General Manager – Restaurant Operations
Low & Slow Barbecue | Bristol
£36,500 + tips + performance bonus | Full time
Low & Slow Barbecue is looking for an experienced General Manager to lead our Whiteladies Road site.
Bristol is our flagship location, and we are looking for somebody to see in the new year continuing the success & growth of the last 6 years. The role has become available due to the expansion of the company & relocation of the current GM in the near future to a new opening.
It's a substantial operation with a great team (80% of the Whiteladies Road team has been with the company for over 2 years), and plenty of opportunities still ahead. We're looking for a GM who can take full responsibility for the restaurant operation, develop the team and drive the site forward.
You'll be joining an established independent business with a strong following, three permanent locations and further growth planned. You'll work closely with our Head of Operations, but you'll have genuine autonomy over your site and the opportunity to make a real impact on how it develops.
For an experienced GM looking for their next move, there's also genuine scope to progress as Low & Slow continues to grow. We have a track record of internal progression which we would like to continue as we grow, and look forward to bringing somebody on board with ambition and drive.
What you'll own
You'll be accountable for the day-to-day performance of the site, including:
- Leading, developing and building a strong management and front-of-house team
- Running consistently good services across both restaurant and delivery
- Planning rotas and controlling labour against sales
- Maintaining high standards of food, service, cleanliness and food safety
- Recruiting and developing the team as the site grows
- Managing stock, waste and site-level costs
- Understanding the site's numbers and acting on them
- Dealing with customer feedback and resolving problems quickly
- Making sure operational procedures are followed consistently
- Keeping on top of maintenance, equipment and the building
- Working closely with the kitchen and production team
- Reporting into and working alongside our Head of Operations
It's a hands-on hospitality role, but we don't want a GM who has to personally do everything.
A big part of your job will be building a management team capable of running great shifts without you standing over them.
The opportunity
Low & Slow is independent, which means this role feels quite different from managing another branch of a national chain.
You won't have layers of regional and area management between you and the people making decisions.
You'll have the freedom to improve your operation, make decisions and put your own stamp on the site with the support of an experienced team around you.
We now have a substantial barbecue production operation with commercial smokers and equipment producing food for the wider business in Newport, and as part of the role you'll be working alongside that team while owning the overall site.
And we're growing.
With three sites already trading and further expansion planned, we're looking for someone who could ultimately take on more responsibility as Low & Slow develops.
This can be a genuinely good next step for an ambitious GM, not simply another GM job with a different logo above the door.
Who we're looking for
You'll ideally already be a General Manager or Restaurant Manager in a busy hospitality business.
We're particularly interested in people who have run high-volume restaurants, fast-casual operations, pubs or other food-led businesses.
You should be able to demonstrate that you can:
- Lead people confidently and set clear expectations
- Build and develop a reliable management team
- Control labour and produce effective rotas
- Understand sales, food cost, labour and other key site numbers
- Maintain standards during busy services
- Hold people accountable when standards slip
- Spot operational problems and fix them
- Organise yourself without needing constant direction
We're not looking for barbecue experience.
We can teach you barbecue.
We're looking for someone who already knows how to run a good hospitality business.
About Low & Slow
Low & Slow started as a street-food barbecue business in Bristol and has grown into permanent locations at St Nicholas Market, Whiteladies Road and Newport.
We're known for proper smoked brisket, pulled pork, chicken and burnt ends, and we've built a large following both in our restaurants and through delivery.
We're still owner-led, still independent and still ambitious about where we take the business next.
What we offer
- £36,500 salary
- Performance-related bonus
- Full-time permanent position
- Significant autonomy over your own site
- Direct support from our Head of Operations and owners
- A stable, successful restaurant with a hard-working, long-standing team
- The opportunity to finetune and develop the management team
- Genuine progression as the business expands
- Staff food and employee benefits
Interested?
Apply with your CV and tell us briefly about the busiest hospitality operation you've managed and what you were responsible for.
We're particularly interested in what you've improved whether that's sales, labour, standards, team performance or the overall operation.
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent
Pay: £36,500.00-£40,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Discounted or free food
- Store discount
Work Location: In person
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