Market & Kitchen Manager

The Market at Panther Valley is more than a deli or grocery store.

We re a gourmet kitchen, specialty food market, and convenient stop for customers looking for freshly prepared meals, sandwiches, salads, premium meats and seafood, gourmet cheeses, baked goods, produce, and an assortment of local and specialty products.

On any given day, we're helping regular customers pick up dinner, welcoming someone discovering the market for the first time, preparing food for a gathering, or helping someone find the perfect ingredient, meal, or specialty item.

We're looking for an energetic, food-focused Market & Kitchen Manager who wants to be part culinary leader, part host, part team builder, and part business operator.

This is not a position where you'll spend the day sitting in an office or remain hidden in the kitchen. We believe the best hospitality happens when the people overseeing the food and the operation are also connecting with the customers enjoying it.

The Role

As Market & Kitchen Manager, you'll oversee the day-to-day operation of the market while working closely with both the kitchen and front-of-house teams.

You'll be helping to prepare foods that meet our high standards for quality, freshness, consistency, and presentation. You'll lead and develop employees, manage inventory and scheduling, keep the market organized and inviting, and create the kind of customer experience that keeps people coming back.

This is a hands-on leadership position for someone who enjoys wearing many hats, solving problems, and stepping in wherever needed.

Lead the Kitchen

You'll work in the kitchen at times and closely with the kitchen team to ensure everything we serve reflects the quality and experience our customers expect.

Responsibilities include:

• Helping to prepare meals, salads, sandwiches, and overseeing the quality, freshness, consistency, and presentation of foods
  
• Supporting daily kitchen organization, preparation, and production priorities
  
• Helping develop and refine menu items, recipes, seasonal offerings, and daily specials
  
• Maintaining recipe, portioning, and food-costing standards
  
• Managing food inventory, ingredient ordering, storage, and rotation
  
• Monitoring prep schedules and production needs
  
• Supporting catering and special orders
  
• Maintaining food safety, sanitation, and cleanliness standards
  
• Reducing waste and improving efficiency and profitability
  
• Sharing customer feedback and product ideas with the kitchen and ownership
  

Lead the Team

You'll oversee and support both market and kitchen employees, creating a workplace where expectations are clear and people feel valued.

Responsibilities include:

• Hiring, training, coaching, and developing employees
  
• Creating staff schedules and ensuring proper coverage
  
• Setting daily priorities and communicating expectations
  
• Holding employees accountable with kindness, consistency, and professionalism
  
• Creating a positive, respectful, and energetic workplace culture
  
• Helping team members grow in their roles
  
• Leading by example and stepping into any position when needed
  

Lead the Experience

When the market gets busy, everyone jumps in including the manager.

You'll regularly:

• Greet customers and build relationships with regular guests
  
• Help new customers discover what the market has to offer
  
• Answer questions about prepared foods, ingredients, and specialty products
  
• Assist customers with orders and product selections
  
• Resolve customer concerns professionally
  
• Maintain attractive, organized, and fully stocked displays
  
• Oversee opening, closing, setup, merchandising, and daily market operations
  
• Support seasonal displays, promotions, tastings, and samplings
  
• Create a warm, welcoming atmosphere throughout the market
  

We believe hospitality belongs to everyone, not only the employees working at the register.

Who You Are

You may be a great fit for this role if you:

• Love food as much as you enjoy working with people
  
• Are comfortable moving between the kitchen, sales floor, and back-office responsibilities
  
• Naturally lead with both kindness and accountability
  
• Stay calm and organized in a fast-paced environment
  
• Take pride in clean, efficient systems and attractive spaces
  
• Enjoy solving problems and making decisions
  
• Can shift from checking food quality to helping a customer to coaching an employee without missing a beat
  
• Enjoy working with a small, hardworking team
  
• Take ownership and treat the business as if it were your own
  

Experience and Qualifications

We're looking for someone with:

• Previous restaurant, kitchen, grocery, specialty food, or retail management experience
  
• Strong knowledge of food quality, freshness, preparation, and presentation
  
• Leadership experience, including training and developing employees
  
• Experience with scheduling, ordering, inventory, and food-cost management
  
• Knowledge of food safety and sanitation standards
  
• Excellent customer service and communication skills
  
• Strong organizational and problem-solving abilities
  
• The ability to manage multiple priorities without constant supervision
  
• Availability to work the hours most important to the business, including some weekends
  

Additional experience with catering, prepared foods, deli operations, bakery, scratch cooking, or farmers market-style retail is a plus.

Schedule

The market is open:

• Monday - Saturday: 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
  
• Sunday: 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
  

The position offers flexibility. The Market & Kitchen Manager will create the staff schedule and structure their own hours around the times that are most important to the successful operation of the business, including some weekends.

This is an ideal opportunity for an experienced restaurant or hospitality professional who still wants to work with great food and great customers, but is ready to move away from constant late nights and unpredictable restaurant hours.

Why The Market at Panther Valley?

We are an independently operated market owned by a husband/wife team that cares deeply about good food, genuine hospitality, and creating a place customers enjoy visiting.

This is not a corporate management position where every decision is made by someone else. The right person will have the opportunity to influence the food program, develop the team, improve operations, introduce new ideas, and help shape the future of the market.

If you're looking for a place where you can lead a hardworking team, know your customers by name, work with great food, and help build a market that feels like part of the community, we'd love to meet you.