Director of Food & BeverageHyatt Centric Congress Avenue Austin | Austin, TXPosition OverviewHyatt Centric Congress Avenue Austin is looking for an experienced, hands-on Director of Food & Beverage to lead all aspects of the hotel's food and beverage operations. This role provides strategic and operational leadership across multiple outlets, bars, culinary and back-of-house operations, banquets, catering events, and in-room dining.
The Director of Food & Beverage will be responsible for building and developing a high-performing team while ensuring consistent service, exceptional food quality, efficient operations, and strong financial results. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable supporting a busy kitchen, coaching bartenders and service teams, managing a banquet event, reviewing inventory, and analyzing labor and food costs
Essential FunctionsOperational Leadership- Provide leadership and oversight for all food and beverage operations, including restaurants, bars, culinary and back-of-house operations, banquets, catering events, and in-room dining.
- Maintain a highly visible, hands-on presence throughout the hotel's outlets, kitchens, bars, and event spaces.
- Ensure each outlet operates efficiently while delivering a consistent and engaging guest experience.
- Establish and maintain service standards, operational procedures, opening and closing processes, and departmental controls.
- Work closely with hotel leadership to align food and beverage operations with the hotel's overall business strategy and Hyatt brand standards.
- Serve as the Manager on Duty when assigned and support broader hotel operations as needed.
Culinary and Back-of-House Oversight- Provide direct operational leadership for culinary and back-of-house functions, including food production, preparation, sanitation, stewarding, storage, and kitchen organization.
- Partner with culinary leadership to maintain consistent food quality, presentation, portioning, recipe compliance, and execution across all outlets and events.
- Ensure kitchen staffing and production levels support restaurant, bar, banquet, and in-room dining business volumes.
- Monitor food preparation and service flow to identify opportunities to improve speed, quality, organization, and productivity.
- Ensure compliance with health department regulations, food-safety standards, sanitation requirements, and proper food-handling procedures.
- Oversee appropriate receiving, labeling, storage, rotation, and waste-management practices.
Outlets and Beverage Operations- Lead the daily operation of multiple food and beverage outlets, ensuring each concept delivers a distinct yet consistent experience.
- Recruit, train, schedule, coach, and develop managers, bartenders, servers, hosts, cooks, stewards, and other food and beverage associates.
- Maintain high standards for beverage preparation, responsible alcohol service, bar organization, cash handling, and guest engagement.
- Monitor beverage inventory, recipes, pour costs, pricing, and product selection.
- Ensure all associates maintain required food-handler and alcohol-service certifications.
- Stay informed about Austin's dining, beverage, entertainment, and hospitality trends to help keep the hotel's offerings competitive and relevant.
Banquets and Events- Oversee the planning and execution of banquet and catering functions, including meetings, receptions, social events, and other group programs.
- Partner with Sales, Catering, Culinary, and Event teams to ensure banquet event orders are accurate, appropriately staffed, and successfully executed.
- Review upcoming events, anticipated attendance, menu requirements, timelines, room setups, and special guest needs.
- Ensure banquet teams are properly prepared and equipped to deliver seamless events.
- Maintain strong communication across departments before, during, and after each function.
- Address event-related concerns quickly and professionally while protecting the guest relationship.
Financial and Administrative Management- Develop and manage departmental budgets, forecasts, operating plans, and financial goals.
- Monitor revenue, labor, food cost, beverage cost, cost of goods sold, and other departmental expenses.
- Oversee purchasing, ordering, receiving, inventory, invoice review, and vendor relationships.
- Maintain appropriate inventory levels while minimizing waste, shortages, over-ordering, and unnecessary expenses.
- Conduct regular food, beverage, and operating-supply inventories and reconcile variances.
- Evaluate menus, pricing, promotions, and product mix to support revenue growth and profitability.
Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management, Culinary Arts, Business Administration, or a related field preferred.
- Minimum of five years of progressive food and beverage leadership experience, preferably within an upscale lifestyle, boutique, or full-service hotel.
- Previous experience overseeing multiple outlets, bar operations, banquets, culinary production, and back-of-house operations required.
- Strong understanding of food and beverage financial management, including budgeting, forecasting, labor management, inventory, food cost, and beverage cost.
- Demonstrated experience recruiting, staffing, training, and developing diverse food and beverage teams.
- Working knowledge of food-safety regulations, sanitation requirements, responsible alcohol service, and workplace safety standards.
- Strong organizational, communication, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to lead multiple operations and priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Experience with hotel property-management, point-of-sale, scheduling, purchasing, and inventory systems preferred.
- Food-safety manager certification and applicable Texas alcohol-service certification required or must be obtained within the designated timeframe.
- Availability to work a flexible schedule, including early mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, and periods of high business demand.
Physical Requirements- Ability to remain standing and move throughout kitchens, restaurants, bars, event spaces, and storage areas for extended periods.
- Ability to lift, carry, push, or pull items weighing up to 50 pounds, with or without reasonable accommodation.
- Ability to work around hot equipment, sharp tools, food products, cleaning chemicals, and varying temperatures commonly found in food and beverage operations.
BenefitsPeachtree Group provides a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance. We also offer a generous 401(k) retirement match. To support work-life balance, we provide paid holidays and paid time off. Additional benefits include access to our Employee Assistance Program and Associate Emergency Foundation.
