Restaurant Maintenance Technician

At Cafe Rio, great restaurants start with great people—and facilities that are safe, reliable, and ready to serve craveable food every day. The Facilities Manager is a hands-on, field-based leader who keeps assigned restaurants running smoothly through proactive maintenance, timely repairs, and direct support for restaurant teams.

This role spends most of its time in stores diagnosing issues, completing repairs, supporting maintenance projects, and coordinating vendors when specialized help is needed. Key areas include plumbing, refrigeration, HVAC, kitchen equipment, carpentry, handyman projects, and general building upkeep. This role reports to the VP of Operations Services.

Responsibilities

Hands-On / In-Store Facilities Work Spend the majority of working time in restaurants performing hands-on maintenance, repairs, diagnostics, troubleshooting, and improvement projects. Visit restaurants regularly to complete facility walk-throughs, identify maintenance needs, and help teams keep operations guest-ready.

Respond to urgent facility issues and support emergency coordination to reduce downtime and protect restaurant operations. Complete general building repairs, including minor carpentry, hardware, patching, painting, fixtures, doors, locks, lighting, flooring, and seasonal readiness. Perform plumbing repairs and troubleshooting for leaks, clogs, fixtures, drains, water lines, and related restaurant needs within scope.

Troubleshoot refrigeration, HVAC, kitchen equipment, and building systems; complete minor repairs when appropriate and coordinate vendor support when needed. Safely use hand tools, power tools, meters, testing equipment, ladders, and other maintenance tools while working in restaurants. Partner with restaurant teams to identify recurring issues, prioritize repairs, and keep Cafe Rio restaurants safe, functional, and ready for guests.

Administer and execute HVAC and refrigeration preventive maintenance programs. Administrative / Coordination Responsibilities Manage service requests for assigned restaurants, including troubleshooting, work order routing, vendor dispatch, and timely resolution. Coordinate vendors, contractors, landlords, store teams, and internal partners to complete repairs efficiently and maintain strong working relationships.

Monitor outsourced preventive maintenance programs, including scheduling, vendor performance, contract support, and maintenance standards. Track repair activity, spending trends, warranties, and equipment recommendations to support smart repair-versus-replacement decisions. Support facilities systems administration, data accuracy, dashboards, user access, records, invoices, budget tracking, and reporting.

Assist with vendor proposals, bids, and project scopes to support quality work and cost-effective results.

Qualifications

Minimum of 4 years of facilities, building maintenance, trades, construction, property operations, restaurant, retail, or hospitality experience. Hands-on experience with commercial maintenance and repair work, including plumbing, refrigeration, HVAC, commercial kitchen equipment, basic electrical, carpentry, and general building upkeep.

Ability to safely use hand tools, power tools, testing equipment, ladders, and maintenance-related equipment. Strong communication, organization, and problem-solving skills with the ability to support restaurant teams, vendors, landlords, and internal partners. Ability to manage multiple service requests, vendors, and priorities in a fast-paced, guest-focused environment.

Comfort working independently in restaurants, traveling regularly to locations, and performing physical repair work on a daily basis. Experience reviewing repair costs, budgets, warranties, and operational trends; basic P/L knowledge preferred. Proficiency with Microsoft Office and familiarity with facilities or work order systems (Service.

Channel experience preferred). Spanish language skills are a plus.