Company Overview
Nature’s Emporium is a Canadian specialty grocery and wellness retailer dedicated to helping our customers Eat Well, Live Better. We offer a thoughtfully curated assortment of natural, organic, and wellness focused products, supported by knowledgeable teams and a strong commitment to quality, integrity, and community.
Summary
The Production Manager is responsible for leading the made to order food program, grab and go offerings, and bakery production. This role oversees all aspects of production, ensuring exceptional food quality, consistency, presentation, speed of service, food safety, and an outstanding customer experience.
This role is designed to combine strong production leadership with a highly visible customer service presence. The successful candidate will help create a modern, health focused food experience that blends fresh production, hospitality, convenience, and wellness focused offerings in a paced retail environment.
This position is ideal for a strong customer service and culinary leader who enjoys developing teams, improving workflows, building customer connections, and creating highly engaging food service experiences.
Responsibilities
- Lead the daily operation of the made to order kitchen, grab-and-go program, and bakery production.
- Ensure consistent execution of the menu, recipes, food quality, presentation, portion control, and speed of service.
- Train team members on food preparation, cooking techniques, recipes, customer service standards, food safety, and operational procedures.
- Establish efficient prep schedules and daily operational routines.
- Maintain high standards of hospitality by ensuring an exceptional customer experience from ordering through food preparation and service.
- Monitor sales, labour, food costs, production levels, and waste while identifying opportunities to improve operational performance.
- Support menu enhancements, seasonal features, promotional programs, and continuous improvement of the food offering.
- Ensure the kitchen, bakery, prep areas, storage, and customer-facing food service areas remain clean, organized, safe, and operationally efficient.
- Oversee compliance with all food safety, sanitation, product rotation, temperature monitoring, and health and safety standards.
- Partner with Store Leadership and the Assistant Store Manager to support promotions, customer engagement, and overall store initiatives.
- Reinforce company standards related to customer service, food safety, cleanliness, operational execution, and store presentation.
- Perform Manager on Duty responsibilities as required.
Qualifications
- Minimum 3–5 years of progressive leadership experience in a made-to-order kitchen, café, restaurant, quick-service restaurant (QSR), prepared foods, grocery fresh department, or hospitality environment.
- Demonstrated experience leading high-volume food production while maintaining exceptional food quality, consistency, and speed of service.
- Strong knowledge of food preparation techniques, kitchen operations, menu execution, inventory management, labour scheduling, food costing, and waste control.
- Experience managing made-to-order menus, grab-and-go programs, bakery operations, cafés, or similar fresh food concepts is considered a strong asset.
- Proven ability to recruit, train, coach, and develop high-performing teams while fostering a positive, customer-focused culture.
- Excellent organizational and time management skills with the ability to prioritize competing demands in a fast-paced environment.
- Passion for fresh food, healthy living, hospitality, and delivering an outstanding customer experience.
- Strong leadership, communication, coaching, and interpersonal skills with the ability to motivate and hold team members accountable.
- Demonstrated problem-solving skills with a continuous improvement mindset and a focus on operational excellence.
- Experience with inventory systems, ordering, scheduling, production planning, and Microsoft Office is considered an asset.
- Food Handler Certification required.
- Flexible availability, including evenings, weekends, and holidays, as required.
- Ability to perform the physical demands of the role, including standing for extended periods, lifting up to 50 lbs., and working in a fast-paced kitchen environment.
Nature’s Emporium is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible workplace. We welcome and encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, abilities, and experiences. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the recruitment and selection process. If you require accommodation, please let us know, and we will work with you to meet your needs.
Pay: $60,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Dental care
- Extended health care
- On-site parking
- Store discount
- Vision care
Ability to commute/relocate:
- Oakville, ON L6M 2Y2: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Application question(s):
- Are there any days/times that you are unable to work?
Experience:
- Customer service: 1 year (required)
- Management in Quick service & fast food restaurant: 1 year (required)
Work Location: In person
