Circumstance is a restaurant in Swanville,Maine by Khris Hogg (formerly of Perennial Cider Bar + Farm Kitchen). We offer a 6 course dinner Friday and Saturday evenings and brunch on Sunday from mid-May through the first weekend in October. The restaurant is hosted in our barn on our homestead and features 100% locally sourced, organically grown ingredients, alongside regional natural wines and ciders. Our cuisine is a creative response to what's available in our particular place at a particular time. We rely on whole-animal butchery, charcuterie, foraged ingredients, fermentation, smoking, and other forms of food preservation to accent our menu, along with careful combinations of ingredients in their original state. Circumstance is a restaurant, but it's also an extension of lives lived close to the land, our home, and our curiosities and we are delighted to welcome guests to our barn in the woods for a unique taste of the moment. For more info: circumstancemaine.com

We are looking for 3 hosts/servers to join our team for our opening season. We view servers as the most important position in the restaurant: it doesn't matter how good the food is or how nice the space is if the service isn't excellent. Servers are the first people guests will meet when they arrive, the people who guide guests through their experience, and likely the last interaction they'll have as they leave. 

The ideal candidate is naturally friendly and engaging, with a finely tuned internal clock, an intuitive love of hosting, and an interest in food and wine. You have excellent social instincts and are genuinely excited about guiding someone through an amazing meal. You're excited about being part of a creative team that's constantly moving through new dishes and wines and is actively engaged with the place and time. You can tactfully manage the needs and dynamics of multiple tables at once, while being present and composed with each individual guest. 

As a group, our team prides itself on its composure. This is not an "angry chef throwing plates" type of situation. We work with purpose and with joy and are energized by each other's performance. We support each other and work toward synchrony.

This is a part-time, seasonal position, with an expectation of recurring employment annually. Circumstance will provide ample training prior to the beginning of the season, as well as ongoing professional development opportunities. We have a strong preference for candidates who can work all three services each week for the entire season, but will consider other scenarios.

Pay is a minimum of $22/hr plus paid training and staff discounts. Hourly rate may rise once we get a better sense of the tip pool. End of season bonuses/profit-sharing are a possibility and will be considered based on business performance.

Primary responsibilities:
 

-Greet, seat, and serve guests for dinner and brunch service

-Pour wines/ciders and mix mocktails

-Polish glassware/silverware and other back-bar duties

-Manage reservation and point-of-sale interfaces during service

-Respond to day-of reservation requests

-Participate in tastings/meals before service

-General tidying of the space before service

-Station setup and cleanup

-A share of dishwashing duties (along w/ all other co-workers) 

-Suggest and participate in professional development opportunities

Desired qualifications:

-A naturally friendly, engaging personality

-An ability to manage the needs and progressions of multiple tables simultaneously

-Excellent composure under pressure

-Excellent sense of timing and pace

-Ability to quickly absorb info and anecdotes about new menu items and communicate it to guests at the appropriate times

-Ability to develop a personal affinity with particular wines or dishes on the menu

-Advanced conversational instincts

-Ability to learn and use verbal and non-verbal dialect amongst our team

-A genuine interest in food and wine and related topics and ability to talk about it

-Previous service experience is helpful, but all of the above are more important

-Must be at least 21 years old