Barista - Temporary

Barnes & Noble•Rochester, MN

About The Position

A Barista is an integral member of a Barnes & Noble Café team, welcoming customers, answering questions, and helping them choose beverages and café items. The role supports an attractive, clean, and efficiently run Café by stocking deliveries, maintaining displays and dining areas, preparing food and drinks, and providing quick, friendly service at the register. Baristas are expected to demonstrate reliable attendance, flexibility, a positive and considerate approach to work, helpful customer service, willingness to learn, and enthusiasm for the role. The position involves learning and performing café operations, including using registers and other technology, merchandising café and retail fixtures, receiving and stocking products, preparing food and beverages using recipes and product information, cleaning, applying FIFO and product-dating practices, and following loss-prevention and de-escalation procedures. Baristas may also support the bookfloor team and, when needed and able, work in other stores within the wider Cluster. As experience develops, Baristas build knowledge of café products, promotions, customization options, retail offerings, training tools, and safety, hygiene, and sanitation standards. The role offers a career path toward Senior Barista as skills and proficiency grow. The position is temporary. Starting hourly pay is $14.00, depending on experience, seniority, geographic location, and other factors permitted by law. Benefits vary according to scheduled hours and location; the posting lists employee discounts, EAP, sick pay, paid time off and leave, holidays, retirement, health coverage, transit, disability and life insurance, and tuition reimbursement at applicable hour thresholds.

Requirements

Maintain reliable and punctual attendance for scheduled shifts.
Be flexible and responsive to store scheduling needs, including filling scheduling gaps when able.
Take a positive, energetic, purposeful, and reliable approach to assigned work.
Be supportive and considerate of colleagues and willing to help the team.
Provide cheerful, consistently helpful customer service.
Show aptitude and willingness to learn new skills and knowledge.
Enjoy working as a barista.
Develop proficiency in the operational competencies of a Barnes & Noble barista.
Perform physical activity including prolonged standing, repetitive bending, lifting, and extensive walking.

Responsibilities

Welcome customers, answer questions, and help connect them with appropriate beverages and café items.
Maintain an attractive presentation and efficient operation of the Café, including tidying the bake case and dining area.
Unpack and stock deliveries and maintain accurate, efficient product stocking.
Operate registers quickly, reliably, and professionally.
Use registers, computers, tablets, programs, and other tools comfortably and efficiently.
Maintain Café presentation and cleanliness through merchandising and daily and weekly cleaning tasks.
Maintain counter and floor retail fixtures through visual merchandising.
Prepare food and drinks accurately using product knowledge, colleagues’ guidance, recipe guides, and product specification sheets.
Follow First In First Out (FIFO) practices and date products correctly and consistently.
Support the bookfloor team when needed.
Follow loss-prevention procedures and de-escalation techniques; identify theft and seek support for problematic behavior or store issues.
Build knowledge of beverage, bakery, savory, and gifting products and use it to maintain appealing presentations.
Communicate café promotions and new limited-time-offer items to customers and colleagues and support sales objectives.
Recommend food and beverage customizations to customers.
Build knowledge of café retail options and use café training tools appropriately.
Follow café safety, hygiene, and sanitation guidelines and procedures.
Comply with company policies and procedures.
Support other stores in the wider Cluster when able and needed.