Senior Manager, Food & Beverage Development

Lava Island•Denver, CO

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Food & Beverage Development leads the vision, strategy, innovation, and revenue growth of Lava Island’s food and beverage program across its parks. The role develops distinctive, family-friendly menus and launches a coffee and hot drinks program, balancing brand personality and guest appeal with preparation speed, kitchen capacity, cost, and consistent execution across locations. This is a hands-on leadership role that includes working in park kitchens during busy periods, testing items with crews, and regularly visiting parks across markets. The manager creates recipes, standards, operating procedures, kitchen guides, and training materials, and coordinates rollouts with operations, headquarters, and new park teams. The role also works with vendors, party coordinators, and the brand team to improve the guest experience and financial performance. The beverage program is non-alcoholic. The position leads the F&B Manager, who handles food safety certifications, permits, and inspections.

Requirements

At least 5 years of culinary, menu development, or food and beverage leadership experience in quick service, fast casual, family entertainment, family dining, or multi-unit hospitality.
Track record of developing and launching menu items across multiple locations.
Experience designing menus for speed, consistency, and entry-level kitchen teams.
Working knowledge of food cost, cost of goods, ingredient cross-utilization, and menu engineering.
Hands-on kitchen experience and willingness to work shifts in park kitchens, including weekends and rush periods.
ServSafe Manager certification, or ability to obtain it within 90 days.
Willingness to travel regularly to parks.
Ability to pass a background check.

Nice To Haves

Experience in family entertainment centers, attractions, or kid-focused venues.
Experience creating branded or themed menu items.
Experience building or launching a coffee or specialty beverage program.
Experience working with Sysco or another broadline distributor.
Culinary degree or formal culinary training.

Responsibilities

Work in park kitchens, including busy weekends and party periods, to understand kitchen capacity, equipment, service speed, and crew workflows.
Spend regular time in kitchens across markets and test new items with crews under real operating conditions.
Set the direction for the menu, balancing family appeal, brand personality, speed, simplicity, and revenue.
Create signature, brand-inspired food items with distinctive names and presentation.
Develop new, seasonal, and limited-time menu items, testing them in parks before rollout.
Design menus around a lean set of ingredients that can be used in multiple ways.
Launch a coffee and hot drinks program for parents and adult guests, and develop specialty, seasonal, and brand-inspired non-alcoholic drinks for the whole family.
Evaluate beverage equipment, vendors, and partnerships.
Identify ways to grow food and beverage revenue per guest.
Partner with party coordinators on food and beverage upgrades for birthday parties.
Set food cost targets for each item, recommend pricing, and use sales results to improve the menu.
Create recipes and standards that young and entry-level crews can follow consistently.
Plan rollouts with operations, headquarters, and new park teams, including standard operating procedures, kitchen guides, and training materials.
Visit parks to test offerings, provide support, and check consistency.
Work with Sysco and other vendors on products, availability, and pricing.
Lead the F&B Manager, who manages food safety certifications, permits, and inspections.
Partner with the brand team on item names, menu boards, promotions, and food-related messaging.