Salary Range - $80,000-$90,000

Food & Beverage Manager - Ember Steakhouse & In-Room Dining

Meritage Resort & Spa

At Meritage Resort & Spa, exceptional dining is an essential part of the guest experience. From an elevated evening at Ember Steakhouse to a thoughtfully delivered meal enjoyed in the comfort of a guest room, every interaction is an opportunity to create a memorable experience through genuine hospitality, exceptional food and beverage, and attention to detail.

We're looking for our next Food & Beverage Manager - Ember Steakhouse & In-Room Dining to help lead two distinctive resort dining experiences. This is an exciting opportunity for a passionate hospitality professional who thrives on the floor, enjoys developing people, has a strong appreciation and knowledge of wine, and understands how to balance exceptional service with strong operational performance.

As Food & Beverage Manager, you will oversee the daily front-of-house operations of Ember Steakhouse and In-Room Dining, ensuring consistent service standards, team engagement, guest satisfaction, and financial performance. You'll work closely with culinary leadership and the broader Food & Beverage team to create seamless experiences while developing a service culture built on hospitality, accountability, product knowledge, and continuous improvement.

Who You Are

You are a passionate hospitality leader who understands that exceptional service comes from preparation, presence, and genuine connection. You lead from the floor, remain composed during busy services, and recognize the details that transform a good dining experience into a memorable one.

You have a strong understanding of wine and are comfortable discussing varietals, regions, producers, vintages, and food pairings with both guests and team members. In Napa Valley, wine is an important part of the dining experience, and you enjoy building confidence and knowledge within your team so they can create thoughtful, personalized recommendations.

You are equally comfortable leading the energy of a busy steakhouse dining room and managing the precision required of a luxury In-Room Dining operation. You communicate clearly, follow through on expectations, and take pride in building a team that is knowledgeable, engaged, and committed to taking exceptional care of our guests.

What You'll Do

• Lead the daily front-of-house operations of Ember Steakhouse and In-Room Dining, ensuring exceptional service, operational consistency, and guest satisfaction.
• Maintain a visible leadership presence during service, engaging with guests, supporting team members, and responding quickly to service opportunities.
• Lead, coach, schedule, and develop servers, bartenders, hosts, server assistants, In-Room Dining attendants, and other Food & Beverage team members.
• Conduct daily pre-shift meetings to communicate business levels, menu updates, wine features, VIPs, service expectations, resort information, and operational priorities.
• Partner closely with culinary leadership to ensure seamless communication, proper pacing, menu knowledge, quality presentation, and consistency between front- and back-of-house teams.
• Maintain Ember Steakhouse's elevated service standards while creating a warm, genuine, and approachable dining experience.
• Oversee In-Room Dining operations from order placement through preparation, delivery, presentation, guest interaction, and tray or table retrieval.
• Ensure In-Room Dining orders are accurate, delivered within established service standards, properly presented, and followed up on when appropriate.
• Monitor restaurant reservations, seating, pacing, table turns, guest flow, and staffing to support both exceptional service and operational efficiency.
• Develop strong menu, ingredient, preparation, allergy, and beverage knowledge among all team members.
• Maintain a strong wine culture within Ember Steakhouse through ongoing education, tastings, pre-shift training, and thoughtful guest recommendations.
• Coach team members on wine fundamentals, including Napa Valley producers and appellations, major domestic and international wine regions, grape varietals, vintages, service standards, and food-and-wine pairing.
• Confidently assist guests with wine selections based on personal preferences, menu choices, occasion, and price point.
• Partner with Food & Beverage leadership on wine programming, wine dinners, special events, featured producers, and beverage promotions.
• Ensure proper wine presentation and service standards, including bottle presentation, opening, decanting, appropriate glassware, serving temperatures, and responsible alcohol service.
• Support beverage inventory management, cellar organization, product rotation, wine availability, and accurate beverage controls.
• Monitor guest feedback and engage directly with guests to recognize memorable occasions, resolve concerns, and create opportunities for personalized service.
• Respond to guest concerns promptly and professionally, taking ownership of service recovery and following through to ensure appropriate resolution.
• Build relationships with repeat guests, resort guests, local diners, and special-occasion guests to create loyalty and memorable experiences.
• Collaborate closely with Front Office, Concierge, Culinary, Stewarding, Banquets, Reservations, Housekeeping, and other resort departments to ensure seamless guest experiences.
• Manage labor through effective scheduling, productivity planning, break management, overtime control, and staffing adjustments based on forecasted business levels.
• Monitor departmental revenue, labor, cost of sales, average check, beverage sales, guest satisfaction, and other key performance indicators.
• Identify opportunities to increase revenue through wine and beverage sales, menu knowledge, suggestive selling, special experiences, and thoughtful upselling.
• Assist with budgeting, forecasting, expense management, inventory control, and departmental financial performance.
• Ensure proper handling of guest checks, cash, credit cards, room charges, discounts, comps, and point-of-sale procedures.
• Maintain appropriate operating supplies, china, glassware, silverware, linens, menus, and other equipment needed for successful service.
• Recruit, interview, hire, onboard, train, coach, evaluate, and retain high-performing Food & Beverage team members.
• Provide regular feedback and coaching while establishing clear expectations for service, attendance, appearance, professionalism, product knowledge, and teamwork.
• Develop emerging leaders and high-potential team members through cross-training, increased responsibility, mentorship, and succession planning.
• Foster a positive workplace culture built on hospitality, accountability, respect, communication, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Address employee performance, attendance, conduct, and workplace concerns promptly and consistently in partnership with Food & Beverage leadership and Human Resources.
• Ensure compliance with all company policies, responsible alcohol service requirements, health department regulations, food safety standards, and workplace safety procedures.
• Maintain clean, organized, safe, and guest-ready restaurant, bar, service, storage, and In-Room Dining areas.
• Monitor restaurant and In-Room Dining equipment and facility conditions, reporting maintenance needs or safety concerns promptly.
• Participate in departmental meetings, menu tastings, wine trainings, operational meetings, special-event planning, and resort initiatives as required.
• Support holiday programming, wine dinners, VIP experiences, private dining, special events, and other resort Food & Beverage initiatives.
• Review guest comments, online feedback, service scores, financial results, and operational trends to identify opportunities for continued improvement.
• Perform additional leadership responsibilities as assigned to support the success of Ember Steakhouse, In-Room Dining, and overall Food & Beverage operations.

