Assistant Manager - Early Morning Brenen's Cafe - OSU Campus

Brenen's Cafe | The Ohio State University Campus

Brenen's Cafe is looking for a dependable, hands-on Assistant Manager to help lead our weekday café operation on The Ohio State University campus.

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced restaurant or café professional who prefers an early-morning, Monday-through-Friday schedule
. A major part of this role is helping open the café, baking and preparing products, organizing the team, and making sure we are fully prepared for a successful breakfast and lunch service.

We are looking for a strong second-in-command who can support the General Manager, take ownership of daily responsibilities, and lead the team without needing constant direction.

• Full-time position
• Monday through Friday
• No regular weekend shifts
• Early-morning availability is required
• Shifts begin before the café opens to allow time for baking, food preparation, and setup
• Located on The Ohio State University campus in Columbus, Ohio

Exact starting times may vary depending on the needs of the café and the university schedule.

The Assistant Manager will work alongside the General Manager to oversee daily café operations, including:

• Opening the café in the early morning
• Baking breads, pastries, and other café products
• Completing morning food preparation and product setup
• Preparing, slicing, portioning, and organizing ingredients
• Ensuring the café is fully stocked and ready before service
• Leading and positioning employees for successful shifts
• Managing breakfast and lunch execution
• Maintaining food quality, presentation, and portion standards
• Providing friendly and professional customer service
• Supervising, training, coaching, and motivating team members
• Maintaining a clean, organized, and food-safe workplace
• Ordering products from approved vendors
• Monitoring inventory, product levels, and food waste
• Assisting with employee scheduling
• Handling customer concerns professionally
• Supporting opening, cleaning, prep, and other daily café duties
• Stepping into any position necessary to help the team succeed

This is a hands-on leadership position. The Assistant Manager must be willing and able to learn and perform every job in the café.

• Has restaurant, café, bakery, deli, or food-service management experience
• Has experience in a Panera-style, fast-casual, bakery-café, or high-volume lunch environment
• Enjoys working early mornings
• Has baking, culinary, food-preparation, or kitchen experience
• Is culinary-minded or able to learn recipes and preparation standards quickly
• Is excellent with customers
• Can manage preparation, baking, product setup, lunch execution, and employee positioning
• Is professional, dependable, organized, and detail-oriented
• Can recognize what needs to be done and take action without constant direction
• Communicates clearly with employees, customers, and management
• Is comfortable giving direction and holding employees accountable
• Leads by example and is willing to work alongside the team

• At least two years of supervisory or management experience
• Restaurant, café, bakery, kitchen, or food-service experience
• Strong early-morning and weekday availability
• A high school diploma or equivalent; college education is preferred
• Knowledge of food-safety regulations and health department standards
• Basic knowledge of inventory, ordering, food costs, and profit-and-loss statements
• Basic math and accounting skills
• Strong leadership, communication, customer-service, and conflict-resolution skills
• Reliable transportation and consistent attendance
• A professional appearance and attitude
• The ability to work full-time, Monday through Friday

• Stand and work on their feet for shifts of approximately eight hours
• Regularly lift and carry 35-50…