Front-of-House Service Director
11 days ago
Tampa
Job Description Service Director For more than 131 years and four generations, J.C. Newman Cigar Co. has handcrafted the world's finest cigars in the heart of Tampa's historic Ybor City. Our factory, El Reloj, is the last operating hand-rolled cigar factory in the United States, a living landmark where more than 25,000 guests from around the world visit each year to experience Tampa's cigar heritage. In late 2026, we will open three new hospitality experiences inside a beautifully restored 1910 building across the street from El Reloj: Elaine's, a classic American restaurant with continental and local influences serving breakfast, lunch and dinner; Stanford's Cigar Club, a premium cigar lounge built around an exclusive barrel-aged spirits and reserve red wine program; and The Inn at El Reloj, eleven beautifully appointed guest rooms upstairs from Elaine's. Together with our private events programming on both sides of the street, they form the El Reloj District, a hospitality destination unlike anything else in Tampa. We are seeking a Service Director to build and lead the front-of-house program across the entire property. This role anchors at Elaine's and extends across Stanford's Cigar Club, the small but meaningful touches that welcome guests staying upstairs at the Inn, and the on-the-ground execution of private events on both sides of the District. This is a hands-on leadership role. The Service Director leads from the floor, not from the office. The Hospitality Program The property is confident, warm, well-edited, and considered. Elaine's is a casual fine dining room where service feels gracious, intelligent and unforced, the kind of room where guests do not notice the choreography because it works. Stanford's is a high-touch, high-service environment, where guests are read carefully, attended to thoughtfully, and never rushed. The Inn lives upstairs, and the service program looks after our guests in ways that feel personally considered, from the welcome to the morning. We are looking for a leader with strong opinions about hospitality, the discipline to teach the standard, and the presence to hold it every shift. Why You Will Want This Role This is a rare chance to shape something lasting from the start: • Build a front-of-house program from the ground up across three distinctive rooms and a full events business inside a landmark historic restoration, • Lead the floor at a brand-new American restaurant where the standard of service is uncompromising, • Set the service standard at Stanford's Cigar Club, a high-touch, high-service environment unlike anything in the cigar world, • Look after guests staying upstairs at The Inn at El Reloj with the kind of small touches that define a great stay, • Build and lead a training program that develops a team of knowledgeable, gracious, and genuinely hospitable service professionals, • Join a 130-year, four-generation family business that values craftsmanship, heritage, and doing things the right way, • Be part of the El Reloj District in one of Tampa's most iconic and storied neighborhoods, • Full medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) with company match, company-paid life and short-term disability, company-sponsored long-term disability, and paid time off Compensation & Benefits A full-time salaried role with benefits is rare in this industry: • $65,000 to $75,000 starting salary, commensurate with experience, • Performance bonus of up to 15% of salary, weighted 55% qualitative and 45% quantitative, beginning in year two, • Full medical, vision, and dental insurance, • 401(k) savings plan with company match, • Company-paid life insurance and short-term disability, • Company-sponsored long-term disability, • Paid time off What You Will Do As Service Director, you will lead the front-of-house program across the entire property, including Elaine's Restaurant, Stanford's Cigar Club, the in-room and guest-facing service touches for The Inn at El Reloj and the execution of private events across both the 1601 building and the factory. Your primary responsibility is to build and lead a high-performing service team, develop programs that reflect the company's character and heritage, and deliver consistently exceptional guest experiences. You will: • Define and execute the front-of-house service program and standards across the restaurant, cigar club, inn, and events programs, • Build, train and lead the front-of-house team from the ground up, with training treated as a priority rather than an afterthought; staff should be knowledgeable, gracious and genuinely excited to take care of guests, • Develop a robust, ongoing training program across service techniques, product knowledge, guest engagement, and standards, • Maintain a consistent on-floor presence across the property, leading every shift by example; this role is hands-on and floor-first, not desk-based, • Oversee event execution across the property, partnering with the events team to deliver private events at the level guests expect of the rooms, • Manage daily front-of-house operations, including pre-shift, service flow, post-shift, and the full arc of a shift, • Oversee ordering and inventory for front-of-house operational supplies, including paper goods, bar supplies, and non-alcoholic beverages, • Own the front-of-house tech stack, with proficiency in or willingness to learn Resy, Tripleseat, MarginEdge, and 7shifts for reservations, events, ordering, costing, and scheduling, • Monitor staffing levels, scheduling, labor controls and team productivity in alignment with business demand and budget, • Work closely with the J.C. Newman executive team and ownership, building consensus and keeping leadership aligned as service standards and programs take shape, • Collaborate closely with the General Manager, Executive Chef, Beverage Director, and the Cigar Club Captain to maintain seamless front-of-house and back-of-house alignment as one unified operation, • Manage employee timecards, time-off requests, performance feedback, and progressive discipline when necessary, • Address employee relations issues through coaching, mediation, and clear documentation, • Help develop and implement systems and procedures that improve operational efficiency and ensure compliance with company policies and applicable laws, • Support recruiting, interviewing, training, and retention of front-of-house talent, • Ensure compliance with all service, sanitation, alcohol, and health regulations Who You Are You are passionate about hospitality and service as a craft. You lead with confidence, inspire your team, and understand that great service is built one shift at a time. You believe training is one of the most important things a leader does, and you take real pride in developing people. You read a room. You are present, calm, and steady under pressure. You work well within a collaborative, consensus-driven family business and know how to keep ownership and executive leadership informed and aligned. You are as much a teacher and coach as you are an operator, organized, efficient, and committed to making your team better every shift. You bring: • Minimum of two years of progressive front-of-house or dining room leadership experience, • A demonstrated record of helping build or significantly elevate a service program, • A documented commitment to staff development and training, • Experience managing service across multiple meal periods and service formats, • Experience with catering, private dining, and event execution, • Foundational beverage knowledge and a desire to continue learning and developing professionally, • Proven ability to recruit, train, develop, and retain high-performing teams, • Strong communication, organization, and multitasking skills, • Strong conflict resolution and coaching skills, • Basic financial fluency, with the ability to understand sales, labor, and cost trends, • Proficiency in or willingness to learn modern front-of-house operations technology for reservations, events, ordering, costing, and scheduling, • Comfort working within a collaborative executive structure where ownership is closely involved in decisions, • Comfort working in and around a premium cigar environment, • Excellent interpersonal and cross-departmental communication skills, • Proficiency in English required; Spanish fluency preferred Physical Requirements & Work Environment • Ability to stand and walk for extended periods in a fast-paced restaurant environment, • Frequent reaching, carrying service items, and operating equipment, • Ability to lift and move up to 25 pounds occasionally, • Exposure to premium cigar smoke in designated areas of the property, • Full-time position, generally five days and approximately 50 hours per week, with some six-day weeks based on business needs, • Flexibility to work evenings, weekends, and holidays based on business needs Ready to Join Us? If you are a hospitality leader with the experience, vision, and dedication to teaching that this role demands, we would welcome the opportunity to speak with you. Please submit your resume and a brief note about your service background and your approach to staff training to hr@jcnewman.com or apply online at www.jcnewman.com/careers. J.C. Newman Cigar Co. is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are a drug-free workplace and conduct pre-employment drug screening.
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