Hot Chix

Kitchen Manager – Hot Chix

Location: Walled Lake, MI
Employment Type: Full-Time
Compensation: $20 per hour
Benefits: PTO, Health, Dental, and Vision.

About the Role

Hot Chix is seeking a Kitchen Manager to lead the day-to-day operation of our foodservice business.

The Kitchen Manager reports directly to the General Manager and is responsible for the overall performance of Hot Chix within the location, including staffing, scheduling, food quality, speed of service, food cost, inventory, ordering, food safety, cleanliness, and development of the kitchen management team.

This position directly leads the Assistant Kitchen Managers and is expected to maintain a properly staffed, organized, efficient, and consistently executed kitchen operation.

The Kitchen Manager is a hands-on operating leader who understands how to balance quality, speed, labor, and food cost while building a strong team.

What You'll Be Responsible For

Daily Kitchen Operations

• Oversee the day-to-day operation of Hot Chix.
• Ensure the kitchen is properly staffed, opened, operated, and closed each day.
• Maintain consistent execution of recipes, preparation standards, portioning, and product presentation.
• Ensure all menu items are available during operating hours.
• Maintain proper management coverage across all operating periods.
• Identify recurring operational issues and implement corrective action.
• Ensure effective communication between shifts and management team members.
• Maintain strong execution during peak business periods.

Staffing & Scheduling

• Own preparation and maintenance of the Hot Chix employee schedule.
• Schedule employees based on projected sales, business volume, operating needs, and labor expectations.
• Maintain appropriate staffing by daypart.
• Manage call-offs, schedule changes, employee availability, time-off requests, and shift coverage.
• Control unnecessary overtime while maintaining adequate coverage.
• Identify staffing needs before they negatively impact operations.
• Recruit and interview candidates for kitchen positions.
• Make hiring recommendations and coordinate onboarding.
• Maintain a staffing pipeline to support turnover and future growth.

Assistant Kitchen Manager Leadership

• Directly supervise and develop the Assistant Kitchen Managers.
• Establish clear expectations for shift leadership, food quality, speed, cleanliness, and food safety.
• Assign management coverage and operational responsibilities.
• Review shift execution and address recurring deficiencies.
• Coach Assistant Kitchen Managers on leadership, labor execution, food cost controls, production flow, and employee management.
• Hold Assistant Kitchen Managers accountable for the performance of employees working under their supervision.
• Identify strong performers and develop them for increased responsibility.
• Communicate significant management or employee performance issues to the General Manager.

Employee Training & Performance

• Ensure new employees are properly onboarded and trained.
• Maintain consistent training standards across kitchen positions and shifts.
• Ensure employees understand recipes, cooking procedures, food-safety requirements, portion standards, and cleaning expectations.
• Coach employees when performance does not meet company standards.
• Address recurring attendance, productivity, quality, food-safety, or conduct issues in coordination with the General Manager.
• Promote a culture centered around urgency, consistency, teamwork, cleanliness, and accountability.

Food Inventory & Ordering

• Maintain appropriate food, packaging, and supply inventory levels.
• Manage routine food and supply ordering.
• Monitor product usage and inventory levels to prevent shortages and unnecessary overstock.
• Ensure deliveries are received accurately and discrepancies are addressed.
• Maintain proper product rotation and storage.
• Coordinate required inventory counts.
• Investigate recurring inventory variances.
• Ensure storage areas remain organized, clean, and properly maintained.

Food Cost & Waste

• Monitor food cost and waste performance.
• Enforce recipe, portion, and production standards.
• Identify excessive waste, overproduction, or improper portioning.
• Adjust prep levels and production practices based on actual demand.
• Train Assistant Kitchen Managers and team members on food-cost controls.
• Investigate unfavorable food-cost trends and implement corrective action.
• Communicate significant food-cost issues to the General Manager.

Food Quality

• Ensure every product meets Hot Chix standards for recipe, portion, appearance, temperature, and quality.
• Verify employees follow proper cooking and preparation procedures.
• Correct quality issues immediately.
• Identify recurring quality problems and determine the underlying cause.
• Ensure employees are properly trained on assigned kitchen stations.
• Do not allow products that fail to meet company standards to be served.

Speed of Service & Production Flow

• Maintain strong ticket-time performance without sacrificing food quality or food safety.
• Ensure employees are properly positioned during peak periods.
• Monitor kitchen flow and identify bottlenecks.
• Adjust employee deployment, prep levels, and production practices as needed.
• Maintain appropriate readiness for anticipated business volume.
• Ensure Assistant Kitchen Managers actively manage ticket flow during their shifts.

