Restaurant General Manager Jobs in California

About the Opportunity

Taco Nazo is seeking an experienced, energetic General Manager to lead daily operations at our flagship Bellflower restaurant. With approximately 100 employees and tens of thousands of guests served each week, this is an opportunity to lead a substantial, fast-paced operation with exceptional standards for quality and hospitality.

Our restaurant combines high table velocity with the personalized hospitality of an upscale full-service establishment. Guests are seated, served, and tables are prepared for the next party with extraordinary efficiency—without making the guest experience feel hurried.

Taco Nazo is a privately owned, founder-led company with a hands-on, action-oriented leadership culture. Ownership remains closely involved in operational priorities, decisions, and initiatives. The General Manager leads the day-to-day team, maintains performance standards, and translates ownership direction into effective, consistent execution.

We are seeking a practical, collaborative leader who enjoys direct communication, adapts quickly, brings solutions to the table, and takes pride in delivering results within a clearly owner-led management structure.

Minimum Qualifications — Required

Management Experience

·At least 3 years as a Restaurant General Manager OR 5 years as an Assistant General Manager.

·Direct responsibility for daily restaurant operations, people leadership, and performance execution.

Operating Scale

·Experience managing a single restaurant location with at least $5 million in annual sales.

·Experience overseeing at least 80 employees at one restaurant location, including managers, supervisors, or team leads.

·Proven effectiveness in high-volume operations with high table velocity and intense peak-hour demand.

Operational and Hospitality Expertise

·Strong command of front-of-house and back-of-house operations, kitchen workflow, production efficiency, and food quality.

·Demonstrated ability to improve ticket times, order accuracy, staffing coordination, and guest flow.

·Ability to deliver attentive, personalized hospitality while maintaining exceptionally efficient service.

·Working knowledge of food safety, labor scheduling, inventory, cost controls, and restaurant financial performance.

Leadership and Working Style

·Comfortable working directly with an actively involved owner who retains authority over key operating decisions and priorities.

·Able to execute leadership direction promptly, communicate progress, and adapt when priorities evolve.

·Strong judgment in identifying constraints, asking clarifying questions, and recommending practical solutions.

·Capable of keeping teams focused, motivated, and accountable while balancing daily operations and new initiatives.

Preferred Qualifications

·Experience at a location generating $8 million–$15 million or more annually.

·Conversational or fluent Spanish.

·Experience leading 100 or more employees.

·Background in high-volume quick-service, fast-casual, or high-table-velocity full-service dining.

·Experience in a closely held, founder-led, or owner-operated restaurant business.

·Documented success improving kitchen throughput, guest satisfaction, and management-team capability.

Primary Responsibilities

Daily Operations and Guest Experience

·Direct daily restaurant execution across the kitchen, dining room, ordering, takeout, and guest service.

·Maintain high standards for food quality, cleanliness, safety, speed, and hospitality.

·Coordinate seating, service, clearing, sanitizing, and table readiness to support high table velocity without rushing guests.

·Solve service and production problems in real time and ensure dependable performance during peak periods.

Ownership Collaboration and Execution

·Work closely with ownership to implement operating priorities and business initiatives.

·Convert owner direction into assignments, timelines, and clear instructions for managers and teams.

·Provide timely, factual updates on progress, results, obstacles, and resource needs.

·Offer practical recommendations while recognizing that ownership retains final authority over major decisions and changes.

·Respond constructively to direct feedback and evolving priorities while safeguarding core restaurant execution.

Kitchen Systems and Quality

·Coordinate production flow, station readiness, labor deployment, and order accuracy.

·Maintain recipe, portion, food-safety, and quality standards at high volume.

·Identify bottlenecks and recommend or implement approved improvements to throughput, waste, and efficiency.

Team Leadership

·Lead and develop managers responsible for approximately 100 employees.

·Set daily expectations, coach performance, and maintain clear team accountability.

·Support hiring, training, scheduling, communication, and manager development.

·Maintain a respectful, engaged workplace while consistently executing operating standards.

Financial and Performance Management

·Monitor labor costs, food costs, inventory, waste, and other controllable expenses.

·Review operational measures including ticket times, guest feedback, order accuracy, and staffing productivity.

·Report performance to ownership and recommend realistic actions to improve results.

Who Will Succeed in This Role?

You are an experienced, hands-on restaurant leader who thrives in the center of a busy operation. You enjoy coordinating people, solving immediate problems, and ensuring that guests receive excellent service even at exceptional volume.

You value regular access to ownership, communicate clearly, and can turn direction into effective action. You are comfortable in a role with substantial responsibility for day-to-day execution and a close, active reporting relationship with the owner. You bring useful ideas and operational judgment without expecting independent control over company strategy or major operating decisions.

You take pride in the quality of the experience delivered by your team, the consistency of the kitchen, and the professionalism of the people you lead.

Application Requirements

Applicants should be prepared to answer:

1. How many years have you served as a Restaurant GM and/or AGM?

2. What is the highest annual sales volume of a single restaurant you have personally managed?

3. What is the largest number of employees you have overseen at one restaurant?

4. Describe your experience overseeing kitchen and dining room operations.

5. Give an example of improving service speed or kitchen efficiency without sacrificing quality.

6. Describe your experience working with a highly involved owner or executive.

7. How do you handle a new directive while protecting daily restaurant operations?

8. Are you conversational or fluent in Spanish?

Applicants must meet the stated minimum management experience, $5 million single-location sales, and 80-employee leadership requirements.

Taco Nazo is an equal opportunity employer. Qualified applicants are considered in accordance with applicable law.

Pay: $110,000.00 - $130,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Paid training
• Vision insurance

Work Location: In person