Beverage Director

City Winery New York•New York, NY

About The Position

The National Beverage Director is a senior leadership role responsible for the strategic direction, execution, and performance of City Winery’s beverage programs across its national locations, including City Winery Core locations and Pier 57 restaurants. The role oversees beverage service standards, inventory systems, ordering, vendor partnerships, winery relations, wine education, and menu development. The director ensures guest experience, operational excellence, financial performance, and brand consistency across wine, spirits, beer, and non-alcoholic beverage programs. The role partners with Operations, Culinary, Winery, Programming, Marketing, and Finance to drive revenue, elevate service culture, and strengthen City Winery’s position as a food, wine, and entertainment destination. City Winery combines a functioning winery with intimate concerts, food and wine classes, private events, and fine dining. The company describes its workplace as a dynamic setting where wine, food, live entertainment, community, creativity, and hospitality come together.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive beverage leadership experience in high-volume, multi-unit hospitality.
Proven national or regional beverage leadership experience.
Deep expertise in inventory systems, forecasting, cost control, and financial management.
Proven experience leading beverage menu development across multiple concepts.
Strong vendor negotiation and portfolio management experience.
Exceptional leadership, training, and team development skills.
Passion for wine, hospitality, and guest experience.
Ability to travel nationally as required.

Nice To Haves

Advanced wine education, such as CMS, WSET, or equivalent, is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead beverage operations across City Winery’s national portfolio, including City Winery Core locations and Pier 57 restaurants.
Set national beverage strategy aligned with brand, revenue goals, and guest experience standards; serve as the senior subject matter expert for beverage programs.
Own beverage service standards, including steps of service, beverage execution, bar setup and organization, service audits, and quality control.
Develop, implement, and maintain standard operating procedures for beverage programs; conduct regular market and location audits for brand consistency and service excellence.
Partner with Operations leadership on training, accountability, and performance management.
Lead national beverage ordering and inventory systems, including Beverage Inventory in Full execution; set pars, forecasting models, and purchasing strategies.
Oversee invoice management, reconciliation, and vendor billing; drive cost controls, beverage margins, and inventory accuracy.
Partner with Finance on forecasting, actuals, variance analysis, and budgeting.
Lead national beverage vendor partnerships; negotiate pricing, contracts, allocations, and national programs; manage City Winery relationships and portfolio strategy.
Collaborate on winery releases, featured programs, and reserve selections; curate and manage the Reserve CV List and Floater Somm Program.
Lead national wine education strategy and develop training programs for beverage teams, sommeliers, and service leaders.
Partner with Programming and Marketing on wine dinners, tastings, classes, and special events; serve as an ambassador for City Winery’s wine and beverage culture.
Lead beverage menu development across the listed concepts and locations; partner with Culinary on menu pairing strategy.
Develop seasonal, regional, and reserve beverage programs and ensure menu innovation while protecting brand identity and operational scalability.
Build, mentor, and lead the national beverage leadership team; develop succession planning and career pathways for beverage leaders.
Establish a high-performance service culture rooted in hospitality, education, and accountability.
Travel nationally as required.