General Manager

Restaurant General Manager — Cotton Patch Cafe

Your restaurant. Your team. Your chance to make it grow.

Picture this: the smell of hand-breaded Chicken Fried Steak coming off the line, a dining room full of regulars who know your name, and a team that can’t wait to show up for their shift because you made it the best place in town to work. That’s the job. And we think you’d be great at it.

Since 1989, when we opened our doors in Nacogdoches, Texas, Cotton Patch Cafe has been cooking from scratch and treating folks like family. Thirty-seven years and 46 locations across Texas and New Mexico later, we’re still doing exactly that, and in 2026 the readers of The Dallas Morning News backed us up with three Gold awards for Best Comfort Food, Best Kid-Friendly Restaurant, and Best Chain Restaurant in DFW. Not bad for a small-town cafe with big-time heart.

Now we’re looking for a General Manager who wants more than a job. We want a builder.

This Is YOUR Restaurant to Grow

As GM, you’re not just keeping the lights on. You’re the one who takes your location to the next level. You’ll drive sales, build a loyal guest following, and turn your crew into a team people want to join. You’ll connect with your community, show up for local causes, and make your Cotton Patch the spot in town for comfort food and true Texas hospitality. When your restaurant wins, you win, with quarterly profit sharing that reward the results you create.

And when you’re ready for what’s next? We’re a growing brand that promotes from within, so the sky’s the limit and we are part of Local Favorite, so we have 9 other concepts in the overall family.

Why You’ll Love It Here

Let’s talk about the stuff that makes restaurant people do a double take. We open at 11AM, so no crack-of-dawn alarms. We close at 10PM, so no 2AM closeouts. We’re closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas, because those days belong to your family. And you start with 10 days of PTO on day one, not after a year of waiting.

On top of that, you’ll get:

• Earning potential up to $85,000 per year, based on experience and monthly bonuses
• Monthly bonuses tied to your restaurant’s performance
• A monthly recognition budget to celebrate and reward your team, because great work deserves a shout-out
• Health, vision, dental, and life insurance, plus short- and long-term disability coverage
• A 401K program and phone reimbursement
• An 5-week management training program and ongoing leadership development to keep you growing

Is This You?

You light up when someone on your team gets promoted. You notice the smudge on the window before anyone else does. You know that great food and genuine hospitality are what keep guests coming back. You thrive when the dining room is packed and the tickets are flying, and you love being judged on results because you know you’ll deliver.

If you’re nodding along, we want to meet you.

What You’ll Need

• 21 years of age or older
• 2+ years of restaurant management experience
• Ability to obtain Alcohol Service Certification and Food Manager Certification
• A valid driver’s license
• Strong people skills and a knack for resolving conflict
• Availability to work days, nights, and weekends as needed
• Ability to jump in front and back of house for shifts of up to 10 to 12 hours, following all safety guidelines for lifting, carrying, and using knives and equipment
• Eligibility to work in the United States

At Cotton Patch, we live by #LOA (Love One Another) and #GrOw2gether. If that sounds like your kind of place, pull up a chair. Apply today and let’s grow something great together.

Cotton Patch Cafe believes employees should reflect the diverse backgrounds and experiences of all our guests. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we do not discriminate against applicants due to race, ethnicity, gender, veteran status, disability, or any other federal, state, or local protected class.

Cotton Patch participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the United States. See E-Verify Participation Poster: https://www.e-verify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/EVerifyParticipationPoster.pdf. See Right to Work Poster: https://www.e-verify.gov/sites/default/files/everify/posters/IER_RightToWorkPoster%20Eng_Es.pdf.