Restaurant Manager

Restaurant Manager

Ánimo! | Midtown Manhattan, New York City

Salary: $70,000–$75,000 annually, depending on experience
Benefits: Paid Time Off + Bonus Potential
Schedule: Full-Time | Nights, Weekends & Holidays Required

About Ánimo!

Ánimo! is a growing, independently owned Mexican restaurant in Midtown Manhattan built around a simple idea: serve authentic, scratch-made Mexican food with warm, genuine hospitality.

Our food is rooted in the kind of cooking you would experience in Mexico, with an emphasis on quality ingredients, traditional preparations, and making things in-house. Just as importantly, we want our guests to feel genuinely welcomed and cared for every time they walk through our doors.

As we continue to grow, we're looking for a Restaurant Manager who shares that philosophy and wants to grow with us.

The Role

We're looking for a hands-on Restaurant Manager who genuinely loves hospitality.

This is not an office-based management position. The right person will be highly present on the floor, engaged with guests and employees, aware of what's happening throughout the restaurant, and comfortable taking ownership without needing constant direction.

You'll report directly to our General Manager and help lead the day-to-day FOH operation, including service, team development, scheduling, training, guest relations, beverage sales, labor management, administrative responsibilities, and maintaining our standards throughout every shift.

We believe great restaurant managers are just as engaged during a quiet Tuesday afternoon as they are during a packed Saturday night. There is always a guest to connect with, an employee to coach, a detail to improve, or something to prepare for the next service.

What We're Looking For

Above all, we're looking for someone with a natural sense of hospitality.

You should enjoy talking with guests, learning who they are, recognizing returning customers, reading the room, and finding opportunities to make someone's experience better without being asked.

We're also looking for a manager who understands the difference between being liked and being an effective leader. We want someone who can build strong relationships with the team while maintaining clear standards, accountability, consistency, and mutual respect.

The ideal candidate is:

-Warm, personable and genuinely hospitality-driven

-Highly engaged and attentive throughout the entire shift

-Comfortable taking initiative without constant supervision

-A strong and respectful leader who holds people accountable

-Calm, measured and consistent when addressing employee issues

-Organized and detail-oriented

-Professional and self-aware on the restaurant floor

-Comfortable coaching and developing employees

-Able to identify problems before they become problems

-Interested in food, beverage and the overall guest experience

-Comfortable working in a fast-paced, hands-on environment

-Hungry to learn, improve and take on greater responsibility

Responsibilities

You'll work closely with our General Manager to oversee the restaurant's daily FOH operation, including:

-Leading service and maintaining a strong management presence on the floor

-Building genuine relationships with guests and developing regulars

-Handling guest concerns thoughtfully and professionally

-Managing, coaching and developing servers, bartenders, hosts, bussers and runners

-Maintaining service standards and holding the team accountable

-Conducting pre-shift meetings and ongoing training

-Creating and managing FOH schedules

-Monitoring labor and making appropriate staffing decisions

-Managing employee performance, attendance and disciplinary matters

-Supporting beverage education and actively helping improve wine, beer and cocktail sales

-Overseeing opening and closing procedures

-Cash handling and daily financial reconciliation

-Managing reservations and guest notes through OpenTable

-Working with Toast and other restaurant systems

-Reviewing timekeeping and assisting with payroll administration

-Supporting inventory, ordering and cost controls

-Assisting with private events, group dining and catering

-Reviewing daily reports and communicating important operational information to management

-Working collaboratively with the kitchen leadership team

-Maintaining cleanliness, organization and attention to detail throughout the restaurant

-Identifying opportunities to continuously improve the guest and employee experience

Experience

We care more about ability, attitude and potential than an unnecessarily long résumé.

Ideally, you have:

-2–4+ years of restaurant management or comparable leadership experience

-Experience in a polished, high-volume full-service restaurant

-Strong understanding of FOH operations and service standards

-Experience managing and developing restaurant employees

-Familiarity with restaurant POS and reservation systems

-Strong communication and organizational skills

Experience with Toast and OpenTable is a plus.

Knowledge and appreciation of Mexican cuisine is preferred but not required. Spanish is also preferred but not required.

Strong beverage knowledge is a plus, particularly cocktails, wine and beer, but we are equally interested in someone eager to continue learning.

Who Will Succeed Here

You don't need to come from fine dining, and we're not looking for stiff or overly formal service.

We want someone who understands that elevated hospitality can still feel warm, relaxed and personal.

You'll succeed at Ánimo! if you're the kind of manager who notices when a guest is looking around before they have to ask for something; introduces yourself to a table because you genuinely want to know how they're doing; sees downtime as an opportunity rather than permission to disengage; coaches employees consistently rather than only when something goes wrong; and takes pride in leaving the restaurant better than you found it.

Opportunity for Growth

Ánimo! is an independent restaurant with plans to grow.

We're beginning to think about the next stage of the concept and potentially a second Ánimo! location. For the right person, this position can therefore become much more than simply another Restaurant Manager job.

We're looking for someone who can excel in this role today and potentially grow into greater responsibility as the company expands.

If you're ambitious, hospitality-driven, accountable, and excited by the opportunity to help build something rather than simply manage a shift, we'd like to meet you.