Hiring Manager / Wine Buyer for new wine shop on 57th St.

57th Street Wines in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago is seeking a full-time manager.

We are a brand-new wine shop (opening in October 2016) and this is a great opportunity to help have curatorial input, as well as meet and work with lots of customers. We are focusing on the $8-$50 per bottle range from all over the world, craft beer, imported beer, and local or craft spirits. We have experience selling wine and beer in a small independent grocery (Open Produce) and are branching out into a dedicated wine shop nearby. We have a lot of ideas about what types of wines we’d like to carry, but are also looking for someone who has ideas and opinions to bring to the table. The neighborhood is an eclectic mix with a wide range of incomes and wine knowledge, and we expect a lot of repeat customers and familiar faces.

Duties include:
– Helping curate our selection of wine, beer, and spirits
– Meeting with distributors, tasting products
– Placing weekly orders for wine, beer, and spirits
– Managing pricing, discounts, and monitoring financial goals for the shop
– Helping customers find the right wine for them
– Listening to what customers are looking for to help inform our selection
– Helping select, train, manage, and schedule part-time staff
– Hosting some of our weekly casual tasting events
– Ringing up customers
– Opening/closing duties (sweeping, mopping, daily bookkeeping)

Past experience should include:
– wine/beer/spirits retail, restaurant, or distribution
– talking about wine to wine people
– talking about wine to non-wine people
– buying wine, curating wine selection, setting pricing
– managing staff

Requirements:
– 21+
– Can lift 40 lbs
– Able to climb a ladder
– Able to work some weekends, nights, and holidays
– Able to work alone
– Able to commute to 57th & Blackstone day and night, all weather (near LSD, Metra, and #6 bus)
– Can use a phone, a pen, a boxcutter, and a computer

Hours and compensation:
– Full time: usually 40-45 hours per week, 5 days (probably Tues-Sat).
– Salary, health insurance, 6 weeks paid time off, employee discount, performance bonus.

During the first few months, we will also need your help assembling shelving, working out routines and procedures, and staying sane through the teetering chaos that is a store opening.

If you’re interested, please send your resume and a short note about yourself to wineshop@openproduce.org .