GENERAL MANAGER

About the Role

Tapestry, the cafe at the Ismaili Center, is looking for a General Manager who wants to run a

business, not just supervise a shift. This is a full ownership role. You will own the schedule, the

inventory, the team, the numbers, and the growth of this cafe. If you are looking for a position

where someone else handles the hard decisions, this is not it. If you want a cafe you can put

your name on and build, keep reading.

About the Ismaili Center

Tapestry is the cafe inside the Ismaili Center, Houston, the first Ismaili Center in the United

States and the seventh in the world. Set on eleven acres along Montrose Boulevard, the Center

is a cultural and civic landmark built to advance pluralism, public understanding, and civic

outreach. It is a place of dialogue, learning, and connection that welcomes people of every

background and faith, celebrates the arts, and builds bridges across cultures.

That mission shapes how we operate. The setting is calm, gracious, and deliberately unhurried.

Guests come here for a performance, an exhibition, a lecture, a meal, or a quiet moment, and

our team is expected to meet them with the same warmth and composure the Center is known

for. In keeping with the Center, alcohol is not served. We are looking for people who take pride

in gracious hospitality and who will represent this environment with the care and respect it

deserves.

Hours of Operation

This is a daytime and early evening operation. There are no overnight closes and no shifts

running into the early morning.

• Monday: closed

• Tuesday through Thursday: 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM

• Friday and Saturday: 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM

• Sunday: 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM

For anyone who has spent years in restaurants working until two in the morning, this schedule is

a rare opportunity to do excellent hospitality work and still have your life outside of it.

Compensation

$50,000 to $55,000 annually, plus medical benefits effective the first of the month

following 90 days of employment.

Key Responsibilities

• OPERATIONS. Own the cafe from open to close. Set the standards, hold the line on them, and be present on the floor where the work happens.

• ORDERING AND INVENTORY. Own all ordering, receiving, par levels, and inventory counts. Know what is on the shelf, what it costs, and what it should cost.

• HIRING. Recruit and hire your own team. You will not be handed a staff. You will build one.

• TRAINING. Train every new hire yourself or through a system you build. Set the standard on day one and reinforce it daily.

• RETENTION. Keep good people. Turnover is expensive, and it is a management outcome rather than an accident. We will look at your retention.

• ACCOUNTABILITY AND DISCIPLINE. Coach, correct, document, and when necessary, part ways. Address problems directly and early rather than letting them sit.

• LABOR COST. Build the schedule against actual demand. Plan labor in advance, adjust in real time, and answer for the number.

• COST OF GOODS. Control food and beverage cost through ordering discipline, portion control, waste reduction, and vendor management.

• SALES GROWTH. Grow revenue inside the cafe. Drive repeat traffic, average check, daypart performance, and the guest experience that brings people back.

• COMPLIANCE. Own health, safety, and sanitation. No exceptions and no reminders needed.

• REPORTING. Know your numbers and be able to speak to them. Sales, labor, cost of goods, and where each one is heading.

Qualifications

• Three or more years running a restaurant, cafe, or similar operation as the person ultimately responsible for it.

• A track record you can speak to. Sales you grew, cost you brought down, people you developed, turnover you reduced.

• Real fluency with the numbers. P and L, labor percentage, cost of goods, and how your daily decisions move them.

• Demonstrated ability to hire, train, and retain a team, and to hold people accountable when standards slip.

• The judgment to make decisions on the floor without waiting to be told.

• Food Manager certification, or the ability to obtain it before your start date.

• Availability that matches the needs of the business, including weekends. This is not a role you manage from a desk.

A Note on Scope

Large catering and large event inquiries are routed to our sales team at Jackson and Company. Growing the cafe's own revenue is yours to own.

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