Food and Beverage Operations Intern

JUMP START YOUR CAREER AS A RESTAURANT OR NIGHTCLUB MANAGER WITH THE RIPTIDE

The Orange County Riptide, a collegiate wood bat summer baseball team playing games at the Great Park in Irvine, California, seeks interns with a strong desire to learn and understand food and beverage operations in the sports and entertainment field.

This is your opportunity to manage and run the Food & Beverage Operations at a sports stadium as if it were your own bar, restaurant or nightclub.

Ideal candidates will be working towards a degree in Restaurant and Food & Beverage Services Management. Candidates with a desire to learn and master techniques and skills to run and manage restaurants, bars, nightclubs, golf course clubhouse hospitality or stadium concessions are encouraged to apply.

Please Note: This un-paid internship position will require your attendance at home games in Irvine, Calif. Qualified candidates will need to ensure they have housing available from June through early August 2025.

Summer interns attending college outside of the Orange County, Calif. area must make their own living arrangements for the summer. The OC Riptide cannot provide housing for out-of-area interns.

In lieu of compensation, academic credit is available for this internship. Academic credit is not guaranteed and is dependent upon your school’s requirements and terms. Check with your school's Internship Coordinator BEFORE accepting the hiring offer to determine if this position satisfies the criteria for receiving academic credit.

Interns chosen for this position will need strong food and beverage or hospitality knowledge either through course work or real-world work experience. Customer service or operations experience preferred along with strong organizational and time management skills. The Orange County Riptide is looking for qualified food & beverage interns to assist in the smooth functioning of concessions at each home baseball game.

Learning Objectives:

• Food & Beverage Operations Interns will learn inventory management and rotation, product ordering, receiving deliveries, month end financials, etc.
• Interns will learn guest services, point of sale systems, and food and beverage safety protocols.
• Interns will learn to work within a team atmosphere, to problem solve and to learn proper implementation of team goals and functions.
• By the end of the internship, students should have gained exceptional knowledge in all aspects of food & beverage operations for a sports team.

Because this position requires attendance at home games, (approximately 25+ games spanning from June through early August) applicants are expected to work approximately five (5) hours per game. This includes pre-game, in-game and post-game duties of setting up and breaking down operations and performing in-game functions to ensure a smooth game experience. Candidates should expect to work no more than 25 hours per week.

Duties for the food & Beverage Operations Interns will consist of, but not be limited to:

Responsibilities

• Reports directly to the Assistant General Manager
• Concessions & Food Operations: Oversee the food and beverage setup in the arena concourse, assisting with concession stand preparation, staff coordination, and daily inventory management.
• Game Day Staff Supervision: Assist in the supervision and training of game day concessions staff, ensuring top-notch customer service and smooth operations.
• Inventory Management: Maintain and report on inventory for concessions and POS carts, prepare daily, monthly, and seasonal inventory summaries, and assist with stocking and re-stocking as needed.
• Vendor Communication: Coordinate with food and beverage vendors to ensure timely order placement and delivery for game day readiness.
• Stadium & Concessions Preparation: Aid in stadium setup for game days, including re-stocking, order pickups/drop-offs, and ensuring game day essentials are ready for smooth operations.
• Guest Relations: Handle guest inquiries and support positive fan experiences.
• Health & Safety Compliance: Adhere to all health, safety, and fire codes, maintaining a clean and safe environment.
• Game Day Responsibilities: Support the Operations Manager with arena preparation, assist concessions staff with POS transactions, and handle game day shutdown processes. 

Required Skills

• Good people skills to effectively interact with fans
• Residing or spending the summer in Orange County, Calif. From June – early August 2025.
• Provide excellent customer service to all existing and potential fans.
• Ability to recognize and solve small problems before turning into major issues
• Available evenings, weekends and possibly holidays based on game day schedule.

(Because staff members may come in contact with alcoholic beverages in concession stands, applicants aged 21 or older a plus but not required. Those interns selected who are or will be aged 21 by June 2025, will take priority as they will learn all aspects of this internship.)

The Orange County Riptide Baseball Club is a 501(c)(3) and all of our internships comply with the US Department of Labor Fair Labor Standards Act. The OC Riptide ensures that all unpaid interns and students understand the following:

1. The extent to which the intern and the employer clearly understand that there is no expectation of compensation. Any promise of compensation, express or implied, suggests that the intern is an employee—and vice versa.
2. The extent to which the internship provides training that would be similar to that which would be given in an educational environment, including the clinical and other hands-on training provided by educational institutions.
3. The extent to which the internship is tied to the intern’s formal education program by integrated coursework or the receipt of academic credit.
4. The extent to which the internship accommodates the intern’s academic commitments by corresponding to the academic calendar.
5. The extent to which the internship’s duration is limited to the period in which the internship provides the intern with beneficial learning.
6. The extent to which the intern’s work complements, rather than displaces, the work of paid employees while providing significant educational benefits to the intern.
7. The extent to which the intern and the employer understand that the internship is conducted without entitlement to a paid job at the conclusion of the internship.