Director of Taproom Operations

Description

Lake Placid is Meier’s Creek Brewing Company’s newest and most ambitious location. This is a destination market with high expectations, a competitive hospitality landscape, and enormous opportunity. The General Manager, Lake Placid owns the location completely, from team culture to financial performance. This role is for a proven leader who knows how to build something exceptional and has the experience to run it independently.

Position Summary

The General Manager, Lake Placid has full operational and financial ownership of the Lake Placid taproom. This role reports to the GM, Taproom Operations and leads the complete Lake Placid team, including the Guest Experience & Operations Manager, FOH staff, and kitchen leadership. The GM is accountable for revenue performance, labor management, guest experience, team development, and brand representation in the Lake Placid market.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

Leadership & Culture

• Own the culture, service standards, and team environment at Lake Placid, establishing and maintaining MCBC values in a destination market

• Serve as the senior MCBC leader on-site, representing the brand to guests, staff, community partners, and local stakeholders

• Lead all team members with consistency, fairness, and urgency; build a high-performance culture rooted in hospitality and accountability

• Build and maintain a strong local presence in the Lake Placid community to support brand awareness and guest loyalty

Operations

• Own all FOH operations at Lake Placid, including floor service, bar, and guest flow

• Establish and enforce opening and closing procedures, shift reporting, and daily operational execution

• Manage cash handling, daily reconciliations, and bank deposit preparation

• Ensure compliance with NYS liquor service laws, health regulations, and safety protocols

• Lead pre-opening setup and team readiness in coordination with the GM, Taproom Operations and Director of Operations

• Oversee accurate bar and merchandise inventory entry and maintenance in XtraChef

Financial Performance

• Own the Lake Placid P&L, including revenue, labor, and controllable cost performance

• Drive taproom revenue through service quality, upsell culture, and guest retention

• Track and report spend-per-guest, cover counts, and weekly revenue performance to the GM, Taproom Operations

• Identify and act on opportunities to grow average check, merchandise sales, and overall location revenue

• Manage labor to budget and make independent scheduling and staffing decisions to protect financial targets

Team Development & Scheduling

• Lead all hiring, onboarding, and training of FOH staff at Lake Placid

• Build and manage a scheduling system that supports strong coverage and controlled labor costs

• Develop the GE&O Manager and supervisors into strong floor leaders; build a pipeline of internal talent

• Identify training gaps across the team, develop a plan to address them, and own execution

• Own performance management and disciplinary decisions at the location level, in alignment with MCBC HR standards

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with the Chef de Cuisine on FOH-BOH coordination and guest experience consistency

• Support event execution at Lake Placid in partnership with the Director of Events

• Provide the Marketing Manager with content opportunities and local community insights to support brand presence in the Lake Placid market

• Collaborate with the Dir. Brewery Ops & Sales team on beer releases, tap list management, and product knowledge

Qualifications

• 5+ years of FOH hospitality experience, with at least 3 years in a general manager role with full P&L ownership

• Experience opening or building a new location strongly preferred

• Proven ability to operate independently, make sound decisions, and own outcomes without day-to-day oversight

• Strong floor presence and hands-on leadership style

• Demonstrated ability to build and develop a team from the ground up

• Experience managing labor budgets, scheduling, and cost controls

• Familiarity with POS systems and scheduling tools; Toast experience a plus

• NYS Alcohol Training Awareness Program (ATAP) certification or equivalent (or ability to obtain)

• Availability to work evenings, weekends, and holidays including peak tourist season

• Genuine passion for craft beer, hospitality, and the Lake Placid community