Manager Restaurant jobs in Kitchener, ON

Front of House Manager | Puddicombe House — New Hamburg, ON

About Puddicombe House

Puddicombe House is a multi-generational, family-owned hospitality destination in the heart of New Hamburg, Ontario. We operate a full-service restaurant, boutique inn, spa and salon, and a premier wedding and events venue — all rooted in the same farm-forward, community-first values our family has held for generations.

Our restaurant is one of the top-rated dining experiences in Waterloo Region — an OpenTable Diners' Choice winner, recognized in Canada's top 100 outdoor dining destinations, and powered by a wood-fired kitchen that takes local ingredients seriously. We're growing fast and we're looking for the right person to lead our front of house into the next chapter.

Puddicombe House is a destination that moves with the seasons. Summer brings full dining rooms, a buzzing patio, and back-to-back weekends. January brings a quieter pace — and with it, a different kind of opportunity. On slower weeknights you'll step in where the operation needs you most, whether that's behind the bar, hosting the floor, or simply being the warm face that makes a quiet Tuesday feel just as intentional as a Saturday in July. If you're someone who needs to be busy to feel useful, this role has plenty of that. If you're someone who can also find purpose in a slower room and use that time to develop the team, refine the systems, and sharpen the program — you'll thrive here year-round.

The Role

We're hiring a Front of House Manager to own the guest experience from the moment someone arrives at Puddicombe House to the moment they leave — whether that's after dinner, after a spa treatment, or after a two-night stay in one of our ten boutique inn rooms.

This is a hands-on leadership role built for someone who genuinely loves hospitality in its fullest sense. You'll be on the floor, not behind a desk. You'll lead the service team, manage the bar program, drive revenue through a culture of genuine care, and make sure every touchpoint — every interaction, every transition, every goodbye — reflects what Puddicombe House stands for.

This is not a role for someone who thinks in silos. On any given shift you might be seating a full dining room, carrying bags to a guest room, walking an inn guest through their check-in, coordinating with the spa on a guest's arrival time, and closing out a busy Saturday night service — all with the same warmth and composure. If that sounds like a good day to you, keep reading.

You'll work closely with our Executive Chef, who leads the kitchen with a high standard of culinary excellence. Your lane is everything front of the pass — and you'll own it fully.

What You'll Be Responsible For

Restaurant & Bar

• Leading and motivating the front of house team — servers, hosts, and bartenders — through hiring, training, scheduling, and day-to-day coaching
• Managing all bar operations including ordering, inventory, and program development in line with our seasonal and farm-forward identity
• Building and maintaining a service culture that matches the quality of our food — warm, knowledgeable, and genuinely guest-focused
• Owning the reservation system (OpenTable) and ensuring the floor is set up for success before every service
• Driving revenue through table-side upselling culture — wine, cocktails, dessert, and bottle service
• Monitoring daily sales, covers, and key metrics and reporting to ownership
• Managing front of house labour scheduling to balance guest experience with cost efficiency
• Overseeing tip-out processes and ensuring fairness and compliance
• Handling guest concerns with professionalism and ownership

Inn & Guest Experience

• Serving as the primary point of contact for inn guests in the absence of a dedicated front desk — we have ten beautifully appointed rooms and no check-in counter, which means our hospitality team delivers the arrival experience personally and with intention
• Managing room bookings, check-ins, and check-outs with warmth and attention to detail — carrying bags, walking guests to their rooms, anticipating needs before they're expressed
• Maintaining high-touch communication with inn guests throughout their stay — a knock to make sure everything is comfortable, a dinner reservation proactively offered, a local recommendation given unprompted
• Coordinating with the spa and restaurant teams to ensure inn guests feel looked after across every part of their visit, not just the room
• Handling inn-related guest communications including booking inquiries, special requests, and post-stay follow-up

Events & Cross-Team

• Collaborating with the events and wedding team to ensure seamless coordination on event days
• Supporting ownership on FOH-related initiatives as the business continues to grow

What We're Looking For

• 3+ years in a senior front of house role — restaurant manager, FOH manager, boutique hotel operations, or equivalent — in a full-service, high-volume, or destination hospitality environment
• Experience in a property that blends dining with accommodation is a strong asset — you understand that a guest's experience doesn't begin and end at the table
• A natural leader who earns respect on the floor, not just from a title
• Strong working knowledge of bar operations, wine, and cocktail programs — you can talk confidently to guests and train your team to do the same
• Experience with scheduling, labour management, and inventory
• Familiarity with OpenTable or similar reservation platforms
• Someone who genuinely thrives wearing multiple hats — who finds energy in variety, takes pride in the details others overlook, and understands that in a family-operated boutique property, no task is beneath you and every interaction matters
• Someone who thrives in a family-operated business — collaborative, adaptable, and genuinely invested in the success of the team around them
• Excellent communication skills and emotional intelligence — you know how to handle a difficult guest, a tough conversation with a team member, and a busy Saturday night all in the same shift
• A passion for hospitality that goes beyond the job description — this role suits someone who sees carrying a guest's bag to their room not as an extra task but as the point

What We Offer

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience
• A leadership role with real autonomy in a respected, growing hospitality brand
• A family-operated environment where your contributions are seen, valued, and rewarded
• The opportunity to grow alongside a business that is actively expanding — restaurant, inn, spa, and an exciting development pipeline
• A team that genuinely cares about each other and the guests we serve

Hours / Schedule

This is a full-time role, and Weekends are busy

To Apply

Send your resume and a brief note about why Puddicombe House feels like the right fit for you. We read every application and we respond to every candidate who takes the time to write to us thoughtfully.

We'd love to meet you.

Pay: $20.00-$25.00 per hour

Work Location: In person