Irvine Store Buffet Kitchen Department Assistant Department Lead – Fulltime

Description

Tokyo Central is excited to announce the opening of our new Irvine location in mid-2025, and we are now hiring a Full-Time Kitchen Department Lead to join our team. This position requires in-store work for a minimum of 8 hours per day. Training will begin immediately at one of our existing Southern California locations until the new Irvine store is ready for operation. The ideal candidate will have supervisory experience in a supermarket, fast food, or restaurant kitchen, along with hands-on experience in cooking and preparing a variety of dishes. Familiarity with Japanese cuisine is preferred but not required. Experience with ordering, inventory management, and leading a back-of-house team is essential. If you’re passionate about food quality, kitchen efficiency, and leading by example, we invite you to grow with us as we expand our presence in the community.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities (Other duties may be assigned):
• Assist the Store Manager with all Delica Department responsibilities.
• Assist the Store Manager with maintaining the appropriate profit margins in accordance to the approved preset budget for the Delica department. Oversee all Delica Department responsibilities including, but not limited to, customer service, management, menu/ recipe development, ordering, receiving of products, scheduling, and paperwork.
• Under the direction of the Store Manager, they are responsible for in-service training for all Delica department employees, including training and documentation.
• Help manage costs by controlling shrink and theft.
• Complete weekly inventory management. Be responsible for the Deli department receive and inspect deliveries.
• Collaborate with Merchandise department and store management team to create unique and seasonal offerings or promotions.
• Create work schedule for Delica department and strictly follow company and legal requirements about rest break and meal break.
• Fosters and encourages a positive environment of outstanding teamwork, mutual respect, and exceptional morale.
• Assure proper displaying and selling of all Delica products to customers and advise customers on healthy food and answering customer questions.
• Responsible for cleanliness and sanitation of the Delica back room and front displays.
• Handles customer complaints in such a manner to assure customer satisfaction.
• Assists Store Manager and the EHS team with safety meetings or training and assures that all the team members are in accordance with CAL OSHA SB-198.
• Follow the employee handbook at all times, especially on service standards and appearance.
• At all times, meet and/or exceed the Tokyo Central store standards in service, quality, and cleanliness.

Requirements

Basic Requirements
• Be able to adapt to different store environments during the training period. You might be assigned to different stores within Tokyo Central stores and/or our Central Kitchen.
• Be able to demonstrate small team management abilities. Team sizes can be from 0~ 10 employees. Management skills are required for the Delica department lead and assistant department lead positions. The overall direction, coordination, and evaluation will be reviewed. Management activities include but not limited to: Interviewing; Training Employees; Planning, Assigning, and Directing Work; Addressing Complaints and Resolving Problems with employees and customers.
• A High School diploma or general education degree (GED) is required; Six months to one-year of Delica related experience and/or training; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Ability to read and interpret English documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to use English to write routine reports and correspondences. Ability to speak English effectively before groups such as our customers and/or employees. The ability to speak Japanese and/or Spanish is not required but can be a huge plus.
• Basic mathematical skills are required. This includes, but not limited to, the ability to calculate figures and amounts. Also, to add, subtract, divide, and multiply using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals are necessary.
• General reasoning ability is required. This position needs the leader to be able to interpret a variety of instructions that can be in the form of written, oral, in diagram, or scheduled forms. They need to have the ability to resolve conflicts in such a manner as to create a win-win situation. And they need to have the ability to analyze a variety of situations and to think things through to create a solution and to implement that said solution.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee will regularly need to work near moving mechanical parts. The employee will occasionally be exposed to extreme heat and/or cold, to electrical shock, and be at a risk of burn. The noise level in the work environment will usually be loud. Due to the duties, safety will need to be followed.