Manager, Catering, Events and Community Outreach

PLAYA BOWLS ST. LOUIS CATERING AND EVENTS MANAGER

Playa Bowls St. Louis · Ladue, MO · Full-time

$47,000 base plus uncapped commission on catering revenue

Who we are

Playa Bowls is New Jersey's Original Acai Shop: açaí, pitaya, and smoothie bowls built on real fruit and piled with fresh toppings, served in a shop that feels like a day at the beach. Healthy good, bright colors, good music, sun-and-surf energy.

We opened the first Playa Bowls in Missouri in August 2026 in Ladue, and we're independently owned and operated right here in St. Louis. Our owner, Brittany Ciaramita, is a board-certified sports physical therapist and a Boston Marathon runner. She spent her career telling athletes and patients how to fuel properly, went looking for a place in St. Louis that actually served it, and decided to build one. Our second location opens in summer 2027.

What this job is

This is a catering and group sales job first, and a marketing and events job second. Most of your week is spent outside the store: walking into hospital departments, law firms, school front offices, athletic departments, corporate suites, and student organizations, and convincing them that their next meeting, practice, team breakfast, or client lunch should be a Playa Bowls order. You'll drop off samples. You'll follow up. You'll turn a one-time order into a standing weekly one. That is the core of the role and it's what the compensation plan rewards.

Around that core sits the rest: sponsorships and partnerships with local teams and schools, community events and pop-ups, fundraisers, and the local marketing that makes all of it work. Those are genuinely part of the job, and they're a lot of fun. They are also, in practice, how you generate catering leads.

You'll report directly to Brittany and work alongside our General Manager, David. You'll operate independently most days.

Job Duties

Catering and group sales (the majority of your time)

• Prospect, pitch, and close catering and group orders across St. Louis
• Run a sample-drop program into offices, schools, clinics, and teams, and track what converts
• Build and own a master account list: contacts, order history, pricing, follow-up dates
• Convert one-time customers into standing accounts
• Manage inbound catering inquiries end to end: quote, confirm, coordinate with the store, deliver, invoice
• Coordinate with the General Manager on prep, product, and staffing so every order goes out right

Community outreach and partnerships

• Build relationships with schools, athletic programs, universities, and local businesses
• Secure season-long team and school partnerships and sponsorships
• Run fundraiser nights and give-back programs for local groups
• Represent Playa Bowls at community events as the face of the brand in St. Louis

Events and marketing

• Book, staff, and execute on-site and off-site events, including setup and breakdown
• Support our local social media and in-store promotions with content from the field
• Manage our local athlete and ambassador program
• Report monthly on revenue, orders, new accounts, and what's working

What we're offering

Base salary of $47,000, plus uncapped commission on catering revenue. There is no quota to clear before commission starts and no ceiling on it. Every catering dollar above a small monthly threshold earns commission, and the rate accelerates as monthly volume grows. It's a written formula, not a discretionary bonus.

Realistic first-year total earnings are $60,000 to $63,000. As the catering book matures, the same plan pays $75,000 and up, even without changes to base salary. You'll also earn bonuses for turning one-time customers into repeat accounts.

What comes with it

• $460 per month vehicle and phone allowance
• SIMPLE IRA Retirement plan with company match up to 3% of your pay
• 10 days paid time off and 6 paid holidays
• Free Playa Bowls product while you're working

Where it goes

When our second St. Louis location opens in summer 2027, your base salary increases 10%, your commission extends across both stores, and your title grows with the business. We're at the very beginning of this brand in Missouri, and this role grows with it.

What you bring

• A bachelor's degree, completed by December 2026.
• Genuine comfort walking into a room, introducing yourself, and asking for the business. This is the single most important qualification.
• Organized enough to run a pipeline: track a hundred contacts, remember who to follow up with, and never drop an order
• Clear, quick, professional communication by phone, email, and in person
• Self-direction. You'll set your own week.
• Any experience in sales, catering, hospitality, event planning, campus organizations, Greek life philanthropy, athletics, or fundraising is relevant. Tell us about it.
• Comfort with Google Workspace or MS Office, and with Canva or similar

No prior catering sales experience required. We will teach you the product, the pricing, and the pitch!

The practical stuff

• Valid driver's license, a reliable personal vehicle, and current auto insurance. You'll be driving around St. Louis most days.
• Flexible availability, including some evenings and weekends when events require it
• Ability to lift and move 25 to 50 pounds occasionally, and to be on your feet at events
• Based onsite in St. Louis. This is not a remote role.

How to apply

Send a resume and a cover letter. In the cover letter, skip the summary of your resume and answer this instead:

How would you get ten St. Louis offices, schools, or teams to place a Playa Bowls catering order? Be specific about who you'd approach first and what you'd say.

We read every one, and that answer matters more to us than your GPA!