Cafe Manager | West Hollywood

Add a Spark to the Ordinary

As a General Manager at Blank Street, you are the driving force behind your store and the team that brings it to life. That means your greatest responsibility is your people. You'll hire, coach, and develop a high-performing team, creating an environment where Baristas and Shift Leads feel supported, motivated, and empowered to deliver exceptional experiences every day.

You'll also be the strategic mind behind your store. From planning labor and managing inventory to owning performance against key targets, you'll make the decisions that keep your store running smoothly and set it up for success. You'll use store KPIs to spot opportunities, turn insights into action, and build clear plans that help your store get better every day.

In a fast-moving and constantly evolving business, you'll lead from the floor, set the standard for product, hospitality, and operations, and build a culture of accountability and continuous improvement. Above all, you'll bring out the best in your people while making every customer experience one worth coming back for.

What You'll Own

• Uphold Hospitality Standards
• Build the right systems: Set up the systems, behaviors, and processes that set your team and store up for success (e.g., workflow board, cleaning routines).
• Coach the highest standards: Coach your team to execute on the systems you built and on our hospitality standards. That means you lead by example and jump behind the bar when needed.
• Hold the standards: Monitor our hospitality standards every day on the floor, close performance gaps fast, and hold your team accountable.
• Build a customer-first store: Build a community of regulars, handle the complex customer issues with care, and set the standard for exceptional service with your team.
• Run a Tight PnL
• Run the store with a commercial mindset: Track store sales against target, understand the "why" behind performance, and activate the right operational levers to maximize store potential (e.g., speed of service).
• Build schedules to demand: Execute the labor targets set by your Operating Manager (OM) and build schedules for your store accordingly, with the right people on the right stations at every shift.
• Manage inventory: Order, receive and count inventory to the store's needs, manage waste, and resolve variances.
• Build an A* Team
• Hire great people: Recruit a well-rounded, high-functioning team of Baristas and Shift Leads who can deliver against Blank Street's standards and contribute to a strong store culture.
• Onboard new hires: Own each new hire's onboarding journey by pairing them with a trainer, building their training schedule, and monitoring training execution (e.g., through validation checklists).
• Develop your team: Grow your baristas and shift leads into future leaders through our training pathways, regular feedback, 1:1s, and coaching.
• Retain your people: Create a fun, high-performing team culture where people want to stay, through recognition initiatives and team events.
• Plan & Operate Strategically
• Know your numbers inside out: Digest store KPIs weekly, identify the biggest opportunities and priorities, and translate them into clear actions for your store.
• Build and execute your store plan: Create weekly and quarterly plans for your store, push the numbers in the right direction, and report back to your OM.
• Land change and innovation: Roll out new initiatives in your store, from menu launches to tech tools. That means clear comms, hands-on training and real buy-in from your teams, then tracking adoption until it sticks.
• Manage time intentionally: Prioritize your own and your team's time around what matters most, and balance immediate store needs with longer-term priorities.

Who You Are

• Your Experience:
• 4+ years of experience managing and leading single-store operations in high-growth hospitality or consumer brands.
• Experience hiring, developing, and managing hospitality teams.
• Experience managing inventory and supply chain ordering.
• Experience working in a unionized environment is a plus.
• Your Skills:
• Passionate about hospitality: You love creating exceptional customer and employee experiences and care about setting a high bar for your store and team.
• Strong people leader: You know how to hire great people, develop and coach your team, and create an environment where people can perform at their best.
• Operationally minded: You understand what it takes to run a high-performing store and can balance people, labor, inventory, and day-to-day operational priorities.
• Confident decision-maker: You make thoughtful decisions, manage multiple priorities, and stay calm and focused in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent communicator: You communicate clearly and effectively, build strong relationships, and know how to align and motivate a team.
• Passionate about the product: You have a strong knowledge of specialty coffee, espresso, and equipment and care about delivering consistently high-quality products and customer experiences.

Requirements

• Availability that meets the needs of our business:
• Full time, 45-50 hours per week
• 5 days per week
• Able to work your store's two busiest days each week based off sales (which are usually Friday, Saturday or Sunday)
• Blank Street considers qualified applicants with criminal histories in accordance with the California Fair Chance Act and applicable local laws. Background checks are conducted only after a conditional offer, and applicants have the opportunity to provide context or dispute findings before a final decision is made. Learn more at calcivilrights.ca.gov/fair-chance-act

Benefits & Perks

• $80,000 - $100,000 annual salary
• Blank Street, in good faith, believes that the posted salary range is accurate for this role in West Hollywood, California at the time of posting. Our salary ranges are rooted in the desire to pay competitively relative to our organization size and industry, reflecting just one part of the total compensation package. Blank Street may pay more or less than the posted range based on factors such as relevant experience and skills, qualifications and location, among others. This range may be modified in the future.
• Paid time off
• Paid sick time off
• Company-observed paid holidays
• Health benefits
• Commuter benefits
• Parental leave
• Bereavement leave
• Exclusive access to our coveted Regulars program - yes, that means free coffee, matcha and more!
• Regular social outings with the team
• Free Blank Street swag

• This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed in this role.
• It is not an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or qualifications.
• Responsibilities and expectations may change from time to time based on business needs, and Blank Street reserves the right to modify, add, or remove duties at any time.