Role Overview
The Kitchen Manager is the backbone of NAR’s back-of-house — responsible for ensuring every sandwich, salad, and sauce that leaves the kitchen meets our gold standard. This role combines leadership, organization, and hands-on cooking. You’ll oversee day-to-day BOH operations, uphold food safety and DOH compliance, manage prep and production systems, coordinate with our commissary, and train the team to execute every recipe with precision.
This is a build-phase role: you’ll help set up the kitchen systems, lead training, and support the opening and scaling of NAR’s first NYC location.
Key Responsibilities
Operations & Quality
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Lead all BOH operations to ensure speed, cleanliness, and consistency during service.
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Uphold NYC DOH standards and NAR’s food safety protocols (FIFO, labeling, temp logs, recipe adherence).
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Be able to jump on the line, expedite, and model best-in-class execution.
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Ensure kitchen equipment, storage areas, and prep zones are maintained and organized daily.
Team & Training
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Hire, train, and develop BOH staff with a focus on consistency and pride in product.
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Lead pre-shift meetings, communicate prep lists, and set daily kitchen goals.
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Schedule and manage labor to meet budget targets while maintaining morale and teamwork.
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Support the GM and founders with onboarding, feedback, and performance management.
Inventory & Purchasing
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Oversee ordering, receiving, and inventory control of all BOH ingredients and supplies.
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Maintain detailed cost sheets and ensure accurate daily and weekly counts.
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Manage waste and portioning to hit food cost targets.
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Keep all storage areas (walk-in, dry, freezer) organized and labeled.
Commissary Coordination
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Work closely with NAR’s commissary kitchen to ensure product consistency and quality.
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Verify deliveries and communicate any discrepancies in real time.
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Act as the key link between in-store operations and commissary production.
Financial & Administrative
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Track food and labor costs, identifying trends and areas to improve efficiency.
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Communicate clearly across teams via Slack, email, and in daily check-ins.
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Collaborate with the GM and founders on menu updates, R&D, and scaling processes.
Who You Are
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3+ years of BOH management experience in a fast-casual or high-volume concept
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Strong grasp of prep systems, recipe scaling, and kitchen organization
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Comfortable in startup environments — proactive, resourceful, and adaptable
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Food safety certified and passionate about operational excellence
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Energized by teamwork, culture, and bringing new ideas to life
