team members.
· Basic math, payment-processing, and point-of-sale skills, or ability to learn them.
· Ability to learn menu items, ingredients, modifications, food-safety procedures, and resort information.
· Must meet all applicable age and certification requirements when assigned to serve alcoholic beverages.
Preferred
· Previous restaurant serving experience.
· Previous high-volume casual dining, hotel, resort, banquet, or event-service experience.
· Food-safety and responsible-alcohol-service certification, where applicable.
Physical Requirements
· Stand and walk for extended periods throughout restaurant, kitchen-adjacent, service, and resort areas.
· Frequently bend, reach, twist, lift, carry, push, pull, and perform repetitive movements associated with restaurant service.
· Safely carry trays, plates, beverages, glassware, and service supplies and lift/carry items up to approximately 30 pounds independently, with assistance for heavier items.
· Move quickly and safely through active dining, kitchen, service, and outdoor areas, including wet surfaces and stairs.
· Work in environments that may include heat, cold, noise, and changing weather conditions when supporting resort operations.
· Reasonable accommodations may be made in accordance with applicable law.
Schedule Expectations
This is an hourly evening-service position in a seven-day-a-week resort operation. The Evening Restaurant Server must be available to work a flexible schedule based on business demands, including evenings, late nights, weekends, holidays, festivals, weddings, group programs, special events, and peak resort periods. Shift ending times may vary based on business levels and operational needs.
Equipment Used
· Restaurant POS and payment systems.
· Trays, service stands, china, glassware, silverware, coffee and beverage equipment, and standard restaurant service supplies.
· Telephones, radios, tablets, printers, and other department-specific equipment as assigned.
· Other resort equipment for which the associate has been properly trained and authorized.
Success in This Position
Successful performance will be demonstrated through:
· Guests who feel genuinely welcomed, recognized, and cared for.
· Beverages that are monitored and proactively refilled rather than allowed to sit empty.
· Hot food delivered hot, cold food delivered cold, and no knowingly substandard plate presented to a guest.
· Accurate orders, modifications, checks, and payments.
· Efficient management of multiple tables and covers without sacrificing guest interaction.
· Clean, continuously pre-bussed tables and promptly reset sections.
· Consistent teamwork, food running, and willingness to help beyond an assigned section.
· Professional service recovery and ownership of guest concerns.
· Consistent adherence to food safety, sanitation, responsible alcohol service, and workplace safety standards.
· Positive representation of the Mountain Lake Promise in every shift.
THE MOUNTAIN LAKE SERVICE EXPECTATION
Hot food hot. Cold food cold. No empty drinks. Never serve a plate you would not proudly serve your own grandmother. Every guest is our guest. Casual dining does not mean casual service.
Additional Duties
This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by associates assigned to this position. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, or qualifications. Associates may be required to perform other job-related duties as assigned by their supervisor, Manager on Duty, or Resort Leadership to support the successful operation of Mountain Lake.
Pay: $6.00 per hour
Expected hours: 24.0 – 40.0 per week
Benefits:
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee discount
- Flexible schedule
- Health insurance
- Paid sick time
- Paid time off
- Paid training
- Referral program
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
