Front-of-House Service Director

Service Director

For more than 131 years and four generations, J.C. Newman Cigar Co. has handcrafted the world’s finest cigars in the heart of Tampa’s historic Ybor City. Our factory, El Reloj, is the last operating hand-rolled cigar factory in the United States, a living landmark where more than 25,000 guests from around the world visit each year to experience Tampa’s cigar heritage.

In late 2026, we will open three new hospitality experiences inside a beautifully restored 1910 building across the street from El Reloj:
Elaine’s, a classic American restaurant with continental and local influences serving breakfast, lunch and dinner;
Stanford’s Cigar Club
, a premium cigar lounge built around an exclusive barrel-aged spirits and reserve red wine program; and The Inn at El Reloj
, eleven beautifully appointed guest rooms upstairs from Elaine’s. Together with our private events programming on both sides of the street, they form the El Reloj District, a hospitality destination unlike anything else in Tampa.

We are seeking a Service Director to build and lead the front-of-house program across the entire property. This role anchors at Elaine’s and extends across Stanford’s Cigar Club, the small but meaningful touches that welcome guests staying upstairs at the Inn, and the on-the-ground execution of private events on both sides of the District. This is a hands-on leadership role. The Service Director leads from the floor, not from the office.

The property is confident, warm, well-edited, and considered. Elaine’s is a casual fine dining room where service feels gracious, intelligent and unforced, the kind of room where guests do not notice the choreography because it works. Stanford’s is a high-touch, high-service environment, where guests are read carefully, attended to thoughtfully, and never rushed. The Inn lives upstairs, and the service program looks after our guests in ways that feel personally considered, from the welcome to the morning.

We are looking for a leader with strong opinions about hospitality, the discipline to teach the standard, and the presence to hold it every shift.

This is a rare chance to shape something lasting from the start:

• Build a front-of-house program from the ground up across three distinctive rooms and a full events business inside a landmark historic restoration
• Lead the floor at a brand-new American restaurant where the standard of service is uncompromising
• Set the service standard at Stanford’s Cigar Club, a high-touch, high-service environment unlike anything in the cigar world
• Look after guests staying upstairs at The Inn at El Reloj with the kind of small touches that define a great stay
• Build and lead a training program that develops a team of knowledgeable, gracious, and genuinely hospitable service professionals
• Join a 130-year, four-generation family business that values craftsmanship, heritage, and doing things the right way
• Be part of the El Reloj District in one of Tampa’s most iconic and storied neighborhoods
• Full medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) with company match, company-paid life and short-term disability, company-sponsored long-term disability, and paid time off

A full-time salaried role with benefits is rare in this industry:

• $65,000 to $75,000 starting salary, commensurate with experience
• Performance bonus of up to 15% of salary, weighted 55% qualitative and 45% quantitative, beginning in year two
• Full medical, vision, and dental insurance
• 401(k) savings plan with company match
• Company-paid life insurance and short-term disability
• Company-sponsored long-term disability
• Paid time off

As Service Director, you will lead the front-of-house program across the…