Café Front Of House Lead

Bok Tower Gardens•Lake Wales, FL

About The Position

The Café Front of House Lead supports the mission of The Bok Tower Gardens Foundation through the profitable operation of the Blue Palmetto Café, providing a quality experience for visitors and coordinating front-of-house service, staff, and volunteers. The role consistently upholds and supports Bok Tower Gardens’ mission, vision, and cultural values. The position coordinates daily front-of-house operations, provides guest service, processes sales, serves and replenishes food and beverages, and supports catering and events. It also monitors supplies and inventory, maintains food safety and cleanliness standards, performs opening, closing, and security duties, and communicates operational needs and visitor feedback to management. This is a varied 40-hour weekly schedule from Monday through Sunday, including weekends, holidays, and occasional evenings. Opening and closing duties may extend beyond public Café hours, and special events may require earlier or later hours. The position works in a fast-paced food service setting across kitchen, dining room, patio, storage, coolers, and freezers, with exposure to cleaning chemicals. The role receives general supervision and performance assessments from the Café Services Manager/Chef and provides daily coordination, training, and guidance to Café staff and volunteers.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.
Two years of food service, hospitality, or comparable experience.
Supervisory and training experience.
Outstanding customer service and effective communication skills.
Computer literacy.
Strong organizational, time-management, and problem-solving skills.
Dependable, flexible, and able to manage multiple duties in a fast-paced setting.
Ability to obtain SafeStaff certification.
Vision, hearing, and speech abilities necessary for guest service and communication.
Ability to remain standing and walk for prolonged periods; bend, reach, and handle food, supplies, and equipment; and move heavy boxes using safe handling procedures.

Responsibilities

Coordinate daily front-of-house operations, delegate tasks, support scheduling needs, and train and guide Café staff and volunteers in service standards, cashiering, safety, and opening and closing procedures.
Provide friendly, professional guest service; answer questions about the menu, Gardens, and events; resolve guest concerns and refer matters to management as needed; ensure the service counter is attended and telephone calls are answered promptly.
Process register sales and apply approved discounts, tax exemptions, departmental charges, and promotions.
Serve and replenish menu items and beverages and maintain attractive displays and approved signage.
Lead catering setup and breakdown in the Magnolia Rooms, Olmsted House, and Hilltop; support onsite and offsite events; and assist with food preparation, boxed meals, and catered meals.
Monitor food and supply levels, prepare weekly front-of-house ordering lists, receive and verify deliveries, document discrepancies, and assist with inventory counts.
Maintain organized storage and rotate products using first-in, first-out procedures.
Maintain safe food handling, labeling, rotation, and temperature monitoring.
Keep kitchen, dining, patio, service, and storage areas clean; maintain the weekly cleaning list; operate service and cleaning equipment; and complete opening, closing, and security duties.
Communicate staff needs, visitor feedback, sales trends, supply needs, and operational concerns to management.
Report safety hazards or suspicious activities promptly, attend meetings and training, and participate in committees as assigned.
Support revenue goals and expense control, follow Gardens policies and procedures, and perform other appropriate duties as assigned.