Restaurant Bartender - Haven

HELP BUILD SOMETHING SPECIAL IN THE HIGH COUNTRY

Haven is a chef-driven restaurant coming to Blowing Rock, North Carolina, and we're assembling our founding front-of-house team.

Built with its own distinct culinary identity and backed by the support and resources of Chetola Resort, Haven combines the excitement of a restaurant opening with the stability and opportunities of an established hospitality destination.

We believe exceptional hospitality begins with exceptional people. We're building a service team where professionalism, curiosity, warmth, and continuous learning come together to create remarkable experiences for our guests—and an outstanding place to build a career.

This is more than a typical bartender position. It's an opportunity to join before opening day and help shape the beverage program, bar standards, guest experience, culture, and identity of Haven from the ground up. As a founding team member, you'll play an important role in bringing the concept to life and setting the standard for the team members who follow.

At Haven, our menu is rooted in Appalachian cuisine and the incredible farms, foragers, and producers of the region. Through a small plates and tasting menu experience, we'll showcase hyper-seasonal ingredients while drawing inspiration from global culinary traditions and modern techniques. The result is thoughtful, ingredient-driven food that feels both familiar and unexpected.

We envision a beverage program that reflects that same philosophy: seasonal, intentional, approachable, and deeply connected to the food. From thoughtfully crafted cocktails and carefully selected wines to regional spirits, local beer, and creative non-alcoholic offerings, every drink should complement the guest's experience and feel like a natural extension of the kitchen.

For our bartenders, the bar is more than a place to prepare beverages—it's one of the most engaging seats in the restaurant. It's where craftsmanship meets conversation, where recommendations build trust, and where memorable hospitality happens one interaction at a time.

We're looking for bartenders who believe exceptional hospitality is about more than making great drinks. It's about reading the guest, anticipating needs, understanding flavor, telling the story behind a spirit or ingredient, collaborating with the culinary team, and creating an experience that feels polished, genuine, and effortlessly welcoming.

You don't need to know everything on day one. We're looking for people who bring curiosity, warmth, humility, professionalism, attention to detail, and a genuine passion for learning their craft. We'll help you develop the rest.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Create warm, genuine, and memorable guest experiences at the bar and throughout the restaurant
• Prepare and serve cocktails with consistency, precision, balance, and care
• Execute classic cocktails confidently while developing deep knowledge of the restaurant’s signature beverage offerings
• Guide guests thoughtfully through cocktails, wine, beer, spirits, and non-alcoholic options
• Develop strong knowledge of the food menu, ingredients, sourcing, preparation methods, and the stories behind the dishes
• Understand how beverage selections complement and interact with the restaurant’s small plates and tasting menu experience
• Make thoughtful recommendations based on guest preferences, dietary considerations, and the flow of the dining experience
• Explain unfamiliar ingredients, spirits, techniques, and flavor profiles in a way that is engaging, approachable, and never pretentious
• Prepare and maintain bar mise en place, including juices, syrups, infusions, garnishes, and other beverage components
• Follow recipes, specifications, portion standards, and presentation expectations accurately
• Maintain awareness of pacing, timing, guest cues, and the overall atmosphere of the bar
• Collaborate closely with culinary, service, host, and support teams
• Maintain a clean, organized, efficient, and professional bar
• Monitor product quality, freshness, inventory levels, and responsible product handling
• Support thoughtful inventory practices and minimize unnecessary waste
• Participate in pre-opening training, tastings, mock services, and ongoing beverage education
• Provide thoughtful feedback as cocktails, workflows, service standards, and bar systems are developed and refined
• Uphold the highest standards of hospitality, professionalism, sanitation, food safety, and responsible alcohol service