Restaurant Manager - Chicago (Lakeview)

About the Role

As Restaurant Manager, you make the restaurant feel brilliantly consistent, human, and alive—showing up where it matters most, on the floor with the team. You set the tone for service, coach in the moment, uphold standards without compromise, and grow confidence and capability shift after shift—so guests feel the warmth of our hospitality every time.

Your purpose is to lead a safe, smooth, standard of tight operation that delights guests and develops people. You translate plans into daily execution, use insight to make smart decisions fast, and create an inclusive environment where everyone can do their best work.

Responsibilities

• People — Lead, Coach, and Build Belonging
  • Lead in the Nando’s Way: Model Pride, Passion, Courage, Integrity, and Family; grow culture through daily behaviors and decisions.
  • Communicate brilliantly: set clear expectations, run motivating briefs/meetings, give timely feedback, flex style to the person and the moment.
  • Recruit, onboard, and develop: support interviewing, onboarding, and station signoffs; coach on SOPs; build cross-training plans; strengthen the buddy system; grow future Shift Leads.
  • Manage people processes: ensure fairness and consistency; support ER basics; ensure required documentation is complete and filed correctly.
  • Wellbeing & Safety: monitor energy and breaks; deescalate conflict; keep the environment psychologically and physically safe.
• Brand — Protect the Nando’s Experience
  • Deliver consistent standards: conduct travel paths; uphold critical touchpoints (atmosphere, quality, speed) across all channels.
  • Hospitality & Recovery: role model warm welcomes/fond farewells; table touches/checkbacks; resolve issues with empathy and judgment; escalate per process.
  • Channel Management: keep eating primacy while maintaining takeaway and delivery standards; coach accuracy to reduce missing items.
• Commercial — Sales, Labor, and Profit
  • Drive sustainable sales: connect the team to daily/weekly targets; apply simple, approved local tactics in line with guidance.
  • Use insights to decide: read and react to forecast; align deployment and breaks to flow; coach leaders to use dashboards and act on trends.
  • Optimize profit: manage portion control and waste (“cook less, more often”); protect speed/quality; handle daily financial processes to standard.
• Operations — Food Safety, Stock, Cleanliness
  • Food Safety & Compliance: enforce hygiene; complete daily/weekly logs (temperatures, labels, hot holds); manage allergy orders; escalate food safety complaints appropriately.
  • Stock & Production: set production to forecast; accept deliveries accurately; rotate stock; maintain portions; reduce waste with coaching and daily checks.
  • Cleaning & Maintenance: lead daily/weekly cleaning schedules; ensure appropriate PPE; log and escalate maintenance issues; adjust service flow when issues arise.
• Changing Lives — Community, Planet, Opportunity
  • Create belonging: judgment-free team environment; celebrate strengths; build confidence; live “Family.”
  • Planetary goals: reinforce recycling/energy routines; ensure oil recycling and waste processes are followed on shift.
  • Community actions: follow local partnership processes (e.g., food donation programs) and share wins to inspire participation.
• Operational Rhythms
  • Opening: Review Manager Communication Log (MCL), staffing lineup, catering orders, and the day’s forecast; validate previous inventory and complete prep/production sheets. Complete safe count; assign cash drawers; order change; prepare chicken cook sheet (where applicable).
  • Shift Changeover: Reconcile AM monies and the safe; validate production and station readiness; walkthrough; document MCL handover notes.
  • Closing: Final walkthrough; set next day catering; closing inventory; reconcile cash; validate timekeeping; run end-of-day reports; update the MCL.
  • Cash & Security (when supervising): Practice responsible cash management: floats, safe counts, deposits, cashier check-outs, refunds/voids/discounts per policy; safeguard keys, secure doors, set alarms; follow escalation protocols.
• Governance, Risk & Compliance
  • Own the restaurant’s audit cadence (daily/weekly routines) and compliance posture: food safety, H&S basics, licensing visibility, incident documentation; support ER processes and escalate high-risk issues promptly.

Requirements

• 2-3 years of restaurant management experience (fast casual, QSR, or full service).
• Demonstrated ability to lead full shifts, including deployment, breaks, and peak-time operations.
• Proven experience delivering KPIs (sales, labor, food quality, audits, speed of service).
• Experience hiring, onboarding, and training team members.
• Documented experience managing inventory, ordering, prep, and food safety routines.
• Proven ability to resolve guest issues and support team conflict resolution.
• Experience maintaining compliance with food safety, health department, and brand standards.
• Track record of developing team members into new roles or certifications.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• ServSafe Manager (or market equivalent), Allergen Certification, and alcohol service certifications where required.

Skills

You bring the spirit of Ubuntu into action—leading collaboratively, challenging with heart, and uplifting those around you. You blend having fun, making money, and changing lives; communicate brilliantly; support change with positivity; and role-model Pride, Passion, Courage, Integrity, and Family.

Physical Requirements

• Able to independently lift up to 50 lbs for an extended period of time.
• Must be able to walk and/or stand for 8-10 hours per day.
• Hand-eye coordination.
• Reaching, bending, twisting, stooping.
• Pushing and pulling.
• Lifting overhead.
• Must be able to climb stairs in restaurants that have multiple levels.

Career Growth

Some people see a restaurant job. We see future Shift Leads, Assistant Managers, Patraos, and business leaders. If you're driven, curious, and ready to grow, we'll provide the training, coaching, and opportunities to help you take the next step in your career. Many of our leaders started on the front line. Your journey could start here too.