Assistant General Manager

Le Pain Quotidien•Merrifield, VA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

As Assistant General Manager, you'll be a key leader in the restaurant—partnering closely with the General Manager to lead the team, elevate the guest experience, and drive strong business performance. This is a hands-on leadership role for an experienced hospitality leader who thrives on the floor, develops people, and knows how to balance exceptional service with operational and financial results. You'll play an active role in shaping restaurant culture, coaching leaders and team members, and ensuring every shift delivers a consistently high standard of hospitality. You'll have meaningful ownership across people, hospitality, operations, and financial performance, while working alongside an experienced General Manager who will support your continued growth toward future General Manager opportunities. If you're an experienced restaurant leader coming from a full-service restaurant or hospitality group and are looking for an opportunity to broaden your leadership impact, we'd love to meet you.

Requirements

2+ years of restaurant leadership experience in a full-service restaurant, hospitality group, or comparable environment.
A genuine passion for hospitality and a proven ability to lead from the floor and inspire a team during service.
A track record of building strong restaurant cultures where people feel valued, supported, challenged, and accountable.
Strong instincts for guest experience and service excellence, with the ability to coach teams toward consistently high standards.
Demonstrated ability to hire, develop, coach, and retain talent at multiple levels of the organization.
Experience managing or contributing to labor, sales, COGS, inventory, forecasting, and P&L performance.
A growth mindset and desire to continue developing toward General Manager-level leadership.
Must be able to stand for prolonged periods and lift and carry items weighing up to 50 lbs.
A NYC Food Handlers License is required to be considered for this position.

Nice To Haves

Proficiency in Spanish, French, and/or Arabic is a plus.

Responsibilities

Lead from the floor, staying highly engaged during service, coaching in the moment, supporting the team, and ensuring guests receive exceptional hospitality from arrival through departure.
Own the guest experience, anticipating needs, resolving concerns with empathy and urgency, and turning service recovery moments into opportunities to build loyalty.
Develop people and build culture, creating an environment where team members feel valued, accountable, and motivated to grow.
Partner with the General Manager to recruit, interview, hire, onboard, develop, and retain a high-performing restaurant team.
Lead and coach restaurant leaders and team members through opening, service, and closing, ensuring consistent execution and strong shift-to-shift communication.
Own labor deployment during service, making real-time decisions that balance guest experience, team productivity, and financial performance.
Maintain high standards for food quality, hospitality, cleanliness, and food safety, ensuring the restaurant consistently delivers against brand standards.
Partner with the GM to manage inventory, food cost, waste, ordering, and COGS, identifying opportunities and taking action to improve performance.
Contribute to P&L performance, using sales, labor, COGS, and other key business metrics to identify trends, forecast needs, and drive profitability.
Step into the General Manager's responsibilities as needed, demonstrating readiness for future GM opportunities.