Fine Dining Restaurant General Manager
3 days ago
Austin
General Manager — Caprice + Bar Grotta Downtown Austin (8th & Congress) — Opening June Caprice and Bar Grotta are opening this summer at 720 N Congress Avenue, and we're searching for a General Manager to lead one of Downtown Austin's most ambitious new hospitality concepts. This is a rare opportunity to take ownership of a restaurant from pre-opening through its defining first years — and to build something designed to be recognized among the best. About Caprice + Bar Grotta Caprice is more than a restaurant. It is a feeling of being welcomed into an Italian coastal home in the middle of Downtown Austin, where elevated dining meets warmth, personality, and genuine hospitality. Inspired by family, tradition, and the effortless spirit of the Italian coast, we create experiences that feel refined without ever feeling rehearsed. Bar Grotta is the moody, underground counterpart to Caprice — an intimate, stone-walled lounge designed to feel like a hidden European grotto. Where Caprice is sunlit and elevated, Bar Grotta is candlelit and immersive. Together they form a split-level concept built around handmade pastas, vibrant seafood, classic Amalfi Coast cocktails, and a world-class beverage program where every detail transports guests into a coastal Italian escape that feels both luxurious and approachable. We are building a restaurant with soul. One where food, beverage, music, conversation, and hospitality flow together naturally. A place where every guest walks out feeling like they found their favorite restaurant before the rest of the city did. The Role The General Manager is the steward of Caprice + Bar Grotta — accountable for every guest's experience, every team member's growth, and every financial outcome. The GM sets the tone of the house: refined, gracious, and unwavering in standard. Success in this role is measured not only in revenue, but in the quiet excellence that earns industry recognition — the kind of consistency that makes the extraordinary feel routine. This is a leadership role for someone who wants to build, not just operate. You'll shape the team, the systems, and the culture from the ground up, and you'll be the person who ensures the vision is felt at every table, every service, every night. What You'll Own Guest Experience • Own the standard of the guest experience from curb arrival to farewell, • Lead the floor during service: touch tables, read the room, anticipate needs before they're spoken, • Personally handle guest recovery, VIP recognition, and the relationships that turn first-time guests into regulars, • Walk the full guest journey continuously and refine every point of friction Team Leadership • Hire, build, and develop the FOH leadership team: AGM, Bar Manager, and Hospitality Manager, • Set the culture — coach in the moment, correct privately, praise publicly, and never walk past a problem, • Lead daily pre-shift and weekly leadership meetings, • Develop the team through one-on-ones, training, tastings, and structured performance reviews, • Build a recruiting bench and a pipeline of talent for every key position Financial & Operational • Own the P&L: revenue, labor, cost of goods, and profitability against budget, • Review daily sales, voids, comps, and labor; investigate every anomaly, • Approve schedules, control costs, and manage inventory variance across the house, • Deliver written monthly performance reports to ownership, • Maintain full compliance with TABC, Texas Food Establishment Rules, ADA, and health and safety standards Brand & Standards • Uphold the Caprice + Bar Grotta aesthetic in every visible detail — uniforms, menus, lighting, music, scent, and language, • Partner with the Executive Chef and Bar Manager to ensure food, beverage, and service operate as one experience, • Build and maintain the standards, systems, and documentation that allow the house to run consistently at the highest level, • Represent the restaurant in the community and cultivate relationships with press, partners, and industry What We're Looking For • 4+ years of general management experience in upscale, fine dining, or high-volume elevated hospitality, • A proven track record of building and leading high-performing teams, • Strong financial acumen: P&L ownership, labor management, cost controls, and budgeting, • Deep understanding of refined service standards and the steps of fine dining service, • Genuine passion for food, wine, and hospitality — Italian cuisine and wine knowledge a strong plus, • The ability to lead with both warmth and authority; a presence that elevates the room, • Experience with pre-opening or new-concept buildouts is a significant advantage, • A hospitality-first mindset that prioritizes the guest and the team over ego, • Reliable evening, weekend, and holiday availability, • Current TABC and Food Handler certifications, • Experience with Toast, OpenTable / SevenRooms, and scheduling/labor platforms Who You Are You set a standard and hold it without ever making the room feel tense. You read people — guests and team alike — and you know when to step in and when to let your team shine. You believe great hospitality is intuitive, not scripted, and you can teach that. You're as comfortable in a spreadsheet as you are on the floor during a Saturday rush. You care about the details no one else notices because you know those details are exactly what guests feel. You lead by presence and example, not by title. You want to build something that lasts — and you're ready to put your fingerprints on it from day one. Compensation & Benefits • Competitive salary based on experience, • Performance-based bonus structure, • Health benefits, • Paid time off, • Dining discounts at Caprice + Bar Grotta, • Discounted Downtown Parking Pass