Food & Beverage Manager
Full-time, on-site
Reports to the Director of Operations
About the opportunity
In December 2026, the Memphis Art Museum opens a new home on the downtown riverfront: a full city block on the bluff, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects, with street-level galleries, a community courtyard, a rooftop sculpture garden, and event spaces built to host everything from intimate lectures to large public festivals.
Food and beverage is a core part of the guest experience on this campus. From a morning coffee in the lobby to a cocktail and nibble at a sold-out evening event, what we serve shapes how people feel about their visit. We are looking for a Food & Beverage Manager to own that experience across the museum, run a full-service coffee shop that guests love, and make sure the bar and food at our programs are genuinely compelling.
This is a building role for someone who knows hospitality, moves fast, and wants the F&B program to be theirs. You do not need a museum background. You do need a sharp sense for the difference between a good food experience and a great one, and the command to deliver great consistently. That means understanding every part of how a great food business runs: pricing, inventory, service, and presentation, and how they work together.
What you will own
The lobby coffee shop. This is your main focus. The coffee shop sits in the museum lobby, runs full-service, and is open seven days a week, so it needs to perform from open to close every day. You run it end-to-end: product quality, speed and warmth of service, presentation, stock, and profitability. It should be the kind of place guests come back to, whether or not they came for the galleries.
Food and beverage across the entire campus, except the restaurant. You are responsible for all food and beverage on the museum campus, with the standalone restaurant being the one exception. Everything else, from the coffee shop to courtyard and rooftop service, falls under you. You set the standard for quality, consistency, and the guest experience across the board.
Compelling bar and food at every program. You coordinate closely with our production and event teams to ensure the bar and food at all special events and programming are compelling, creative, and appropriate for the audience in the room. From concerts and screenings to lectures, family days, large festivals, you design and execute offerings that fit the moment, surprise people in the best way, and land flawlessly. When the event team plans a program, you are the partner who makes the bar and food exceptional.
A team that delivers. You train the food and beverage staff, so service is consistent and strong across the coffee shop and every program. Our team understands the products, handles them safely, and represents the museum well with every guest.
The operation behind the scenes. You manage inventory, vendors, ordering, cost of goods, and waste so the program runs efficiently and profitably. You keep the operation compliant with all health, safety, and food handling standards, without exception.
Revenue and growth. You treat F&B as a business to grow, not just run. You look for ways to increase sales, sharpen the menu and pricing, capture event opportunities, and improve margin, and you track and report on how the program is performing.
Where this role is going
You are launching this program in a brand-new building during one of the most significant cultural openings in the region. As the museum's event calendar and visitor traffic grow, so does this role. The person who builds a strong, well-run F&B operation from the opening is the person positioned to expand it.
Who you are
- Keenly aware of the difference between a good and great food experience, and driven to deliver a great one every time.
- In command of every part of a great food business: pricing, inventory, service, and presentation, and how each one moves the others.
- An experienced food and beverage or hospitality leader with a track record of running operations and hitting results.
- Strong on both sides of the business: guest experience and the numbers behind it.
- Driven and ambitious. You want to build something and grow it.
- Calm and sharp under event pressure, with the coordination skills to partner well with production and event teams.
- Fluent in the operational fundamentals: inventory, cost control, vendor management, and food safety and compliance.
- Experienced with bar and beverage programs, including responsible alcohol service and the licensing and liability that come with it.
- A background in museum or cultural hospitality is welcome but not required. We care most about hospitality instinct, operational strength, and drive.
Compensation
This role offers a base salary of $45,000 - 50,000 plus 5% commission on sales above $400,000.
APPLICATION:
Qualified applicants, please send your resume and cover letter to suzanna.connolly@brooksmuseum.org. Indicate the job title “F+B Manager” in the subject line. The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is an equal opportunity employer.
Not sure you meet 100% of our qualifications? Recent studies show that men apply for jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, yet women and other people who are systematically marginalized tend to only apply if they meet every requirement. If you believe that you could excel in this role, we encourage you to apply. We are dedicated to considering a broad array of candidates, including those with diverse workplace experiences and backgrounds.
The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art/ Memphis Art Museum is an Equal Opportunity Employer and will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability or veteran status.