Operations Manager — Cafe Gimme

Operations Manager — Cafe Gimme

• Location: Lake Forest, IL (on-site)
• Pay: $16–$22/hour, based on experience, plus monthly performance bonus
• Schedule: Full-time, flexible across daytime café and evening bar shifts; overtime paid at time-and-a-half over 40 hours/week per Illinois law
• Benefits: Paid time off, monthly performance bonus, free shift meals, staff discounts on food and beverages

About Cafe Gimme

Cafe Gimme is an all-day café and evening wine and liquor bar in the heart of Lake Forest. Mornings, we're a neighborhood spot for great coffee, fresh juice, and food. Evenings, we shift gears into a relaxed wine and cocktail destination. We're growing — with a second location opening this summer — and we're looking for a strong Operations Manager to manage our Lake Forest location as we expand.

About the Role

This is a hands-on, people-first role, reporting directly to the owner. Your day starts on the floor — greeting guests, learning their names and orders, and making Cafe Gimme feel like their spot. From there, you'll run the operational systems that keep both day and night service running smoothly: ordering ingredients and supplies, building production schedules for our juice and food program, and making sure the team is set up to deliver consistently.

You'll also be our connector in the Lake Forest community, building relationships with neighboring businesses, offices, and organizations, and driving partnerships, events, and pop-ups that bring new guests through our doors.

This is a role for someone who's ready to truly run a location. You'll be the day-to-day leader at Lake Forest — making decisions, managing the team, and keeping the business humming.

What You'll Do

• Welcome and engage guests across café and bar service, building a loyal regular base
• Manage inventory and ordering: produce, food, coffee, beer, wine, spirits, packaging, and supplies
• Build and oversee daily and weekly production schedules for the juice and food program
• Develop partnerships with local Lake Forest businesses — offices, studios, retailers, hotels — to drive catering, corporate, and referral business
• Plan and execute on- and off-site events, tastings, and pop-ups across both the daytime and evening concepts
• Track sales, waste, and labor across both dayparts, supporting cost control and operational efficiency
• Support, train, coach, and schedule team members for café service, bar service, and production, with regular performance feedback
• Help document and refine our operational systems — recipes, training, ordering processes, service standards — so we can run consistently as we grow
• Maintain compliance with Illinois food safety, alcohol service, and health code standards across both dayparts
• Help maintain the atmosphere and energy that makes each daypart feel distinct and intentional

What We're Looking For

• 3–4 years of management experience in food service, hospitality, retail, or a similar guest-facing environment
• A natural people person who genuinely enjoys conversation and remembering guests' stories
• Strong organizational instincts — comfortable juggling ordering, scheduling, and a busy floor without dropping any of them
• Comfortable working with significant autonomy — this role involves running the location independently most days
• Systems-minded — you notice when something isn't documented or repeatable, and you fix it
• Confident initiating outreach and partnerships with local business owners and event organizers
• Reliable and self-directed, with the flexibility to move between morning café shifts and evening bar shifts as needed
• Familiarity with POS systems, inventory tracking, and scheduling tools
• Ambition to grow with a scaling business — strong performers will have a path to General Manager and beyond
• Must be 21+ and legally eligible to serve and handle alcohol in Illinois; BASSET certification and Illinois Food Handler / Manager certification are a plus (or we'll help you get them)

Compensation

• Base wage: $16–$22/hour, based on experience
• Overtime: Time-and-a-half for hours over 40/week, per Illinois law
• Monthly performance bonus: up to $500/month, tied to clearly defined operational and growth goals provided in writing on day one
• Benefits: Paid time off, free shift meals, and staff discounts on food and beverages
• Growth: As Cafe Gimme expands beyond two locations, there is a real path to General Manager and eventual multi-location leadership for the right person

Why Cafe Gimme

Lake Forest is a tight-knit community, and Cafe Gimme is being built to be a real part of it — a place people stop in for a morning juice, a working lunch, and a glass of wine after work. As Operations Manager, you'll have real ownership over how the space runs, the relationships we build, and the events we show up at. You'll work directly with the owner, with the autonomy to shape how this concept grows. One more thing: we read every application carefully, and we'd love it if you did the same. Please email us at hello@cafegimme.com and use the subject line "Gimme Gimme LF — [Your Name]" so we know you actually read this. Applications without it may not get a reply.

Pay: $16.00 - $22.00 per hour

Benefits:

• Employee discount
• Flexible schedule
• Paid time off

Work Location: In person