Cafe and Retail Manager - Ferry Building
Dandelion Chocolate
San Francisco, CA, USA
USD 84k-84k / year
Posted on May 5, 2026
Job Title: Cafe and Retail Manager - Ferry Building
Hours: Full-time, 40 hours/ week
Department: Retail - Ferry Building
Report: COO → Director of Retail
Level: L5
Wage: Salary exempt, starts at $84,000/year
Cafe and Retail Manager - Ferry Building
About Us
Dandelion Chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolate factory in San Francisco’s Mission District. We make chocolate from only two ingredients, cocoa beans and cane sugar, and travel to origins as often as we can to build good, trusting relationships with the producers who grow and ferment our beans. Our business is built upon trust and partnership, and now we’re looking for a seasoned manager who will run our brick-and-mortar shop in San Francisco’s bustling Ferry Building corridor along the waterfront.
About You
Our ideal Ferry Building location Manager is an independent self-starter with an eye for excellence. You will oversee and develop a small team while continually raising the bar for engaging guests and sharing the Dandelion story and bean to bar chocolate knowledge. We are known for having friendly guest service that shares the bean-to-bar story with the many guests that stop into the Ferry Building. This dynamic position requires a lot of face time with team members, guests, other Cafe and Retail Managers, and other Dandelion Chocolate department heads. Our ideal candidate has a passion for connecting guests with quality, handmade products and leading a high-performing team. We like to see that you have been able to work on projects within a team and produce measurable results.
About the Job
Your day might start by checking in with your team to review any events, tours, special requests, or new products for the day. You give your team a morning daily report so they know, for example, how to greet an out-of-state chocolate maker or when to have extra samples ready for a large afternoon tour group. In the afternoon, you look at your list of potential projects, create a 3-4 week plan with deliverables and metrics, and double-check that your top priorities feel right with the executive team. Later, you talk to your team about a new display layout so that guests can better engage with the products and then get to work developing requirements, plans, and milestones. On your way out for the day, you bring hot chocolate and cookies to your kind neighbors who loaned you their ladder yesterday and to the Ferry Building management office who loves our oatmeal nib chocolate chip cookies. This is a full-time position and our ideal candidate is able to structure their weekly schedule around the team’s needs (i.e. working Saturdays when the Ferry Building is especially busy for the weekly farmers market.)
Responsibilities
- Goal Setting -- Work with leadership to understand annual goals and set a compelling vision that inspires the team to raise the bar each year.
- Team -- Hire, train, schedule, and foster a 5-6 person team that values excellence and proactively makes a customer’s experience better without prescriptive guidelines. Complete quarterly check-ins, annual reviews, provide timely day-to-day feedback, and develop a bench of leadership that is ready to rise to future growth opportunities.
- Daily Operation -- Develop checklists, SOPs, and research tools to ensure that merchandise is in stock, that the workspace is clean, that the retail shelves reflect a thoughtful, exquisite experience, and that orders are timely and accurate.
- Guest Engagement -- Proactively develop ideas to improve retail displays, experiment with menu items, and develop more authentic, thoughtful visitor experiences that lead to a deeper connection with bean-to-bar chocolate.
- Relationships -- Develop authentic rapport and working relationships with other managers, neighbors, and Ferry Building office management so that others feel comfortable approaching you with problems, suggestions, personnel issues, or to coordinate potential projects together.
- Reporting -- Monitor, track, and analyze sales data. Report quarterly goals and projects to the company, Director, COO, and CEO.
- Facilities -- Ensure our space is operating at its best with humming equipment, well-lit spaces, up-to-date chalkboard menus, well-maintained infrastructure (e.g. plumbing, electrical, fire extinguishers) and emergency folders. Work closely with our Facilities Manager as needed.
- Other duties as needed.
Requirements
- Proven ability to manage, train, and motivate small teams. You’ve made a long-lasting impact in previous team members’ professional careers.
- Technical know-how including Google Docs, spreadsheets, and the ability to track and report purchases, inventory, and cash reports with bookkeeping tools on a weekly basis.
- Phenomenal soft people skills. You can work with even the most tricky guests to ensure that they feel heard, understood, and will want to visit Dandelion Chocolate again (and again and again).
- Proven ability to connect bigger company goals to the performance of a team using measurable metrics. When a new location opens in one to two years, you have the documentation and systems ready to help a new manager get up-to-speed quickly and avoid the pitfalls you once encountered.
- The agility to think quickly on your feet and deal with each day’s inevitable surprises.
- Two years minimum management experience in a food service or service-related establishment.
Benefits
The benefits and perks continue beyond a robust chocolate education. Dandelion Chocolate constantly invests in our people and culture. All team members receive medical, vision, and dental benefits as well as the option to enroll in our 401k program. Team members receive paid vacation time, holiday pay, and paid sick time. In addition, our team members enjoy commuter benefits, FSAs, local gym discounts, chocolate tasting opportunities, the chance to travel to origin and our Japan locations, and a range of opportunities to grow and develop within the company.
How to Apply
Dandelion is growing and we are invested in employees who take ownership over their role and are interested in contributing in a bigger way. You'll stand out from the crowd if you send your resume as well as a cover letter detailing your management style, your most rewarding chocolate/food experience, and why you’d be a great addition to our team. We do our best to respond to all serious candidates within 7-14 days.