Restaurant Manager & Private Events Coordinator
Location: Prey Brewing — Vista, California
Schedule: Full-time, five days per week, including evenings and weekends
Reports to: Ownership
Position Overview
Prey Brewing is looking for a hands-on Restaurant Manager & Private Events Coordinator to lead daily front-of-house operations while taking ownership of our growing private-events business.
This is a hybrid role combining restaurant floor management with event sales, planning, marketing coordination, and execution. The right person is equally comfortable leading a busy service, communicating with event clients, building relationships with local businesses, and keeping every detail organized from the initial inquiry through the final event.
This is not strictly a desk-based event-planning position. The manager will be present on the restaurant floor five days per week and play an active role in service, staff leadership, guest experience, and overall restaurant operations.
Restaurant Management Responsibilities
- Manage the restaurant floor five days per week.
- Lead opening, service, and closing operations.
- Supervise, support, and hold front-of-house employees accountable.
- Maintain a welcoming, organized, and professional guest experience.
- Conduct pre-shift meetings and communicate daily priorities, events, promotions, and menu updates.
- Coordinate with the kitchen and brewery teams to ensure smooth service.
- Manage floor plans, reservations, wait times, table turns, and staffing assignments.
- Respond professionally to guest concerns and resolve service issues.
- Train and develop front-of-house employees.
- Help maintain appropriate staffing levels and assist with scheduling.
- Monitor employee performance, attendance, appearance, and adherence to company policies.
- Ensure the restaurant remains clean, stocked, organized, and event-ready.
- Support cash handling, deposits, comps, voids, and end-of-day reporting.
- Enforce responsible alcohol service, food-safety standards, and company procedures.
- Communicate operational issues, maintenance needs, and staffing concerns to ownership.
Private Event Sales and Coordination
- Serve as the primary point of contact for all private-party and event inquiries.
- Respond to new inquiries promptly and professionally.
- Qualify leads based on date, party size, budget, event type, and guest needs.
- Conduct venue tours and client meetings when needed.
- Explain event packages, food and beverage options, minimum spends, deposits, and policies.
- Prepare proposals, event agreements, invoices, and payment schedules.
- Collect deposits and ensure all required information and payments are received by established deadlines.
- Maintain an organized event calendar and lead-tracking system.
- Follow up consistently with prospective clients and convert qualified inquiries into confirmed bookings.
- Coordinate menus, beverage service, room layouts, rentals, décor, entertainment, audiovisual needs, and special requests.
- Create clear event plans and communicate all details to the kitchen, bar, service staff, and ownership.
- Schedule appropriate staffing for each event.
- Act as the on-site event lead or assign and prepare another qualified manager.
- Confirm final guest counts, timelines, menus, and payment details before each event.
- Follow up with clients after events to gather feedback, request reviews, and encourage repeat bookings.
- Build relationships with local companies, organizations, event planners, hotels, and community groups.
- Maintain accurate records of inquiries, bookings, revenue, deposits, client communication, and event results.
Event Marketing Coordination
- Coordinate with ownership and marketing partners to promote Prey Brewing’s private-event offerings.
- Help develop and distribute event packages, flyers, email campaigns, social content, and local-business outreach materials.
- Conduct direct outreach to local businesses, office managers, HR teams, networking organizations, and community groups.
- Identify seasonal opportunities such as company holiday parties, birthdays, rehearsal dinners, fundraisers, team gatherings, and networking events.
- Keep private-event information accurate across the website, inquiry forms, social media, printed materials, and online listings.
- Track where event leads originate and report which marketing efforts generate bookings.
- Help maintain a consistent follow-up process for past clients and unconverted leads.
- Work toward the initial goal of booking at least one event of 20 or more guests per week.
Performance Expectations
Success in this position will be measured by:
- Quality and consistency of restaurant service.
- Staff performance, accountability, and retention.
- Guest satisfaction and review feedback.
- Speed and professionalism of event-inquiry responses.
- Number and value of confirmed private-event bookings.
- Conversion rate from qualified inquiry to booked event.
- Accuracy and organization of event details.
- Event profitability and client satisfaction.
- Growth in repeat business and local-company relationships.
- Consistent execution with minimal last-minute surprises.
Qualifications
- Previous restaurant management or supervisory experience required.
- Private-event, catering, hospitality-sales, or banquet experience strongly preferred.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Excellent organization and attention to detail.
- Ability to manage multiple events and deadlines simultaneously.
- Confident sales and follow-up skills without using a high-pressure approach.
- Ability to lead employees calmly and decisively during busy service.
- Comfortable working with reservation, point-of-sale, email, calendar, spreadsheet, and customer-tracking systems.
- Knowledge of food safety and responsible alcohol service requirements.
- Ability to work evenings, weekends, holidays, and scheduled private events.
- Must be dependable, proactive, professional, and comfortable taking ownership of results.
What We’re Looking For
The ideal candidate is a strong restaurant operator who also enjoys selling and creating memorable experiences. They communicate clearly, follow through without being chased, anticipate problems, and keep both clients and employees informed.
They should be comfortable moving between roles throughout the day—from responding to an event inquiry, to leading dinner service, to finalizing the details of a 50-person company party.
Most importantly, this person should treat Prey Brewing’s private-events program as a business within the business and take pride in growing it.
Pay: $28.00 - $32.00 per hour
Work Location: In person
