Description:THE ROLE
Our REGIONAL PARTNERS are the owners and anchors of their regions. They lead a balanced business across multiple Fresh Kitchen restaurants with accountability for People, Operations, Sales Building, and Financial Performance. They build strong Managing Partners and leadership teams, create remarkable restaurants, grow the business within the communities we serve, and ensure the fundamentals are executed consistently.
You'll lead a growing portfolio of Fresh Kitchen restaurants, develop the Managing Partners who run them, and help build the leadership bench and operating capability needed as FK continues expanding into new markets.
This is not a role that leads from a spreadsheet or from the sidelines. Regional Partners know their restaurants, know their people, understand the business behind the numbers, and coach leaders toward what's possible.
They are tough on standards while being good to people. They live by our values, take ownership when something misses, and develop leadership teams capable of running great restaurants without needing the Regional Partner to run them for them.
**This Regional opportunity will support our upcoming Fort Myers location for now and it will continue to evolve as we open up additional locations. Candidates should live within a commutable distance to Fort Myers and into South Sarasota.
HOW OUR REGIONAL PARTNERS BUILD THE BIZ
PEOPLE: Build the Team Before You Need the Team
Great regions are built by great people...and the Regional Partner owns the quantity, quality, development, and readiness of talent across the region.
- Build strong, values-aligned restaurant leadership teams and maintain a healthy, deep bench for future growth.
- Know the talent across the region - who is thriving, who needs coaching, and who is ready for more - and anticipate openings, promotions, and future growth before the need arises.
- Partner with the People Team to recruit, select, and onboard new restaurant leaders, while looking internally first and creating development paths for high-potential talent.
- Support the training and validation of Managers in Training throughout the region.
- Coach Managing Partners to become strong developers of people, not simply strong operators, and create environments where leaders feel supported, challenged, trusted, and accountable.
OPERATIONS: Create Smooth Shifts Through Great People + Great Fundamentals
Our Regional Partners are experts in restaurant operations. They understand the details well enough to coach them, recognize when something is off, and help Managing Partners build restaurants that run remarkably well.
- Ensure every restaurant consistently delivers incredible food, surprising hospitality, speed, accuracy, and cleanliness.
- Protect Food First standards through strong food quality, food safety, sanitation, readiness, and execution.
- Coach Managing Partners to build and sustain the routines, systems, and standards that create consistently smooth shifts.
- Spend meaningful time in restaurants observing the business, coaching leaders, identifying opportunities, and reinforcing standards.
- Lead restaurant performance reviews, restaurant visit feedback, scorecard reviews and follow-up.
- Partner with Culinary and Training on food rollouts, execution, and continued culinary excellence throughout the region.
- Partner with Facilities and restaurant leadership to ensure restaurants and equipment are well maintained.
- Support successful openings and integration of new restaurants within the region.
SALES BUILDING: Own the Community We Serve
Our Regional Partners don't wait for sales to happen. They understand their markets, know their guests, and coach their teams to actively build the business.
- Build restaurants that captivate the dine-in guest and create experiences people want to return to.
- Coach Managing Partners to understand what drives sales in their restaurant and where opportunities exist.
- Know the communities surrounding each FK and identify opportunities to deepen our local presence.
- Build meaningful relationships with businesses, organizations, schools, fitness and wellness communities, charities, and other local partners.
- Drive grassroots marketing, community engagement, catering opportunities, and local restaurant sales-building efforts.
- Challenge teams to think beyond maintaining the business toward actively growing it.
- Bring ideas, curiosity, and market insight back to the broader FK team so we continue learning and evolving.
FINANCIAL: Run It Like It's Yours
Our Regional Partners understand that strong financial performance is the result of disciplined leadership and operating habits...not a month-end reaction to a P&L.
- Own the financial performance of the region and coach Managing Partners to understand the business behind their numbers.
- Establish disciplined routines around daily labor review, weekly COGS review, and restaurant performance.
- Coach teams on the operational behaviors that influence waste, portioning, purchasing, and productivity.
- Partner in building restaurant labor and purchasing budgets and hold teams accountable to targets.
- Regularly review restaurant-level performance, identify trends, and move quickly when results fall outside expectations.
- Balance short-term financial discipline with decisions that protect our people, food standards, guest experience, and long-term business.
- Use data to ask better questions, identify root causes, and determine the right actions.
HOW YOU LEAD
The strongest Regional Partners don't simply manage several restaurants. They create leaders, systems, and habits that make an entire region stronger.
- You genuinely care about people and understand the impact leadership can have on someone's life.
- You have honest conversations and hold high standards without losing humanity.
- You carry confidence without ego and are vulnerable enough to acknowledge a miss, own it, and adjust.
- You know the operation deeply and can teach the nuances that turn good operators into great ones.
- You are disciplined about your calendar, routines, commitments, and follow-through.
- You are willing to ask for what may initially feel unreasonable when you believe something better is possible.
- You stay resilient when plans change, and embrace the strategic, emotional, and physical work required to lead restaurants well.
- You find what's right and reinforce it - because great leadership isn't only identifying what is wrong.
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
- Demonstrated success leading multiple high-volume restaurants, typically gained through 3-4+ years of multi-unit restaurant leadership experience.
- A track record of developing strong restaurant leaders and building internal leadership pipelines.
- Deep operational fluency and a genuine passion for food, hospitality, and restaurant excellence.
- Strong business and financial acumen, including labor, COGS, budgeting, and restaurant-level profitability.
- Experience building sales through strong restaurant execution, guest experience, and local community engagement.
- The ability to coach leaders while still holding a clear and consistent standard.
- Strong judgment, self-awareness, and willingness to receive feedback and continue developing.
- The ability to prioritize, delegate, and lead across multiple restaurants without becoming the solution to every problem.
- Comfort navigating growth, change, ambiguity, and the occasional curveball.
- A high degree of ownership, resilience, curiosity, and follow-through.
- Proficiency with restaurant technology, scheduling, inventory, reporting, point-of-sale systems, and Microsoft Office.
- ServSafe certification required.
- Willingness to complete a background check; employment offers are contingent on results satisfactory to the Company.
WHY PEOPLE STAY
- REALLY GOOD COMPENSATION | Salary starts at $145k with transparent progression, plus 12% - 20% profit sharing bonus.
- LONG TERM INCENTIVE | After 3 years (and every three years thereafter) you'll receive a lump sum payment of $25,000 plus a 10-day sabbatical.
- BENEFITS | Affordable group health, vision and dental plans + a 401(k) match.
- A REAL CAREER PATH | People development is intentional - we invest in leaders who want to grow with us.
- FREE FOOD | Your FK meals are on us.
- CULTURE | Values-driven company that is good to people and that cares.
- HOLLA-DAYS | Closed for 9 holidays, so you can enjoy time with family and friends.
- WORK-LIFE BALANCE | Progressive PTO + balanced schedules, including our commitment to not exceed a 50-hour workweek.
- A VIBEY BRAND | Food you're proud to serve and a brand you feel good to rep.
