Founding Team Bartender

Description

HELP BUILD SOMETHING SPECIAL IN THE HIGH COUNTRY

Haven is a chef-driven restaurant coming to Blowing Rock, North Carolina, and we're assembling our founding front-of-house team.

Built with its own distinct culinary identity and backed by the support and resources of Chetola Resort, Haven combines the excitement of a restaurant opening with the stability and opportunities of an established hospitality destination.

We believe exceptional hospitality begins with exceptional people. We're building a service team where professionalism, curiosity, warmth, and continuous learning come together to create remarkable experiences for our guests—and an outstanding place to build a career.

This is more than a typical bartender position. It's an opportunity to join before opening day and help shape the beverage program, bar standards, guest experience, culture, and identity of Haven from the ground up. As a founding team member, you'll play an important role in bringing the concept to life and setting the standard for the team members who follow.

At Haven, our menu is rooted in Appalachian cuisine and the incredible farms, foragers, and producers of the region. Through a small plates and tasting menu experience, we'll showcase hyper-seasonal ingredients while drawing inspiration from global culinary traditions and modern techniques. The result is thoughtful, ingredient-driven food that feels both familiar and unexpected.

We envision a beverage program that reflects that same philosophy: seasonal, intentional, approachable, and deeply connected to the food. From thoughtfully crafted cocktails and carefully selected wines to regional spirits, local beer, and creative non-alcoholic offerings, every drink should complement the guest's experience and feel like a natural extension of the kitchen.

For our bartenders, the bar is more than a place to prepare beverages—it's one of the most engaging seats in the restaurant. It's where craftsmanship meets conversation, where recommendations build trust, and where memorable hospitality happens one interaction at a time.

We're looking for bartenders who believe exceptional hospitality is about more than making great drinks. It's about reading the guest, anticipating needs, understanding flavor, telling the story behind a spirit or ingredient, collaborating with the culinary team, and creating an experience that feels polished, genuine, and effortlessly welcoming.

You don't need to know everything on day one. We're looking for people who bring curiosity, warmth, humility, professionalism, attention to detail, and a genuine passion for learning their craft. We'll help you develop the rest.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Create warm, genuine, and memorable guest experiences at the bar and throughout the restaurant
• Prepare and serve cocktails with consistency, precision, balance, and care
• Execute classic cocktails confidently while developing deep knowledge of the restaurant’s signature beverage offerings
• Guide guests thoughtfully through cocktails, wine, beer, spirits, and non-alcoholic options
• Develop strong knowledge of the food menu, ingredients, sourcing, preparation methods, and the stories behind the dishes
• Understand how beverage selections complement and interact with the restaurant’s small plates and tasting menu experience
• Make thoughtful recommendations based on guest preferences, dietary considerations, and the flow of the dining experience
• Explain unfamiliar ingredients, spirits, techniques, and flavor profiles in a way that is engaging, approachable, and never pretentious
• Prepare and maintain bar mise en place, including juices, syrups, infusions, garnishes, and other beverage components
• Follow recipes, specifications, portion standards, and presentation expectations accurately
• Maintain awareness of pacing, timing, guest cues, and the overall atmosphere of the bar
• Collaborate closely with culinary, service, host, and support teams
• Maintain a clean, organized, efficient, and professional bar
• Monitor product quality, freshness, inventory levels, and responsible product handling
• Support thoughtful inventory practices and minimize unnecessary waste
• Participate in pre-opening training, tastings, mock services, and ongoing beverage education
• Provide thoughtful feedback as cocktails, workflows, service standards, and bar systems are developed and refined
• Uphold the highest standards of hospitality, professionalism, sanitation, food safety, and responsible alcohol service

Requirements

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• Previous bartending experience in a full-service restaurant, craft cocktail bar, hotel, or hospitality environment
• Genuine warmth and a natural desire to take care of people
• Strong foundational knowledge of classic cocktails, spirits, beer, and wine
• An understanding of balance, dilution, temperature, texture, and presentation in cocktail execution
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• The ability to read a guest and adapt your service style to different preferences, occasions, and levels of beverage knowledge
• Curiosity about food, beverage, ingredients, seasonality, and culinary technique
• The ability to learn and confidently communicate detailed menu and beverage knowledge
• Strong organization and the ability to remain composed under pressure
• Attention to detail and pride in polished, consistent execution
• A collaborative mindset and respect for both front- and back-of-house teammates
• Reliability, accountability, and a strong work ethic
• Comfort receiving feedback and a genuine desire to improve
• Commitment to responsible alcohol service and guest safety

Experience in craft cocktails, fine dining, tasting menu, farm-to-table, wine-focused, or other chef-driven restaurants is a plus—but it is not required. Most importantly, we’re looking for people who care deeply about hospitality, take pride in their craft, support their teammates, and want to help build a great restaurant culture from day one.

WHY JOIN THE FOUNDING TEAM

Joining during the opening phase means you’ll have the opportunity to do more than simply step behind an existing bar. You’ll help create what comes next.Founding team members may have opportunities to:

• Help shape bar standards, opening procedures, and the overall beverage experience
• Provide input as cocktails, recipes, garnishes, workflows, and service systems are refined
• Participate in cocktail development, beverage tastings, menu education, mock services, and ongoing hospitality training
• Learn directly from culinary and beverage leaders about ingredients, sourcing, techniques, spirits, wine, and pairings
• Help refine bar mise en place, station organization, prep systems, and service procedures
• Build close working relationships with the opening culinary, beverage, and front-of-house teams
• Help define how the story of the restaurant, the region, and the beverage program is shared with guests
• Grow into expanded responsibilities, training roles, beverage development opportunities, and leadership positions as the restaurant develops
• Help establish the culture future team members will join

WHAT WE OFFER

• Opportunities for advancement as the restaurant grows
• In-depth menu, ingredient, wine, spirits, cocktail, and beverage education
• Access to exceptional local and regional products and producers
• A professional restaurant environment focused on hospitality, learning, excellence, and teamwork
• Meaningful input into the systems, standards, and culture we build together
• Ongoing opportunities to deepen your knowledge of cocktails, wine, spirits, food, and hospitality
• The opportunity to contribute to a thoughtful, evolving beverage program
• Scheduling practices designed to support work-life balance whenever operationally possible
• The opportunity to be part of a new restaurant from the very beginning

THE KIND OF BAR WE'RE BUILDING

This isn’t a high-volume, transactional bar where success is measured only by how quickly drinks leave the well. We’re building a bar where craft and hospitality carry equal weight. Where drinks are made with precision, but guests never feel like they’re watching a performance they weren’t invited into. Where bartenders are trusted to be skilled craftspeople, knowledgeable guides, attentive hosts, and genuine ambassadors for the experience. We want the beverage program to feel thoughtful but never overcomplicated. Creative but never gimmicky. Knowledgeable but never pretentious. We want service to feel polished but never stiff. Attentive but never intrusive. Personal without feeling scripted. We’re building a team where standards are high, feedback is direct and constructive, and every team member is expected to contribute to both the guest experience and the culture. If you’re ready to grow, contribute, and help build one of the High Country’s most exciting new culinary and beverage projects, we’d love to meet you.

Blowing Rock, NC | Appalachian-Inspired | Farm-to-Table | Seasonal Cocktails | Small Plates & Tasting Menu Experience