Careers
Working at Kool Beanz
A kitchen where the menu is rewritten every morning, a floor team measured in decades rather than months, and an owner who is in the building.
What this job actually is
The honest pitch: it is harder than working at a restaurant with a fixed menu, and that is exactly why people stay.
Cooks here do not execute the same twenty dishes for three years. They help build a new menu every day around what came in that morning, which means learning constantly and being trusted to have ideas. Servers do not memorise a laminated card once; they taste and learn a new menu every shift, which is why guests write reviews naming their server by first name.
Why people stay
Several of our kitchen team have been on the line for well over a decade. Susannah, hired in the opening year of 1996, is still here. In an industry with brutal turnover, that is the most meaningful thing we can tell you about what it is like to work here.
When the nationwide hospitality staffing crisis hit, Keith Baxter was public and blunt about it, and equally blunt that he believed the wages here were among the best in town. He also works the floor when it gets busy, which tells you something about how the place is run.
Consistency, and the loyalty I have for Keith Baxter, is what has kept me here. I have worked at many other restaurants, but there is nothing like here. Susannah Frick, front of house since 1996
Roles that come up
- Line cooks — the core of the operation. Prior experience helps; willingness to learn a new menu daily matters more.
- Pastry — a section with a national reputation and a very high bar.
- Servers and bartenders — you will need to talk about food confidently, every day, to people who have never seen the menu before.
- Host and support — managing a small dining room and a waitlist on a busy Friday is a real skill.
- Dish and prep — genuinely respected here, and a route into the kitchen for people who want one.
How to apply
Call (850) 224-2466, or come in between about 3 and 5 in the afternoon when service is quiet and ask for a manager. Current openings are posted on Facebook. Bring yourself rather than a formatted resume if that is easier — we are more interested in how you talk about food and how you turn up.
Working here — questions
Are you hiring right now?
Openings are posted on our Facebook page when they come up. You can also call (850) 224-2466 or come in and ask — we would rather meet you than read a form.
Do I need fine dining experience?
Not necessarily. Attitude, reliability and genuine curiosity about food matter more. Our pastry chef had never worked in pastry when she was given the section.
What is the hardest part of the job here?
The menu. It changes every day, which means learning it every day — for the kitchen and for the floor. It is also the thing people who stay say they love.
How do I apply?
Call, or come in during a quiet part of the afternoon, between about 3 and 5, and ask for a manager.
Come and talk to us
Afternoons between 3 and 5 are the quiet window. Ask for a manager.