Working in a restaurant is one thing. Building a culinary career in one is something else entirely. If you’ve been looking at restaurant jobs in Charlotte, NC and wondering which employers are worth your time, you’ve probably heard the FS Food Group name come up more than once. That’s not an accident.
Frank Scibelli launched the company in 1992 with a single restaurant, Mama Ricotta’s, on Kings Drive in Midtown. Three decades and seven restaurant concepts later, FS Food Group runs some of the most recognized restaurant names in the Carolinas. That kind of longevity doesn’t happen without doing something right on the people side.
You’re Not Just Working at One Restaurant
One of the things that makes culinary careers at FS Food Group genuinely different from a job at a standalone restaurant is the breadth of what you’re exposed to. The group runs everything from Midwood Smokehouse, where the craft is slow-smoked barbecue over hickory hardwood, to Yafo Kitchen, a fast-casual Mediterranean concept built around house-made falafel and shawarma. There’s the classic Italian warmth of Mama Ricotta’s and Little Mama’s, the festive energy of Paco’s Tacos & Tequila, the Latin character of Calle Sol, and the full-service operation at Plate Perfect Catering.
That range matters. If you start as a line cook at one concept and develop an interest in something different, the infrastructure exists to move laterally across the group. That’s not something a single-location restaurant can offer you.
Growth That’s Actually Structured
A lot of restaurant employers promise growth. What that usually means is “work hard and maybe something will happen eventually.” At FS Food Group, growth is more intentional than that. The company has been expanding consistently for years, and new development creates real openings at every level: front of house, back of house, and management. The third location of Little Mama’s Italian is opening this summer in Cornelius at Lake Norman, and that kind of ongoing expansion means new leadership opportunities keep appearing on a regular basis.
When you’re part of a company that’s actively building new restaurants rather than just maintaining existing ones, your ceiling is higher. There’s always a new opening that needs a kitchen lead, a general manager, or an experienced front-of-house team ready to go.
The Culture Frank Scibelli Built
Scibelli grew up in a large Italian family in Springfield, Massachusetts. Food was always central, always communal, and never pretentious. That ethos carried directly into how he runs his restaurants and, by extension, how the company treats its staff. The group’s reputation in Charlotte isn’t just about the food; it’s about the kind of hospitality that turns first-time guests into regulars. That happens because the people working in the restaurants actually like being there.
He’s also not a formally trained chef. Scibelli holds an MBA from Wake Forest University, and he built his culinary knowledge through obsessive research: traveling, eating, and understanding what makes a dining experience work before committing to any new concept. That approach has produced restaurants with staying power, and it shapes how the company thinks about the people who run them.
Long tenures at FS Food Group are common. That tells you something about whether the culture delivers on what it promises.
What You’ll Actually Learn
The training environment across FS Food Group concepts is serious. Whether you’re working the line at Midwood Smokehouse, learning the craft of house-made pasta at Little Mama’s, or running a catering event at Plate Perfect Catering, you’re building real, transferable skills under experienced leadership.
For back-of-house staff, the variety of cuisines across the portfolio means you’re not doing the same ten dishes on repeat for years.
For front-of-house, the group’s standards for hospitality are high, and learning to execute them in a busy, well-run restaurant is the kind of experience that opens doors anywhere in the industry.
For aspiring managers, FS Food Group is the kind of multi-concept operation where you can move from a shift lead role at one restaurant to an assistant manager role at another without starting over from scratch. The company already knows your work ethic.
What to Expect When You Apply
FS Food Group hires across all experience levels, from entry-level kitchen positions to seasoned management candidates. The company values genuine enthusiasm for food and hospitality more than credentials, which is consistent with how Scibelli himself came up.
If you’re early in your culinary career and want to learn in a well-run, multi-concept environment, this is exactly the kind of employer worth committing to. If you’re a seasoned professional looking for a company with real growth runway, the expansion plans here are about as concrete as you’ll find in the Charlotte restaurant market.
Check out open positions on the FS Food Group website.
Charlotte’s Restaurant Scene Needs Serious People
Charlotte’s food landscape has grown substantially over the last decade, and FS Food Group has grown with it. The company has been here since 1992, it knows this market, and it’s not going anywhere. If you’re looking for restaurant jobs in Charlotte, NC that offer more than a paycheck, this is where you start.