Qualifications

• Minimum of three to five years of progressive Food & Beverage experience in an upscale restaurant, luxury hotel, resort, steakhouse, or comparable hospitality environment preferred.
• Previous supervisory or management experience in a high-volume Food & Beverage operation strongly preferred.
• Experience in both restaurant operations and hotel or resort Food & Beverage is highly desirable.
• Strong wine knowledge is preferred, with the ability to confidently discuss grape varietals, wine regions, producers, vintages, wine styles, proper wine service, and food-and-wine pairing.
• Wine certification through the Court of Master Sommeliers, WSET, Society of Wine Educators, or another recognized wine education program is preferred but not required.
• Demonstrated ability to train and develop team members in wine, beverage, menu, and service knowledge.
• Strong understanding of elevated restaurant service standards and the ability to create polished yet genuine guest experiences.
• Experience with In-Room Dining, room service, or luxury hotel guest service is preferred.
• Proven ability to lead a busy service while maintaining composure, professionalism, attention to detail, and strong guest engagement.
• Experience with labor management, scheduling, forecasting, inventory, cost controls, revenue generation, and departmental financial performance.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to understand and respond to operational and financial results.
• Excellent leadership, communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build effective relationships with guests, employees, culinary partners, and resort leadership.
• Experience recruiting, coaching, developing, and managing employee performance.
• Knowledge of responsible alcohol service, food safety, sanitation, and workplace safety requirements.
• Proficiency with point-of-sale systems, reservation platforms, scheduling software, Microsoft Office, and hotel or restaurant management systems preferred.
• ServSafe Food Handler and responsible beverage service certifications, or the ability to obtain required certifications within the designated timeframe.
• Must be available to work a flexible schedule, including evenings, weekends, holidays, and extended hours based on business demands.

Physical Requirements

This position requires standing and walking for extended periods, frequent movement throughout restaurant, bar, kitchen, guest room floors, and service areas, and the ability to lift up to 50 pounds as necessary.

The Food & Beverage Manager regularly works in a fast-paced restaurant and hotel environment around hot food and beverages, glassware, service equipment, refrigerated storage areas, stairs, elevators, guest corridors, and cleaning chemicals. The position may require frequent movement between Ember Steakhouse, In-Room Dining service areas, guest floors, and other resort locations while maintaining professional appearance and established safety standards.