The F&B Controller is responsible for overseeing the strategy, execution, and control of the entire purchasing process for a large-scale food and beverage operation. This role ensures that purchasing is accurate, cost-effective, properly controlled, and aligned with operational needs.
The position requires a strong controller mindset, excellent attention to detail, and a solid understanding of procurement, invoice review, vendor pricing, inventory, recipe costing, POS systems, audits, and cost control. The ideal candidate has experience in high-volume restaurants, hotels, or multi-outlet F&B operations and is comfortable working closely with Finance, Culinary, Beverage, and Operations teams.
Key Responsibilities
Purchasing & Procurement
- Oversee and execute the full purchasing process from sourcing, ordering, receiving, invoice review, reconciliation, and reporting.
- Develop and support purchasing strategies that improve pricing, control costs, and maintain product quality.
- Review purchasing needs with Culinary, Beverage, Operations, and Finance to ensure proper planning and execution.
- Source products, compare vendors, and identify better pricing or purchasing opportunities.
- Maintain approved vendor lists, order guides, product specifications, and purchasing records.
- Ensure all purchases are properly approved, documented, received, and reconciled.
- Support new item sourcing, menu changes, events, seasonal products, and operational purchasing needs.
Invoice Review & Price Control
- Check invoices regularly for accuracy, pricing, quantities, credits, fees, taxes, and billing discrepancies.
- Compare invoice prices against vendor agreements, previous invoices, approved pricing, and order guides.
- Identify price variations, overcharges, substitutions, missing credits, incorrect items, and unusual charges.
- Follow up directly with vendors to resolve discrepancies and secure credits.
- Track price changes and communicate significant increases to leadership.
- Maintain organized invoice records and ensure all issues are properly documented and resolved.
Vendor Management & Better Deals
- Monitor vendor pricing, service levels, product quality, and delivery performance.
- Research market pricing and look for better deals without compromising quality or consistency.
- Negotiate or recommend improved pricing, terms, credits, substitutions, and vendor options.
- Hold vendors accountable for agreed pricing, delivery standards, credits, and product specifications.
- Build strong vendor relationships while protecting the company’s financial interests.
Inventory & Cost Control
- Oversee inventory processes, including weekly, monthly, and ad hoc inventory counts.
- Ensure inventory data is accurate, timely, and properly reconciled.
- Review inventory variances and investigate discrepancies.
- Monitor high-cost items, waste, transfers, usage trends, and unusual product movement.
- Support proper receiving, storage, organization, rotation, and control procedures.
- Partner with department leaders to reduce waste, improve accountability, and protect product value.
Recipe Costing & Cost Calculations
- Maintain accurate recipes, ingredients, yields, portions, and units of measure.
- Calculate and update recipe costs based on current vendor pricing.
- Review food cost, beverage cost, menu profitability, and product margins.
- Support cost analysis for new menu items, specials, events, and promotions.
- Work with Culinary and Beverage teams to ensure recipes and costing information are accurate and current.
- Identify items with high cost, low margins, or pricing concerns and recommend corrective action.
Audits & Internal Controls
- Conduct regular audits of invoices, purchasing activity, receiving practices, inventory, transfers, recipes, and POS data.
- Identify control gaps, pricing issues, waste, theft risk, over-ordering, and process inconsistencies.
- Ensure purchasing policies and approval procedures are being followed.
- Prepare audit findings and recommend corrective actions.
- Support month-end and financial audits with accurate purchasing, inventory, and cost documentation.
- Help create stronger purchasing controls and improve overall accountability.
POS - Toast, Avero & Systems
- Maintain accurate item setup, pricing, menu categories, modifiers, and reporting information in Toast or related systems.
- Use Avero and POS reporting to review sales, product mix, usage trends, and cost impact.
- Ensure alignment between POS data, inventory systems, recipes, purchasing, and accounting.
- Support menu updates, pricing changes, promotions, and system corrections.
- Identify and resolve system discrepancies that affect purchasing, cost, inventory, or reporting accuracy.
Reporting & Analysis
- Prepare reports related to purchasing activity, invoice discrepancies, price changes, inventory variances, vendor performance, cost of goods, and savings opportunities.
- Track cost-saving initiatives and measure financial impact.
- Provide leadership with clear analysis and recommendations to support business decisions.
- Support weekly, monthly, and year-end financial reporting.
- Identify trends in spending, usage, vendor pricing, waste, and product movement.
Qualifications
- Strong experience in purchasing, procurement, cost control, inventory, accounting, and restaurant finance.
- Large-scale food and beverage operations background strongly preferred.
- High-volume restaurant, hotel, luxury hospitality, or multi-outlet experience preferred.
- Strong controller mindset with a solid understanding of purchasing controls and financial impact.
- Experience checking invoices, reviewing pricing, managing vendor discrepancies, and identifying better deals.
- Experience with inventory management, recipe costing, transfers, and cost calculations.
- Toast POS experience preferred.
- Avero and STO knowledge preferred.
- Strong Excel skills required, including formulas, reporting, price comparisons, cost analysis, and spreadsheet organization.
- Ability to understand recipes, yields, units of measure, inventory movement, menu costing, and POS reporting.
- Strong analytical skills and high attention to detail.
- Excellent follow-up, organization, communication, and accountability.
- Ability to work cross-functionally with Finance, Culinary, Beverage, Operations, and vendors.
- Strong negotiation, problem-solving, and process-improvement skills.
Pay: $90,000.00 - $120,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Disability insurance
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
