Retail & Customer Experience Manager — Olliffe Butcher Shop

About Olliffe

Olliffe isn't just a butcher shop — it's a destination.

Established in 1975 and now part of the Harvest to Gather family, Olliffe has served Toronto's most discerning customers for nearly 50 years. Located in the heart of Rosedale, we're known for exceptional whole-animal butchery, deep product knowledge, and a commitment to regenerative agriculture that sets us apart from the ordinary.

We believe grocery shopping should be an experience. We believe the person behind the counter should know more about your dinner than you do. And we believe that how we raise and source our food matters.

Now we're looking for someone to take us even higher — and to run the shop on the disciplined systems that make that possible.

The Role

We're seeking a Retail & Customer Experience Manager who understands that exceptional meat deserves an exceptional experience — and that a great shop runs on data, not guesswork.

This role blends warm, knowledgeable, fine-dining-grade hospitality with the operational discipline of a tightly run retail business. Half of the job is the floor: educating customers, curating meals, building relationships that last decades. The other half is the system behind it: accurate inventory, batch records, mass balance, and the daily numbers that tell us what's working. Both halves are non-negotiable. The best candidates are genuinely excited by both.

You'll be the face of Olliffe on the shop floor, set exacting standards, develop your team — and you'll keep our systems clean and current because that's how this business is run and grown.

Think: Michelin-star service on the floor, and a disciplined operator behind it.

A note on the work: we already have skilled butchers, plus owners and our operations lead who watch the counter. So retail and customer-experience strength matters more here than butchery skill. You'll jump behind the counter during a rush — but the closing-butcher work is not your job. Your job is the experience, the team, and the system.

What You'll Do

Lead the Customer Experience

• Create a warm, knowledgeable, and memorable experience for every customer
• Curate meals — anticipate what customers need and guide them to a better cooking experience
• Handle special requests and complaints with grace, turning challenges into loyalty
• Build personal relationships with regulars; know their names, preferences, and families

Run the Systems That Run the Shop (this is core, not back-office)

• Manage inventory accurately and daily through LightSpeed POS, Versatile ordering, and our planogram tools
• Keep batch records and mass balance current — these are how we cost recipes, control margin, and stay compliant
• Make decisions from the data, not gut feel; investigate variances instead of guessing
• Understand that our system is intense and interconnected — and keep it from drifting off the rails

Develop & Coach the Team

• Train team members on product knowledge, service standards, and our systems
• Conduct daily huddles, monthly one-on-ones, and ongoing coaching
• Lead by example — jump behind the counter during a rush, stay late when needed
• Build a bench of capable team members ready to step into leadership

Drive Visual Merchandising & Seasonal Storytelling

• Create stunning meat displays that draw customers in and inspire purchases
• Refresh the case weekly; overhaul for holidays and seasons; get the planogram reconciling
• Cross-merchandise thoughtfully (duck fat next to potatoes, marinades next to steaks)
• Document beautiful displays for social media and future reference

Own Food Safety

• Lead daily sanitation checklists and conduct regular safety audits
• Enforce HACCP principles, temperature control, and health regulations without compromise
• Minimize shrinkage, reduce waste, and hit margin targets

Amplify the Brand

• Post 3–5 pieces of social media content weekly from the shop floor
• Capture behind-the-scenes moments, beautiful displays, and customer stories
• Coordinate with marketing on campaigns while keeping content authentic
• Be a credible ambassador for regenerative agriculture — tell the story of our farms

What You Bring

Experience & Skills

• Background in premium food retail, fine-dining hospitality, or butcher-shop / specialty-grocery management
• A genuine systems-and-data mindset — comfortable living in a POS and inventory system, reconciling numbers, and making decisions from them
• Proficiency with POS and inventory management systems (LightSpeed experience a plus)
• Proven ability to train, mentor, and develop a team
• Strong social media skills with an eye for visual storytelling
• Working knowledge of meat cuts, aging, and cooking methods (or genuine eagerness to learn — we'll teach the meat)
• Food handler certification (or willingness to obtain immediately)

Personal Qualities

• Natural warmth and genuine enjoyment of customer interaction
• A manager's instinct: spot the one problem holding everything back, and stay on it until it's solved
• Disciplined and detail-driven — you'd rather follow the system than wing it
• Calm under pressure; sound decisions in a fast-paced environment
• Emotional intelligence to read customers and support team members
• Willingness to do any task — from serving customers to sweeping floors
• Passion for quality food and sustainable sourcing

The Reality of How We Work (please read before applying)

We run on an interconnected system — ordering, inventory, batch records, recipe costing, and accounting all talk to each other. It's more rigorous than most shops, and it's the foundation of our food safety and our financial health. Honestly, it can be frustrating at first. Most people who've struggled here struggled with the systems, not the customers.

But once you're in the rhythm, it stops being friction and becomes the thing that makes your day easier — less guesswork, better decisions, fewer fires. If you love great food and great service but bristle at process and data, this isn't the right fit. If you love both, you'll thrive here.

What Success Looks Like

Metric Target

Customer satisfaction

95%+ positive feedback

Systems discipline

Mass balance maintained; zero unexplained variances

Average transaction value

+10% year-over-year

Staff retention

90%+ annually

Social media growth

+20% followers, 5%+ engagement rate

Food safety

Zero critical violations

Team product knowledge

90%+ on monthly assessments

Compensation & Growth

• Compensation: Competitive salary commensurate with experience, plus a performance bonus tied to company cash performance as we move toward shared, sustainable profitability.
• Benefits: Added after the standard waiting period and once preliminary targets are achieved.
• Growth Path: This role is built for someone who wants to grow with Harvest to Gather. High performers may have opportunities to take on multi-location responsibility, contribute to new store openings, develop training programs for the broader organization, and participate in strategic planning and brand development.

You Might Be Right for This Role If You…

• Get genuinely excited about a beautiful steak and about a clean set of numbers that proves the shop is healthy
• Treat a $20 purchase with the same care as a $200 order
• Find satisfaction in developing others
• Take pride in the details — the clean case, the perfect wrap, the remembered name, the inventory that ties out
• Believe that how we raise and source our food matters

About Harvest to Gather

Harvest to Gather is a family of brands united by a commitment to exceptional meat and sustainable agriculture. Our network includes VG Meats, Rowe Farms, and Olliffe — together operating 8 retail locations across Southern Ontario. We're fourth-generation butchers with roots stretching back 150 years, and we're just getting started.

Learn more at harvesttogather.ca | olliffe.ca