Experience:
Director of Operations, Blackwood Hospitality, New York, NY | October 2014 - Present
Working with a great team of restaurant professionals, I have helped to open and operate several restaurant concepts in Greater New York City over the past 12 months.
- Consultant - ***** opening strategies of restaurant concepts in the greater New York area
- Motivate, coach and strengthen General Managers and Owners as team leaders
- Provide expertise on key customer issues, staffing and management, operations and company policies and procedures
- Develop strategies to achieve each location’s financial, operational and customer-service goals, while addressing each location’s unique strengths and challenges
- Work with kitchen and beverage managers to create dining, cocktail, wine, and beer menus
- Plan and execute strategies to control operational costs, and develop plans to identify trends to forecast budgets
- Plan and implement initiatives to support business objectives
- Manage department processes and practices to ensure that all programs are aligned with the respective company goals and objectives
- Prepare, communicate and educate the team on changes in policies and practices within the organization
- Challenge and inspire employees to achieve best service and sales results
- Conduct and / or ensure the completion of performance reviews
- Ensure employees adhere to legal and operational compliance requirements
- Oversee training and development of employees, and assist with staffing decisions
- Coordinate staff and management development to meet the needs of the individual clients’ businesses and their objectives.
Operations Manager, Pure Food and Wine / One Lucky Duck, New York, NY | June 2010 - April 2014
As the right hand to owner / operator, Sarma Melngailis for four years, I managed a restaurant, two juice bars, the Not Just Juice Cleanse, a production kitchen, website and shipping offices.
- Analyzed, identified, and monitored the operating performance of each location
- Ensured compliance with food quality and food safety standards / regulations and facility cleanliness
- Wine and Sake menu development with an emphasis on organic, and biodynamic growers
- Monitored the operating performance of each location, addressing performance hindrances and creating solutions where needed
- Evaluated customer-service standards through customer feedback, and worked with managers and team members consistently to keep service standards and team effort maximized
- Used strong analytical and problem-solving skills to address day to day operations
- Worked with managers to ensure that each location was adequately staffed with properly trained team members in each role
- Oversaw the process of hiring senior staff, such as restaurant managers, and delegated the task of hiring and supervising kitchen staff to the executive chefs
- Assisted with the development of marketing initiatives
- Executed all policies, procedures, programs and systems while promoting ethical business practices and ensuring compliance with all federal, state and local laws for business operations, and human resources
Online Marketing Specialist, Coalmarch Productions, Raleigh, NC
January 2007 - August 2010
Worked with a creative team of programmers, and designers developing custom websites and marketing packages for clients on the East Coast.
- Search Engine Optimization / Marketing, Customer Service
- Managed a portfolio of online marketing clients, and marketing strategies for those clients, along with the marketing strategies of Coalmarch Productions
- Various projects included the use of HTML, Adobe Suite, javascript, and php along with joint efforts of programmers, designers, and marketing staff to successfully meet customers requests
- Managed client expectations, onsite client training, software testing, and email server assignments and training
- Developed websites, marketing strategies, and, ultimately, teams for races and fundraising for Local non-profit clients, Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, and Girls on the Run
Education:
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX August 1988 - May 1990, Marketing, Football
University of North Texas, August 1992 - May 1994, Literature, Spanish
North Carolina State University, August 1998 - May 2001, Literature, Spanish, Sustainable Horticulture
Duke University, August 1999 - December 1999, German
Skills / Certifications:
Washington State Food Handler's Certificate and MAST Class 12 Certificate, New York Department of Health Food Handlers Certificate, New York and New Jersey Tips Certified, New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, project management, inventory management, QuickBooks, Shopify, Word Processing, Spreadsheets, HTML, InDesign, Photoshop, OpenTable, multiple POS usability and programming, online marketing, human resources management, team building.