ARLO Assistant Manager

About the Role

ARLO is the award-winning, Cali-Baja, scratch-cooking, DJ-brunching, patio-fireplace-having restaurant at Town and Country Resort — and we're gunning for Bib Gourmand status. We don't need a title-holder yet. We need someone who eats, sleeps, and slightly obsesses over the idea of getting one. We're looking for an Assistant Manager who can run a shift like a conductor, taste a dish and know exactly why it's not quite right, and make a guest on their third mezcal feel like the most important person in Mission Valley. Bonus points if you already have opinions about what makes a Bib Gourmand a Bib Gourmand (we do too — let's argue about it over family meal).

Who We Are

Serving scratch-made Cali-Baja dishes on a patio with swaying palm trees and a fireplace big enough to have its own zip code, ARLO has already picked up Best Hotel Restaurant, Best Restaurant for Big Groups, and a small shelf of other San Diego Magazine hardware. We're proud of that. We're not satisfied with it. The next trophy we want doesn't come from a popularity contest — it comes from consistency, craft, and a kitchen and floor that operate like they mean it every single shift. That's the job.

Responsibilities

What you'll actually do:

• Run the floor during service — table flow, staffing, timing, the thousand small decisions that separate "fine" from "we're telling our friends about this place"
• Coach and develop front-of-house staff so guest experience doesn't dip when the GM steps away (or when we're slammed for a Sunday DJ brunch)
• Partner with the kitchen to make sure what leaves the pass matches what's on the menu — flavor, plating, temperature, no exceptions
• Own guest recovery in real time — hear a complaint, fix it, and make it look easy
• Keep an eye on cost controls, scheduling, and inventory without losing the plot on hospitality
• Help build the systems and standards that a certain red guide tends to notice
• Step in for the GM when needed and represent ARLO with the swagger it deserves

Qualifications

What you bring:

• 2+ years of restaurant management or strong assistant-management experience, upscale casual or better
• A palate you trust and aren't afraid to use out loud
• The ability to stay unbothered during a packed patio, a broken POS, and a birthday parade happening simultaneously
• Real leadership instincts — staff should want to work your shifts, not survive them
• A genuine interest in San Diego and Baja food culture (we will absolutely quiz you on this in the interview)
• Flexibility for nights, weekends, and holidays — restaurants don't run on banker's hours and neither do we

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive salary + bonus structure
• Health benefits
• Resort perks (yes, the pool counts)
• A real seat at the table as we chase Bib Gourmand — this isn't a job where your ideas get filed away and forgotten
• Free parking, which in this town is basically a benefit worth bragging about

How to Apply

Send your resume and a few sentences on the best thing you've eaten in San Diego in the last month. If it's from a gas station, we still want to hear about it.