Director of Hospitality
4 days ago
Milwaukee
Job Description Role Overview Sprecher Brewing Company is seeking a commercially minded Hospitality Director to lead, grow, and optimize the company's on-site retail store, brewery tours, destination experiences, special events, and community engagement programming. This role is responsible for turning the brewery campus into a stronger revenue-generating destination while protecting the character, hospitality, and brand equity that make Sprecher unique. This position carries direct responsibility for key revenue-generating guest experience channels, brewery tour revenue, special event revenue, private experiences, traffic-building community programming merchandise performance, and retail store sales. The role reports directly to the Head of Marketing. Success requires a leader who can balance creativity with commercial discipline. The Events & Retail Experience Manager must be able to develop ideas, build an annual calendar, manage vendors and partners, direct teams, evaluate performance, and report clearly on progress, risks, and opportunities. This is not simply an event coordination role; it is a business-building leadership position responsible for growing traffic, increasing per-guest revenue, and improving the overall Sprecher destination experience. Primary Role Objectives • Elevate Sprecher brewery tours from a basic facility tour into a more compelling, memorable, and revenue-producing destination experience., • Drive retail store growth through disciplined merchandising, promotional planning, product storytelling, inventory partnership, and stronger conversion from tours and events., • Own the annual event and experience calendar, including major signature events, seasonal programming, private events, community partnerships, and traffic-building initiatives., • Increase guest engagement, average transaction value, repeat visitation, tour-to-retail conversion, and event profitability., • Use Square, Xola, guest feedback, labor data, and financial reporting to manage performance in a KPI-driven environment., • Partner with the Taproom Operations Manager to ensure all experiences are operationally executable, properly staffed, and consistently delivered.Functional Areas of Responsibility1. Brewery Tours and Destination Experiences The Events & Retail Experience Manager owns the commercial and experiential direction of Sprecher brewery tours. The role is expected to move tours beyond a basic operational walkthrough and into a stronger branded experience that can attract visitors, support group sales, encourage retail purchases, and reinforce Sprecher's position as a Wisconsin beverage destination. • Reimagine and elevate Sprecher brewery tours into a more immersive, structured, and memorable guest experience inspired by leading brewery, distillery, food, and branded attraction destinations., • Own the end-to-end tour experience, including guest arrival, check-in, story flow, pacing, tasting/sampling moments, safety communication, retail conversion points, and post-tour engagement., • Develop tiered tour offerings such as standard tours, premium tours, private group experiences, seasonal tours, family-focused experiences, limited-time experiences, and potential VIP or behind-the-scenes offerings., • Create tour programming that reinforces Sprecher's history, craft soda leadership, Wisconsin roots, flavor variety, production capabilities, and innovation pipeline without becoming overly technical or operationally cumbersome., • Partner with operations and production leadership to ensure tour paths, guest access, safety requirements, and production visibility are realistic and consistently maintained., • Develop training materials, talking points, guest engagement standards, and quality expectations for tour guides and supporting staff., • Use Xola and Square reporting to track bookings, attendance, sell-through, conversion, upsell performance, average revenue per guest, guest feedback, and demand trends., • Improve tour-to-retail conversion by integrating product sampling, exclusive merchandise, bundled offers, limited-time products, and clear retail calls-to-action into the tour experience., • Monitor guest reviews, recurring questions, complaints, and opportunities to improve tour content, timing, staffing, and the overall visit experience., • Provide regular reporting to the Head of Marketing, E-Commerce, Taproom & Retail on tour performance, guest trends, operational constraints, and growth opportunities. 1. Events, Programming, and Community Engagement This role owns the annual event strategy and event calendar, including both large signature events and smaller recurring programs designed to build traffic, increase revenue, expand operating days and hours, and deepen Sprecher's relationship with the community. Events must be creative, brand appropriate, operationally feasible, financially disciplined, and measurable. • Concept, plan, and oversee revenue-driving events that expand traffic, operating hours, days of operation, guest frequency, retail sales, taproom sales, and brand engagement., • Own the annual events calendar, ensuring an appropriate mix of signature events, seasonal programming, family events, community partnerships, private events, retail moments, tour-driven experiences, and potential corporate/group opportunities., • Manage major events such as SprecherFest, shows, Sodas with Santa, potential Christkindl Market concepts, car shows, fundraising events, holiday events, community programs, and other traffic-building initiatives., • Build event plans that include objectives, target audience, revenue assumptions, staffing needs, labor implications, space requirements, vendor needs, marketing support, retail tie-ins, food and beverage needs, risk factors, and post-event measurement., • Develop financially responsible event models that clearly consider revenue, labor, vendor costs, product costs, marketing needs, incremental staffing, and guest capacity., • Identify sponsorship, partnership, vendor, community, and cross-promotional opportunities that can reduce cost, expand reach, or increase event value., • Coordinate with the North Shore Chamber of Commerce, local tourism entities, community groups, schools, nonprofits, car clubs, entertainment partners, vendors, and