Beverage Director at The Modern

The Beverage Director at The Modern is an ambitious individual responsible for ensuring the excellence, creativity, brand promise, and profitability of the beverage program within the restaurant and the MoMa cafes. You serve as a leader, educator, coach, and mentor to the front of house team by inspiring and teaching skills that will elevate the core values and mission of Union Square Hospitality Group and maintain a world-renowned beverage program.

A person who is successful in this role can balance the demands of leadership, mentorship, and hospitality acumen of the dining room, with the strong financial acumen and program management to support a large wine program and robust cafe business.

What you’ll do: 

• Cultivate a culture of Enlightened Hospitality for all stakeholders that supports our business objectives and growth

• Curate a cellar of 3,000+ wine SKUS

• Partner with the management team to lead the service staff in ensuring that The Modern provides unparalleled hospitality for every guest.

• Oversee and lead the sommelier team, managing all aspects of service and administrative responsibilities, both on the floor and in preparation for service and events

• Endlessly look for opportunities for Beverage to open doors to Hospitality and dialogue between guests and businesses.  
• Guide teams in discovering ways to ‘find the yes’ for guests in a manner that upholds the integrity of USHG operations.  
• Build a culture of enlightened hospitality by ensuring excellent standards of service, communication, and education. 
• Use Beverage to actively drive cover counts and introduce new guests to our brand as well as encouraging existing guests to return. 
• Consistently looks for internal and external opportunities to build our growing team 
• Fosters a positive, collaborative work environment for both the service and kitchen teams, ensuring clear communication at all times
• Educate the Service Team on the wine, beer, spirits, cocktail, and non-alcoholic beverage offerings for all beverages within the restaurant in a way that adds quality and value as well as enhances the guest experience while achieving and surpassing financial goals.  
• Ensure that all end-of-period reports, inventories, and forecasts are completed accurately and on time.  
• Ensure that all beverage changes are executed properly with necessary communication and with education in mind.  
• Ensure that all POS systems, inventory systems, beverage lists, and any other information related to the selling of beverages are understood by the team and remain accurate and up to date.  
• Maintain key relationships with other beverage/wine managers and directors across USHG. Show commitment to sharing best practices and learning from a family of professionals. 
• Perform all due diligence, utilize strategy, and exercise exceptional judgment in order to ensure we are getting the best possible product for the most advantageous price possible.