Founding Team Host

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 host position. It's an opportunity to join before opening day and help shape the guest experience, service standards, systems, culture, and identity of Haven from the ground up. Founding team members will play an important role in bringing the concept to life and setting the standard for every team member who follows.

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.

For our hosts, exceptional hospitality begins long before the first course arrives. It starts with a genuine welcome, a remembered name, a thoughtful response to a special request, a calm presence during busy services, and the ability to anticipate what guests need before they ever ask.

We're looking for hosts who understand that the front door isn't simply a place to greet guests—it's where every dining experience begins and ends. As the first and last impression of Haven, you'll help create an atmosphere that makes every guest feel genuinely welcomed, valued, and excited to return.

You don't need to know everything on day one. We're looking for people who bring warmth, professionalism, curiosity, composure under pressure, strong attention to detail, and a genuine passion for taking care of others. We'll help you develop the rest.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Create a warm, genuine, and memorable first and final impression for every guest
• Welcome guests with confidence, professionalism, and authentic hospitality
• Manage reservations, walk-ins, waitlists, and special requests with accuracy and care
• Thoughtfully coordinate seating to support guest preferences, reservation timing, server sections, and the overall flow of the dining room
• Maintain awareness of table status, pacing, turn times, and service progression throughout the restaurant
• Communicate accurate wait times and proactively keep waiting guests informed
• Review reservations and guest notes in advance to anticipate birthdays, anniversaries, dietary considerations, accessibility needs, VIPs, and other special occasions
• Answer phone calls and respond to guest questions with warmth, confidence, and accurate information
• Develop strong knowledge of the restaurant concept, menu, beverage program, ingredients, sourcing, and overall guest experience
• Explain the restaurant and dining experience in a way that is engaging, approachable, and never scripted
• Recognize returning guests and help build meaningful guest relationships over time
• Coordinate closely with servers, bartenders, support staff, culinary teams, and restaurant leadership
• Communicate guest preferences, special requests, and service opportunities clearly to the appropriate team members
• Help manage the arrival experience during peak periods with calm, organization, and professionalism
• Maintain a clean, organized, polished, and welcoming entrance and host area
• Assist with menus, reservation notes, guest communications, and other front-of-house details
• Participate in pre-opening training, menu tastings, mock services, and ongoing hospitality education
• Provide thoughtful feedback as reservation systems, seating strategies, service standards, and guest experience procedures are developed and refined
• Uphold the highest standards of hospitality, professionalism, discretion, and guest care

Requirements

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• Previous host, restaurant, hotel, guest service, retail, or hospitality experience preferred
• Genuine warmth and a natural desire to make people feel welcome
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• A polished, professional, and approachable presence
• The ability to remain calm, gracious, and solutions-oriented under pressure
• Strong organization and attention to detail
• The ability to manage multiple priorities without losing sight of the guest experience
• Comfort communicating with guests in person and by phone
• Good judgment and the ability to handle sensitive guest situations with discretion
• Curiosity about food, beverage, hospitality, and the story behind the restaurant
• The ability to learn and confidently communicate detailed information about the restaurant experience
• 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

Experience in fine dining, tasting menu, farm-to-table, luxury hospitality, or other chef-driven restaurants is a plus—but it is not required. We also welcome candidates from hotels, resorts, guest services, retail, events, and other hospitality-focused environments who have a natural ability to connect with people and stay composed in a fast-moving setting. Most importantly, we’re looking for people who care deeply about hospitality, 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 into an existing restaurant. You’ll help create what comes next.Founding team members may have opportunities to:

• Help shape the arrival experience, reservation standards, and overall guest journey
• Provide input as seating strategies, reservation procedures, guest communication standards, and service systems are refined
• Participate in menu tastings, mock services, and ongoing hospitality education
• Help develop thoughtful approaches to recognizing returning guests and celebrating special occasions
• Learn how reservations, pacing, seating, and service flow work together to shape the guest experience
• Build close working relationships with the opening culinary, beverage, and front-of-house teams
• Help define how the story of the restaurant and the region is introduced to guests
• Grow into expanded responsibilities, training roles, reservations, guest relations, service, and leadership opportunities 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, beverage, and hospitality 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 restaurant operations and hospitality
• The opportunity to develop valuable skills in reservations, guest relations, dining room pacing, and service coordination
• 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 WELCOME WE'RE OFFERING

This isn’t a host stand where the job is simply to check a name off a list and point toward a table. We’re building an arrival experience where guests feel expected, recognized, and genuinely welcomed. Where the host team understands that a thoughtful first interaction can shape the entire evening—and that a warm farewell can be just as important as the welcome. We want hospitality to feel polished but never stiff. Personal but never forced. Attentive but never intrusive. We’re building a team where hosts are trusted as orchestrators of the guest experience—people who understand the rhythm of the dining room, communicate with confidence, notice the details, and help the entire restaurant deliver exceptional hospitality. Standards will be high. Feedback will be direct and constructive. Every team member will be 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 projects, we’d love to meet you.