Position: Café Manager - Franco’s Mandeville

Location: Mandeville, LA

Company: Cross Gates Family Fitness/Franco’s

About Us:

We are a Top 50 health and fitness club dedicated to providing exceptional experiences for our members and their families. With a strong focus on community and well-being, we are committed to promoting an active lifestyle in a welcoming environment. We offer tennis, racquetball, sport training, world class fitness centers, luxurious locker rooms, a spa, full service cafe, indoor basketball courts, and a full suite of rooms for child care.

Job Description:

Franco’s Health Club is seeking an experienced, creative Café Manager to lead our busy café and kitchen. We’re looking for someone who combines strong kitchen operations with genuine hospitality, takes pride in developing a team, and brings fresh ideas to healthy, family friendly food offerings.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who can keep service moving during a rush, maintain an organized back of house, and create a café experience that keeps our members coming back.

Responsibilities:

Your responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

Daily Café and Kitchen Operations

• Manage daily café operations, from opening and preparation through service, closing, and cleanup.

• Lead a busy kitchen with efficient prep, clear station assignments, and organized workflows.

• Anticipate peak periods, club activities, and seasonal demand to ensure adequate staffing, food preparation, and inventory.

• Maintain consistent food quality, presentation, portion sizes, and timely service.

• Work alongside the team as needed, including food preparation, cooking, taking orders, serving, and cleaning.

• Coordinate front and back of house communication to keep orders accurate and service running smoothly.

• Establish and maintain clear opening, closing, preparation, and cleaning checklists.

Creative Menu Development

• Develop appealing, healthy, family friendly food offerings that serve a variety of ages, preferences, and appetites.

• Create fresh options for members seeking a quick bite, a meal after a workout, or food for the whole family.

• Bring creativity to daily specials, seasonal menus, children’s offerings, and café promotions.

• Balance nutritious choices with approachable favorites that taste great and offer good value.

• Develop standardized recipes, portion guidelines, and presentation standards so the team can execute consistently.

• Evaluate menu performance, member feedback, ingredient availability, and food costs when introducing or updating items.

• Build creative offerings that the kitchen can execute efficiently during busy service periods.

Extensive Grab-and-Go Program

• Develop and manage a varied, well-stocked grab-and-go selection as a core part of the café.

• Create convenient options such as salads, wraps, sandwiches, protein boxes, fruit cups, snacks, and prepared meals.

• Plan production quantities based on sales patterns, peak traffic, freshness, and shelf life.

• Keep displays appealing, organized, clearly labeled, and replenished throughout the day.

• Establish consistent packaging, portioning, pricing, ingredient information, and allergen communication.

• Maintain appropriate refrigeration, date marking, product rotation, and discard procedures.

• Track sales and waste to refine the selection and keep popular items available.

Hospitality and Member Experience

• Set the tone for warm, attentive hospitality in every member interaction.

• Build relationships with members and families, learn their preferences, and create a welcoming café atmosphere.

• Train the team to greet guests, communicate clearly, make helpful recommendations, and provide accurate, timely service.

• Handle questions, concerns, and service issues professionally, with thoughtful follow-through.

• Maintain a clean, inviting service counter, dining area, and food display.

• Use member feedback to improve food offerings and service.

• Partner with other club departments to support events, promotions, and the overall member experience.

Team Leadership and Development

• Lead by example with professionalism, accountability, a positive attitude, and a willingness to jump in.

• Help recruit, onboard, train, and retain a dependable café team.

• Set clear expectations for service, food quality, safety, cleanliness, and teamwork.

• Schedule and deploy staff according to business needs and anticipated traffic.

• Conduct regular team communication and shift check-ins to review priorities, specials, assignments, and service needs.

• Coach employees, provide constructive feedback, and address performance concerns promptly.

• Cross-train staff to strengthen coverage and keep operations running smoothly.

• Build a team culture where employees feel supported and take pride in their work.

Back of House Ordering and Organization

• Manage food, beverage, packaging, and supply ordering to maintain appropriate stock levels.

• Establish inventory targets and ordering routines based on usage, delivery schedules, storage capacity, and demand.

• Maintain productive vendor relationships and communicate shortages, substitutions, quality concerns, or delivery issues.

• Inspect deliveries for accuracy, quality, condition, and safe temperatures.

• Organize refrigerators, freezers, dry storage, and prep areas so products are easy to locate and safely stored.

• Maintain accurate inventory counts and use first-in, first-out rotation.

• Keep prep lists, recipes, inventory records, and operational procedures current and accessible.

• Coordinate equipment maintenance and promptly report repair needs.

Food Safety and Sanitation

• Maintain compliance with applicable food safety, sanitation, and health department requirements.

• Train and monitor staff on handwashing, personal hygiene, safe food handling, and illness reporting.

• Ensure safe receiving, storage, thawing, cooking, cooling, reheating, and holding practices.

• Maintain required temperature logs, date marking, labeling, and food safety records.

• Prevent cross-contamination and follow appropriate allergen handling and communication procedures.

• Maintain cleaning and sanitizing schedules for equipment, utensils, food contact surfaces, and storage areas.

• Ensure cleaning chemicals are labeled, stored, and used correctly.

• Keep the café inspection-ready and promptly correct any safety or sanitation concerns.

Cost Control and Business Performance

• Monitor food costs, labor needs, portions, product waste, and inventory usage.

• Cost recipes and recommend pricing that supports both member value and café profitability.

• Adjust purchasing and production to reduce waste while maintaining quality and availability.

• Review sales trends to identify opportunities for stronger menu offerings and more efficient operations.

• Oversee accurate point-of-sale transactions, cash handling, and daily reconciliation procedures.

• Communicate staffing needs, operational concerns, and improvement ideas to club leadership.

Requirements:

• Demonstrated experience managing a busy café, restaurant, or food service kitchen.

• Strong working knowledge of food preparation, ordering, inventory, kitchen organization, and cost control.

• Experience developing menus, specials, and fresh grab-and-go offerings.

• A genuine passion for hospitality and serving members and families.

• Proven ability to lead, train, and motivate a team.

• Strong organization, communication, and problem-solving skills.

• Ability to stay composed, prioritize, and maintain standards during high-volume service.

• Knowledge of food safety requirements and willingness to obtain or maintain applicable food safety certifications.

• A hands-on approach and the initiative to make the café a place members love to visit.

Schedule:

Café managers typically work a flexible schedule depending on club traffic, peak hours, and weekend activities.

Benefits: Full Time

• Vacation Time

• Personal Time

• Free Family Club Membership

• 15%-25% discount on club products and services

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance

• HSA Match

• 401(k) retirement plan

• Professional development opportunities

• Positive and supportive work environment

How to Apply:

Interested candidates should apply below. Resume preferred.

Cross Gates is an E-Verify employer.

Cross Gates Family Fitness is an equal opportunity employer.