CAREERS

Job title: Beer & Food Tender 

• Full-time positions: 30-40 hours per week

• Part-time positions: 10-26 hours per week

Reports to: Assistant Operations Manager

 

What You’ll Do

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Do you feel you have the energy to join and help us form a positive and inclusive team for our new Bellingham brewery and kitchen? Does the opportunity to be part of  a cohesive, strong & successful team appeal to you? If you have answered yes to these questions, this role might be a good fit for you.

 

Role Overview:

We are looking for friendly, reliable, energetic people to help us create a strong founding team for our new Bellingham location! 

 

Beer & Food Tenders are one of the most important pieces to the customer experience and will perform a variety of customer service duties including, but not limited to, welcoming, and serving customers, providing education about our beer and food, restocking bar, pouring drinks, and maintaining cleanliness and orderliness of bar & taproom spaces. Craft beer knowledge and food knowledge is a must for this position. From the quality of the beer & food, the atmosphere of the tasting room and especially the service they receive, a guest's impression of the brewery begins as soon as they walk through the door. Your goal is to create a welcoming & inclusive experience to our guests, so they want to come back again. 

 

In addition to the day-to-day activities, Beer & Food Tenders will be expected to learn everything they can about our beers, the production process, and craft beer in general. They will be expected to guide guests to beers they would enjoy and explain the differences between core and seasonal styles. People in this role should play the role of beer & food educator without being a snob or condescending to patrons. We want people to love learning about craft beer and Mexican food and we should always meet people where they are. By making their learning experience a positive one, we can lead patrons to a path of curiosity and exploration. We want that curiosity and exploration to happen in our brewery & kitchen so they feel comfortable coming back again.

 

Furthermore, our Beer & Food Tenders will be expected to help fulfill kitchen orders. Some of these duties include, but are not limited to,  running and operating tamale steamers to make sure tamales are available for customers. Packing & serving takeout orders of food. Serving tamales & other food to customers that order at the bar (there is no table service). We expect all team members to help with both front of the house and basic back of the house duties.

 

This person will be the face customers & community come to know & trust. Frelard Tamales & El Sueñito Brewing Company are guided by the following north stars. If you find that you align and connect with these founding values, you are in the right place.

 

• Community-centered: We are committed to building community by being one with community. We use our business platforms to elevate stories that highlight important work happening in the community and we partner with other small businesses to elevate each other through business collaborations. We sponsor and donate to causes important to us, especially in the areas of immigrant justice, LGBTQ+ advocacy & health, and environmental stewardship.

 

• Humility & Respect: We recognize that the fruits that have grown from the business have been possible thanks to our amazing team, our loyal customers, our friends, and family. We know that without a strong, healthy staff and a healthy community, we cannot have a healthy business. Humility, respect and empathy for others informs our business decisions to make sure we honor what everyone has contributed to our success.

 

• Celebrate Culture: We intentionally create space for community so they can gather and celebrate life’s smallest and biggest moments. We elevate and support important celebrations honoring community including queer & BIPOC folks. As an interracial couple, we embrace our gay and Mestizo/Mexican identities to highlight issues affecting our communities. We firmly believe in bringing people together through food & culture because food is one of the world’s universal languages.

 

Responsibilities:

• Ring up customers for drinks and food at our different points of sale

• Maintain a friendly, welcoming, and positive attitude with customers and other employees

• Work well with others in collaborative settings & independently as well

• Provide consistent positive and approachable customer service:

  • Greet and serve visitors in a positive and friendly way

  • Greet everyone who visits the taproom with a hello and a goodbye

  • Treat everyone like a regular

• Comfortable speaking about different craft beer styles & our food:

  • Answer questions and educate guests about El Sueñito Brewing & Frelard Tamales, our beers and food, the differences between beer styles & our menu as well as the history and culture behind our company

• Maintain comfort & cleanliness throughout the taproom, storage areas, cooler, office, and restrooms 

• Ensure the taproom, bar and bar area, counters, sinks, coolers, shelving, and storage rooms are clean and always remain that way

• Restock any beer, wine and cider when needed

• Replace empty beer kegs in the beer cooler

• Restock tamales in steamers, condiments and other food items for on-site consumption and takeout orders

• Help pack & serve food orders

• Assist with basic back of the house duties

• Restock glasses behind the bar & run dishwasher 

• Help promote other items we offer for sale, and taproom/kitchen events and specials

• Complete all paperwork involved in day-to-day operations (inventory sheets, keg order forms, incident reports etc.)

• Communicate equipment problems, bar maintenance issues, violations, or substandard practices to the assistant manager

• Attend staff meetings, events and other functions as required

• Promote good public relations and handle complaints and concerns of guests

• Follow alcohol awareness procedures for preventing intoxication, over-serving, and dealing with intoxicated guests:

  • Follow all applicable laws for age identification before serving alcoholic beverages

 

What You’ll Bring

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Desired Skills, Personal Strengths, and Experience:

• Ideally two years in the hospitality, food & craft beer industry: 

  • Must have passion for craft beer and food

  • Basic knowledge of craft beer

• Licensing and certifications: All necessary licenses and certifications needed to complete the job including: reimbursement for the cost of necessary permits & licenses will be issued.

  • MAST permit

  • Food handlers card 

  • And knowledge of local and state regulations related to alcohol service and health code compliance.

• Tech savvy: Understand the technology used for the POS

• Stays cool under pressure

• Willingness to roll-up sleeves and get “in the trenches” with the team 

• Compassionate, empathetic, and passionate about understanding others’ needs 

• Outgoing & sociable (likes to chat with people and build relationships) 

• Desire to learn & grow: Commitment to improvement, honesty & transparency 

• Flexible and adaptable to owner/leadership policy and SOP as designed but willing to build upon and suggest iterations towards improvement or assist in creation of new policy or SOPs

• Physical demands:

  • Ability to stand for long periods of time: approx. 85% of the time

  • Sitting work: approx 5% of the time

  • Bending, kneeling, lifting: approx. 10% of the time

  • Ability to lift 35 lbs. to 50 lbs. solo & up to 165 lbs. in collaboration with other team members

  • Unusual/extensive hours: May be required to work long or unpredictable shifts for special events

• Ideally available nights and weekends 

• Must be 21+ years of age

• Legally authorized to work in the United States

 

Compensation:

$18 per hour + tips

Our business policy is to use a tip pool where tips are distributed equally (by hours worked) among front and back of the house team members.

 

Benefits:

Healthcare benefits including medical, dental & vision:

Employees must work at least 25 hours a week to become eligible for benefits. Healthcare benefits begin on the 1st of the month following 60 days of employment.

 

• Employer contributes 75% of premium for employees

• 50% employer contribution for spouse & children

 

Paid holiday closures:

Holidays observed include: Thanksgiving Day, Day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve & Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.

 

Time Away: 

• 2 personal holidays per year

• PTO accrual:

  • Up to 7 days per year (first 24 months of employment)

  • Up to 10 days days per year (beginning month 25 of employment)

• Up to 10 days of Paid Sick & Safe Leave

• 2 days of Bereavement per year

 

At Frelard Tamales & El Sueñito Brewing Company, we are an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We celebrate difference, we support it, and we thrive on it for the benefit of our employees, our business, and our community. As a gay & Mexican-owned business, we are committed to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment.

 

We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law.