other organizations where appropriate., • Partner with Marketing to ensure events are promoted with sufficient lead time, clear messaging, brand-right creative, email/SMS support, social content, paid support where approved, and on-site signage., • Partner with Taproom Operations to ensure events are properly staffed, scheduled, staged, supplied, and operationally controlled., • Complete post-event reviews that summarize attendance, revenue, labor, retail impact, guest feedback, operational issues, profitability, and recommendations for future improvement.3. Guest Experience Strategy, • Define standards for guest arrival, greeting, wayfinding, retail engagement, tour check-in, sampling, event flow, issue resolution, and departure experience., • Identify friction points in the guest journey and recommend improvements that can be implemented within practical budget and staffing realities., • Create a consistent experience across tours, retail, taproom visits, and events so guests understand what makes Sprecher different and why the visit is worth repeating., • Monitor Google reviews, guest comments, staff feedback, and direct customer interactions to identify recurring opportunities and risks., • Ensure family-friendly service standards while also supporting expanded bar, adult beverage, and event opportunities where appropriate.4. Retail Store Leadership The Events & Retail Experience Manager owns retail store performance as a revenue, margin, and brand-building channel. The role is accountable for helping the store function as more than a transaction point; it should operate as the commercial extension of the Sprecher experience and a place where guests can discover the full portfolio, exclusive items, branded merchandise, seasonal offerings, and event-linked purchases. • Own retail store performance with accountability to revenue, margin, inventory, merchandising, promotional, and guest experience goals., • Develop and maintain a stronger retail merchandising strategy across beverages, apparel, gifts, seasonal items, limited-time products, multipacks, bundles, branded merchandise, and exclusive taproom/retail offerings., • Partner with Marketing Leadership and Design to develop merchandise, apparel, signage, packaging concepts, and branded retail materials that are commercially viable and consistent with Sprecher brand standards., • Work with operational partners to ensure appropriate inventory levels, receiving accuracy, replenishment discipline, product availability, and timely sell-through of seasonal or promotional items., • Use Square POS data to evaluate sales by category, SKU performance, basket size, gross margin, inventory turns, promotional effectiveness, and retail trends., • Recommend pricing, bundling, promotion, and assortment adjustments based on sales performance, guest demand, seasonality, event activity, and margin opportunities., • Develop retail strategies tied to tours, events, holidays, new product launches, limited releases, sampling moments, and family-friendly experiences., • Ensure visual merchandising standards support a clean, organized, inviting, and brand-right shopping experience., • Identify opportunities for exclusive retail products, giftable items, Sprecher-branded apparel, collector items, and seasonal packages that increase average transaction value., • Partner with the Taproom Operations Manager to ensure daily retail execution, staffing, checkout experience, restocking, cleanliness, and guest service expectations are consistently met. 1. Measurement, Reporting, and KPI Accountability • Operate within a KPI-driven framework aligned to broader P&L objectives., • Use Square, Xola, labor information, event recaps, guest feedback, and internal reporting to track results and identify corrective actions., • Deliver clear, timely, and actionable reporting on progress toward goals, risks, gaps, resource needs, corrective actions, and growth opportunities., • Prepare weekly, monthly, seasonal, and post-event updates as requested by the Head of Marketing, E-Commerce, Taproom & Retail., • Translate data into practical recommendations rather than simply reporting what happened.Qualifications, • Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in hospitality, retail, events, food and beverage, attraction management, entertainment venues, or comparable guest-facing operations., • Demonstrated ability to lead hourly teams in a fast-paced public-facing environment., • Working knowledge of POS systems, scheduling practices, inventory control, labor management, and guest service standards., • Comfort operating in a KPI-managed environment with regular reporting expectations., • Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to summarize performance, issues, and recommendations clearly., • Ability to work evenings, weekends, holidays, peak event periods, and expanded hours as business needs require., • Experience with Square, Xola, event planning tools, ticketing platforms, or comparable systems is preferred., • Experience in brewery, beverage, foodservice, tourism, destination retail, or branded attraction environments is preferred.Core Competencies, • Commercial mindset and ownership mentality, • Guest experience leadership, • Team coaching and accountability, • Operational discipline and attention to detail, • Financial and KPI literacy, • Planning, prioritization, and follow-through, • Creative problem solving within practical budget constraints, • Cross-functional collaboration and professional communicationPhysical Requirements and Working Conditions, • Ability to stand and walk for extended periods during taproom, tour, retail, and event operations., • Ability to lift, move, and stock products, merchandise, supplies, and event materials as required, with or without reasonable accommodation., • Work may include brewery production environments, retail floors, bar and kitchen-adjacent areas, outdoor events, storage areas, and public event spaces., • Schedule may include nights, weekends, holidays, peak seasonal periods, and occasional off-site community events., • Must maintain appropriate professional standards in guest-facing, alcohol-service, and family-friendly environments.Equal Employment Opportunity Sprecher Brewing Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position.