Area Manager

About the role

Umami Riot was born from a simple idea: pair joyful hospitality with uncompromising craftsmanship. Founded by Chef Tim Cushman and sake expert Nancy Cushman, our restaurants celebrate bold flavor, precision, and a distinctly Boston point of view. We’re growing — and we’re looking for an Area Manager, Fast Casual who knows how to run great restaurants today while building the systems and teams we’ll need tomorrow. You’ll lead Ms. Clucks Deluxe and gogo ya at Time Out Market Boston, with new locations already on the horizon. This is a hands-on, field-driven leadership role for someone who can move comfortably between the numbers, the people, and the floor — owning performance while building an operation that can scale.

Responsibilities

• Own the day-to-day performance of our fast-casual concepts — operations, hospitality, people, financials, and everything in between
• Take real ownership of the P&L, including sales, labor, food cost, inventory, prime cost, and four-wall performance
• Lead from the floor, keeping standards high across food quality, service, cleanliness, safety, and execution
• Build operating rhythms that stick — line checks, opening and closing standards, shift huddles, manager walkthroughs, inventory controls, and more
• Coach and develop managers consistently, building the bench we need for future growth
• Partner with our Corporate Chef, HR, Marketing, and Operations teams to keep the business moving forward
• Lead new restaurant openings from pre-opening planning through opening day and stabilization
• Build the fast-casual opening playbook so every opening gets smarter, stronger, and more repeatable
• Create training systems and develop internal talent so future locations can be staffed with people who already know how we operate
• Own our operational relationships with Time Out Market and future food hall and landlord partners
• Spot the gap, diagnose the issue, and bring the plan — before it becomes a bigger problem

Requirements

• 4+ years of progressive restaurant management experience, including at least 2 years leading multiple units in fast-casual, QSR, or high-volume counter service
• Experience owning a P&L, labor targets, food cost, inventory, and operational KPIs
• Proven ability to coach and develop teams, with satisfaction from seeing team members grow into their next role
• Experience with restaurant openings or deep understanding of the process
• Ability to shift seamlessly from reviewing financials to hands-on operational tasks
• Systems-focused mindset, avoiding over-reliance on personal involvement
• Strong accountability balanced with approachable leadership
• Organized, decisive, curious, and always seeking operational improvements
• Ability to manage multiple brands under one roof while preserving each brand’s distinct identity
• Reliable transportation and ability to travel between Boston-area locations

Bonus points: Experience in food halls, stadiums, airports, or other high-volume shared environments; managing multiple concepts simultaneously; bilingual in Spanish or Portuguese.

Work Environment

This is restaurant operations — not a desk job. You’ll spend significant time in the restaurants, coaching teams, watching service, solving problems, reviewing numbers, and making things better. Nights, weekends, holidays, and opening periods are part of the role. You should be comfortable standing and walking for long shifts, lifting up to 50 lbs., bending, reaching, and working in tight or hot kitchen environments. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role.

Benefits

• $90,000–$105,000 base salary
• Performance bonus up to 10%
• Opening bonus
• Dining discounts across Umami Riot locations
• Real opportunity to grow as the portfolio expands
• The chance to build teams, systems, and restaurants — not just inherit them
• A culture rooted in hospitality, creativity, accountability, and heart

Base salary is reviewed with each unit added, with a defined progression toward District Manager or Director of Fast Casual Operations at $115,000–$125,000 as the portfolio reaches four units.