Restaurant General Manager

Red Hook Barrel Yard is one of Brooklyn's premier waterfront hospitality destinations, bringing together Red Hook Winery, Red Hook Cidery, Red Hook Distillery and private event spaces into one dynamic hospitality experience.

Located on the Red Hook waterfront, we combine craft beverages, exceptional food, private events, and one of the best views of New York Harbor to create memorable guest experiences. As we continue to grow, we have numerous exciting initiatives underway across our restaurant, event spaces, and beverage programs, making this an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of one of Brooklyn's most unique hospitality destinations.

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Position Overview

We are seeking a dynamic, service-driven General Manager to lead the day-to-day front-of-house operations across Red Hook Barrel Yard. This is a highly visible, hands-on leadership position—not a desk job. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced environment, leads by example, and believes exceptional guest experiences begin with exceptional teams.

Reporting directly to the Director of Operations, the General Manager will play a key role in executing and continuously improving the guest experience across the property. This individual will spend the majority of their time on the floor, coaching and developing front-of-house staff, supporting service, and ensuring operational excellence during every shift.

Beyond daily operations, this role will help implement new initiatives, refine systems and service standards, support private events, and collaborate closely with culinary, beverage, marketing, and ownership teams to continue elevating the Red Hook Barrel Yard experience. From a guest's first interaction through their final farewell, you'll help shape every aspect of the hospitality experience.

This is an outstanding opportunity for an experienced hospitality professional who enjoys building teams, developing people, creating memorable guest experiences, and helping grow an evolving waterfront destination.

Key Responsibilities

Lead Hospitality Operations

• Oversee all day-to-day front-of-house operations across the property.

• Maintain a highly visible presence on the floor throughout service.

• Own and elevate the guest experience from arrival through departure.

• Ensure exceptional guest experiences through active leadership and effective service recovery.

• Drive consistency, quality, and operational efficiency across the restaurant, bar, waterfront service, and private events.

Build & Develop the Team

• Recruit, interview, hire, onboard, train, and develop front-of-house staff.

• Coach employees through ongoing feedback, training, and performance development.

• Foster a culture centered around hospitality, accountability, teamwork, and continuous improvement.

• Lead pre-shift meetings and ongoing service education.

Improve Operations

• Help implement and refine operating systems, workflows, and service standards.

• Partner with the Director of Operations to improve efficiencies and elevate the overall guest experience.

• Monitor labor costs, staffing levels, scheduling, and payroll efficiency.

• Maintain inventory controls and operational systems.

• Ensure compliance with company standards, health department regulations, liquor laws, and safety procedures.

Support Growth Initiatives

• Support private events, activations, and waterfront programming.

• Collaborate with culinary, beverage, marketing, and ownership teams on new initiatives and guest experiences.

• Identify opportunities to improve guest satisfaction, operational performance, and profitability.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years of progressive hospitality management experience.

• Multi-unit restaurant or hospitality experience strongly preferred.

• Experience in high-volume restaurants, bars, wineries, breweries, distilleries, hotels, venues, or event-driven hospitality environments preferred.

• Demonstrated success recruiting, hiring, coaching, and developing front-of-house teams.

• Strong leadership presence with outstanding communication and interpersonal skills.

• Passion for hospitality and creating memorable guest experiences.

• Experience improving operational systems and service standards.

• Financial acumen, including labor management, scheduling, inventory control, and P&L awareness.

• Comfortable balancing administrative responsibilities with a strong floor presence.

• Experience with POS systems, scheduling software, and Microsoft Office or Google Workspace.

• Flexible schedule, including evenings, weekends, and holidays.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for someone who loves hospitality and thrives in a guest-facing leadership role. You'll spend most of your time on the floor—coaching your team, connecting with guests, solving problems in real time, and leading by example.

If you're energized by building strong teams, creating memorable experiences, and helping shape the future of one of Brooklyn's most exciting waterfront hospitality destinations, we'd love to hear from you.

Compensation & Benefits

Salary: $80,000–$95,000, based on experience.

Benefits

• Health Insurance

• Dental Insurance

• Vision Insurance

• Paid Time Off

• Employee Discount

• Paid Training

• Opportunities for professional growth and advancement

• Collaborative, entrepreneurial work environment

• The opportunity to help shape one of Brooklyn's premier waterfront hospitality destinations

Work Location: In person – Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY