Lead Chef & Kitchen Manager

Ybor - A Second Chance Kitchen
Lincoln, Nebraska
Full-Time, Salaried
Salary: $50,000-$60,000, based on experience

Ybor is looking for a chef to lead our scratch kitchen as we move from a successful mobile operation into our first brick-and-mortar restaurant. Since 2023, we have built a loyal following around authentic Cuban sandwiches and food inspired by Ybor City, Tampa. Now we need someone who can take ownership of executing our expanded menu, while building the systems, consistency, and team needed to produce it at a high level every day. That team will include employees building culinary careers through Ybor’s workforce-development program, including people returning to the community after incarceration.

About Ybor

Ybor - A Second Chance Kitchen is a 501(c)(3) social enterprise built around the belief that a restaurant can be both a successful business and a place where people build meaningful careers.

Our culinary workforce program creates a pathway into the restaurant industry for people who may have had limited access to traditional employment opportunities, including individuals returning to the community after incarceration. Participants begin by learning food safety and culinary fundamentals, then move into hands-on training and paid employment where they can continue developing their skills in a working restaurant.

The kitchen is where much of that development happens. Employees learn by working alongside experienced culinary professionals, progressing through stations, receiving direct feedback, and being held to the same standards expected in the restaurant industry.

We are not looking to lower expectations in order to fulfill our mission. We believe the best training happens in a kitchen that takes its food, service, cleanliness, teamwork, and professionalism seriously. The goal is to give people the opportunity and support to meet those standards and build skills they can carry into long-term careers in hospitality.

The Role

The Lead Chef & Kitchen Manager will own the day-to-day operation of Ybor's back of house.

This is a hands-on culinary leadership position responsible for food quality, kitchen execution, BOH staffing, scheduling, food and labor cost, ordering, inventory, prep systems, sanitation, and employee development.

Our menu and core recipes are established, but we want someone who knows food and understands scratch cooking. This person should be able to take an established recipe and develop the systems needed to execute it consistently, efficiently, and at a high level.

That may mean improving prep methods, organizing production differently, refining station flow, reducing waste, improving holding procedures, or finding a better way to produce an item during a busy service.

The Lead Chef & Kitchen Manager will also contribute ideas for specials, new dishes, techniques, and menu improvements in collaboration with the General Manager.

Who We're Looking For

There is no required degree or specific career path for this position.

We are interested in both experienced kitchen leaders and talented emerging chefs who are ready to grow.

You may be a strong fit if you have:

• Strong scratch-cooking skills and culinary fundamentals.

• Experience working in a professional restaurant kitchen.

• A good understanding of prep, production, storage, holding, reheating, and service.

• The ability to recognize excellent food and maintain consistent standards.

• Strong organization and attention to detail.

• Comfort with basic math and the ability to learn food-cost, labor, inventory, and restaurant reporting systems.

• The ability to stay calm and make decisions during a busy service.

• Leadership ability and the confidence to delegate.

• The ability to give clear feedback and address conflict when necessary.

• Patience with employees who are still developing their skills.

• An interest in improving systems, workflow, techniques, and kitchen efficiency.

• A collaborative approach to working with other managers.

• High standards without an unnecessarily aggressive management style.

Previous experience as a Kitchen Manager, Assistant Kitchen Manager, Sous Chef, Lead Cook, or in another kitchen leadership role is preferred, but it is not required.

A culinary degree is not required.

If you are a talented cook or culinary graduate with strong leadership potential, organization, and the desire to grow into kitchen management, we want to hear from you.

Pre-Opening Opportunity

Our preference is to hire this position before Ybor opens.

The pre-opening period will give the Lead Chef & Kitchen Manager time to master our menu and recipes, learn every BOH station, help refine production systems, establish pars and storage systems, train the opening team, participate in mock services, and gradually take ownership of the kitchen.

Our goal is for this person to enter opening day prepared to run the day-to-day BOH operation.

Schedule

This is a full-time salaried position with open availability required based on restaurant needs, including evenings and weekends.

Time off will be coordinated with the General Manager to ensure the kitchen has appropriate leadership coverage. Ybor will provide additional part-time kitchen leadership for regular days off.

Physical Requirements

This is an active commercial kitchen position that includes prolonged standing and walking, bending, reaching, working around heat and commercial cooking equipment, and lifting or carrying up to approximately 50 pounds.

Employees must be able to perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.

Target Start Date: November 2026, with flexibility for the right candidate

To Apply: Send a resume and letter of interest to info@yborforgood.org