Boka Group hiring—event roles open

Boka Restaurant Group is hiring for four very different jobs at once in Chicago: host, event sales manager, cook, and sous-chef. When one restaurant group is staffing the front door, the sales desk, and the kitchen line at the same time, it usually means it expects more covers, more private events, or both. (culinaryagents.com) One of those openings is an Events Sales Manager for Momotaro, Boka’s modern Japanese restaurant at 820 West Lake Street in Fulton Market. The listing says the role runs Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with extra time reserved to greet clients and manage events on site. (culinaryagents.com) That job only exists if there are rooms to sell. Momotaro markets multiple private-event spaces, including a basement-level Izakaya room and a second-floor Executive Suite overlooking the main dining room, and its events site pitches the restaurant for corporate gatherings, milestone dinners, and private celebrations. (bokagroupevents.com) (momotarochicago.com) Boka is not a one-off operator trying to fill a single shift. The company says it was founded by Rob Katz and Kevin Boehm in 2002 and now employs about 2,000 people across its restaurant group, which makes hiring moves there a useful read on the premium end of Chicago hospitality. (bokagrp.com) The group also has a lot of inventory to keep busy. Its private-events platform sells Chicago bookings for weddings, business meetings, holiday parties, and group dinners across multiple venues, so one event-sales hire can feed business into a wider machine instead of a single dining room. (bokagroupevents.com) The kitchen roles matter just as much as the sales role. A host can absorb more reservations at the door, but cooks and sous-chefs are what let a restaurant turn booked seats and private-event contracts into actual service without slowing ticket times or cutting menu standards. (culinaryagents.com) Momotaro sits in Fulton Market, one of Chicago’s densest high-end dining corridors, where restaurants compete for the same experienced managers, line cooks, and event staff. If Boka is hiring there now, rival operators nearby are likely looking at the same labor pool and the same spring-to-holiday event calendar. (bokagrp.com) This is also happening inside a group that still operates marquee destinations. Boka’s flagship restaurant holds one Michelin Star in the 2025 Michelin Guide, which tells you the company is selling not just meals but a reputation that depends on trained staff showing up at every level of service. (guide.michelin.com) The practical read is simple: if a major Chicago group is adding event sales and back-of-house talent at the same time, it is preparing for demand rather than retreating from it. For anyone pricing labor, planning bookings, or trying to hire in premium hospitality, that is a live signal from one of the city’s biggest restaurant operators. (bokagrp.com) (culinaryagents.com)