Food Safety & Sanitation

• Maintain full compliance with company food-safety and sanitation standards.
• Ensure required temperature checks, sanitation logs, and operational documentation are completed accurately.
• Ensure food is properly stored, labeled, dated, rotated, and handled.
• Maintain proper cooking, holding, cooling, and reheating procedures where applicable.
• Ensure employees follow handwashing, glove-use, cross-contamination, and sanitation requirements.
• Maintain the kitchen in inspection-ready condition.
• Correct food-safety deficiencies immediately.
• Maintain required food-safety certifications for the operation.

Kitchen Cleanliness & Equipment

• Maintain a clean and organized kitchen throughout all operating periods.
• Establish daily and shift-level cleaning expectations.
• Ensure employees and Assistant Kitchen Managers complete assigned cleaning responsibilities.
• Maintain standards for cooking equipment, prep areas, storage areas, floors, sinks, food-contact surfaces, and other kitchen areas.
• Ensure opening and closing cleaning procedures are completed consistently.
• Identify equipment problems and report them promptly.
• Follow through on maintenance issues that affect food quality, safety, or production.

Hot Chix Performance

• Understand Hot Chix sales, labor, food cost, waste, and operating targets.
• Review department performance with the General Manager.
• Identify operational causes of unfavorable results.
• Develop and execute corrective action.
• Monitor labor productivity and adjust scheduling or deployment practices where necessary.
• Identify opportunities to improve sales, service speed, quality, and operating efficiency.
• Communicate significant performance concerns and recommendations to the General Manager.

Customer Experience

• Ensure customers receive accurate orders and consistent product quality.
• Maintain standards for speed, presentation, and professionalism.
• Resolve food-quality or service concerns that cannot be handled by an Assistant Kitchen Manager.
• Identify recurring customer complaints and implement corrective action.
• Maintain a kitchen operation that supports repeat business and customer loyalty.

What You'll Own

The Kitchen Manager is directly accountable for:

• Hot Chix employee scheduling
• Kitchen staffing levels
• Assistant Kitchen Manager performance
• Kitchen employee training
• Food and supply ordering
• Food inventory
• Food cost
• Food waste
• Product quality
• Speed of service
• Food-safety execution
• Kitchen cleanliness and organization
• Day-to-day Hot Chix operations

What We're Looking For

• Previous management experience in QSR, fast casual, restaurant, foodservice, or another high-volume kitchen environment.
• Experience supervising employees and managing multiple shifts.
• Previous experience managing or developing shift leaders or assistant managers strongly preferred.
• Strong understanding of food safety, labor management, food cost, inventory, and kitchen operations.
• Experience creating and managing employee schedules.
• Strong leadership and employee-coaching skills.
• Ability to identify operational problems and follow through on corrective action.
• Strong organizational and time-management skills.
• Ability to maintain urgency and attention to detail during high-volume periods.
• Dependable, professional, and accountable.
• ServSafe or equivalent food-safety certification preferred, or ability to obtain certification.

Schedule & Availability

This is a full-time management position requiring schedule flexibility based on business needs.

The Kitchen Manager must be available to work a combination of mornings, evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed. Availability during peak operating periods and occasional schedule adjustments due to staffing needs are expected.

The Kitchen Manager is responsible for maintaining proper kitchen coverage but should build and develop a team capable of operating effectively without relying on the Kitchen Manager as the routine solution for uncovered shifts.

Physical Requirements

This is an active, hands-on kitchen management position.

The role may require:

• Standing and walking for extended periods.
• Regular bending, reaching, lifting, and movement throughout the kitchen.
• Working around hot cooking equipment.
• Working in refrigerated or freezer areas for short periods.
• Lifting and carrying up to [50] pounds.
• Performing routine kitchen and cleaning tasks when necessary.

Reasonable accommodations may be provided in accordance with applicable law.

Why Join Hot Chix

Hot Chix is focused on delivering high-quality food, fast service, and consistent execution in a high-energy environment.

As Kitchen Manager, you will have meaningful responsibility for the performance of the business, including the team, food quality, labor, food cost, inventory, and overall kitchen execution. This is an opportunity for a strong restaurant operator to take ownership of the operation and directly influence its performance.

If you are an experienced kitchen leader who understands food cost, builds strong teams, and takes pride in consistent execution, we want to hear from you!

If you’re looking to succeed at a progressive, growth-oriented company and you meet our Core Values, we’d love to talk to you!