Chief Operating Officer (COO) — Family Entertainment Center
Company: GO Bananas Entertainment LLC
Project: GO Bananas Entertainment Park
Location: Meadville, Pennsylvania
Job Type: Full-Time | Executive Leadership
Industry: Family Entertainment Centers / Attractions / Hospitality / Amusement & Recreation
About GO Bananas Entertainment Park
GO Bananas Entertainment is developing a large-scale, multi-attraction indoor entertainment destination designed to serve families, adults, groups, corporate events, parties, and regional visitors.
The flagship GO Bananas Entertainment Park is planned as a major regional Family Entertainment Center featuring attractions and revenue centers including:
- Multi-level indoor go-kart racing
- Bowling
- Trampoline park
- Roller skating
- Laser tag
- Large arcade and redemption center
- Restaurant and bar
- Rooftop bar/lounge
- Birthday parties and private events
- Corporate and group events
- Food and beverage operations
- Retail, merchandise, and prize redemption
We are seeking an experienced Family Entertainment Center Chief Operating Officer to work directly with the Founder/CEO and help take GO Bananas from development through pre-opening, grand opening, stabilization, and future expansion.
Position Overview
The Chief Operating Officer will be responsible for developing and leading the operational strategy for GO Bananas Entertainment Park.
This is not simply a general management position.
We are specifically seeking an executive with substantial experience operating Family Entertainment Centers, indoor amusement parks, attractions, bowling/arcade concepts, theme parks, location-based entertainment venues, or comparable multi-attraction entertainment businesses.
The ideal candidate has participated in opening, operating, scaling, or turning around a high-volume entertainment venue and understands the operational complexity of running multiple attractions, food and beverage operations, staffing departments, safety systems, guest services, parties/events, and revenue centers under one roof.
Key ResponsibilitiesPre-Opening & Development
- Work directly with the Founder/CEO during development and pre-opening.
- Review facility plans from an operational perspective.
- Help determine staffing requirements for each department.
- Develop the organizational structure for the entertainment park.
- Assist with attraction capacity and throughput planning.
- Help establish operating hours, pricing strategies, attraction packages, memberships, and guest-flow procedures.
- Participate in selection and implementation of operational technology and systems.
- Develop SOPs for all major departments.
- Establish opening and closing procedures.
- Build emergency, safety, maintenance, and incident-response procedures.
- Assist with attraction testing, commissioning, and opening readiness.
- Develop the operational plan for the park's grand opening.
Operations Leadership
Oversee the performance of major departments including:
- Go-Kart Operations
- Bowling
- Trampoline Operations
- Roller Skating
- Laser Tag
- Arcade & Redemption
- Food & Beverage
- Restaurant/Bar Operations
- Parties & Events
- Corporate/Group Sales Operations
- Guest Services
- Security
- Facilities & Maintenance
- Attraction Safety
- Housekeeping
- Retail & Merchandise
Financial & Business Performance
- Work with the Founder/CEO and finance leadership to develop annual operating budgets.
- Manage labor and operating expenses.
- Monitor revenue, attendance, average guest spending, labor costs, attraction utilization, and departmental profitability.
- Establish operational KPIs and reporting systems.
- Identify opportunities to increase per-capita spending and overall guest revenue.
- Improve attraction throughput and facility capacity utilization.
- Develop cost-control procedures without compromising guest experience or safety.
- Help establish purchasing, inventory, vendor, and procurement procedures.
Staffing & Leadership
- Recruit and develop department directors and senior managers.
- Establish management accountability and performance standards.
- Build training programs for frontline employees and managers.
- Develop staffing models for peak, off-peak, weekend, holiday, and seasonal operations.
- Create a strong service-oriented company culture.
- Establish employee safety and operational training standards.
- Build succession and leadership-development programs.
Guest Experience
The COO will be responsible for helping GO Bananas deliver a consistent, high-quality guest experience across the entire property.
Responsibilities include:
- Guest service standards
- Queue and wait-time management
- Attraction throughput
- Facility cleanliness
- Guest recovery procedures
- Food service efficiency
- Party and event execution
- Safety and security
- Customer satisfaction
- Repeat visitation
Required Experience
Candidates should have:
- 7+ years of senior operations experience in Family Entertainment Centers, amusement parks, theme parks, attractions, bowling/arcade centers, location-based entertainment, hospitality entertainment, or a closely related industry.
- 3+ years in an executive or senior leadership position such as COO, VP of Operations, Regional VP, Regional Director, General Manager, Managing Director, or equivalent.
- Experience managing a high-volume entertainment operation with multiple departments or revenue centers.
- Strong understanding of attraction safety, staffing, labor management, guest service, food and beverage, maintenance, and facility operations.
- Experience developing operating budgets and managing P&L performance.
- Experience recruiting, training, and managing large teams.
- Strong leadership, communication, problem-solving, and organizational skills.
Strongly Preferred
Preference will be given to candidates who have:
- Opened a new FEC, amusement park, attraction, or entertainment venue from the ground up.
- Managed a 100,000+ square-foot entertainment facility or similarly complex operation.
- Managed annual venue revenue of $10 million or more.
- Overseen operations with 200+ employees.
- Managed multiple attraction categories under one roof.
- Experience with indoor electric go-kart operations.
- Experience with bowling, arcade/redemption, trampoline, laser tag, or skating operations.
- Restaurant and bar/F&B operational experience.
- Experience developing SOPs and operating manuals for a new venue.
- Experience with multi-location entertainment companies.
- Experience opening or scaling multiple locations.
What We're Looking For
We are looking for a builder, not simply an administrator.
The right COO should be comfortable joining GO Bananas during its development stage and helping create the operational infrastructure required to successfully open and operate a major entertainment destination.
You should understand how to take a facility from plans and construction to hiring, training, testing, opening, and full-scale operations.
We want an executive who can identify operational problems before they become expensive problems.
Compensation
Competitive executive compensation package based on experience.
Potential compensation may include:
- Base salary
- Performance-based bonus
- Long-term incentive opportunities
- Relocation assistance, if applicable
Final compensation will be determined based on the candidate's experience, operating history, and responsibilities.
Application Requirements
Please submit a resume and brief introduction outlining your experience in the Family Entertainment Center, amusement, attractions, or location-based entertainment industry.
Please include:
- Entertainment/FEC companies you have worked for
- Size of facilities previously managed
- Approximate annual revenue or operating budget managed
- Number of employees supervised
- Attractions or departments overseen
- New venue openings you participated in
- Multi-location expansion experience, if applicable
Candidates with direct FEC or attraction-industry operating experience will receive priority consideration.
Why Join GO Bananas?
This is an opportunity to join GO Bananas during the development of its flagship entertainment park and play a major role in building the company's operational foundation.
The COO will work closely with ownership and have significant influence over how the flagship facility operates—from organizational structure and staffing to attraction operations, guest experience, safety, food and beverage, and future expansion.
Our goal is not simply to open one entertainment center.
Our goal is to build an entertainment brand capable of expanding into additional markets.
GO Bananas Entertainment LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Pay: $80,000.00 - $165,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Flexible schedule
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Meadville, PA 16335
