When a restaurant in Cleveland Heights loses its General Manager, when a fast-casual group in Akron needs a District Manager, or when a Pittsburgh hospitality brand is building out its regional leadership team — Patrice & Associates Cleveland is the call they make. Chuck and Sharon Helden lead our Northeast Ohio recruiting office, bringing decades of sales leadership, operations experience, and client relationship expertise to every search. Whether you operate a single-location independent or a multi-unit franchise brand, you get the same dedicated approach: direct outreach, thorough vetting, and a candidate you’re genuinely excited to hire.
Greater Cleveland’s restaurant scene spans everything from James Beard-recognized fine dining in Ohio City and Tremont to high-volume casual dining corridors along I-271 in Beachwood and Solon, arena dining at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, and expanding fast-casual concepts throughout the suburbs. Akron, Medina, Strongsville, Independence, Youngstown, and the Pittsburgh market each bring their own hiring dynamics — different labor pools, wage expectations, and competitive pressures. Patrice & Associates Cleveland recruits across this entire region, with the local market fluency to know what it takes to attract and close a top candidate in each of these markets.
Restaurant staffing is the core of what Patrice & Associates has built over 35+ years. Our Cleveland team places leaders across every restaurant segment and every tier of the organization — from kitchen leadership and front-of-house management to district-level and corporate operations roles. For senior and multi-unit leadership searches, our dedicated executive search practice handles the full process from candidate identification through offer negotiation. If the role drives revenue, manages a team, or shapes the guest experience, we recruit for it.
We don’t post your job and wait. We pick up the phone and recruit — directly targeting experienced managers and culinary leaders who are currently employed and not actively searching. Our North American candidate database includes more than 700,000 professionals, and our Cleveland team draws on that pipeline while also doing the direct competitor outreach that surfaces the candidate you’d never find on a job board. One call to our office initiates a search that covers the full Northeast Ohio region and Western Pennsylvania — no territory restrictions, no managing multiple vendor relationships, no dropped handoffs between recruiters.
Our Cleveland recruiting office serves a wide regional footprint, placing restaurant and hospitality management talent across:
Whether you’re filling a single management vacancy or building out a leadership team across multiple locations, our team handles searches throughout this region from one point of contact.
Restaurant brands and hiring managers across Northeast Ohio trust Chuck and Sharon Helden to deliver.
We work with all restaurant formats — from fast food and fast casual to casual dining, fine dining, and family dining. We serve individual franchise locations, multi-unit operators, regional groups, and national brands with locations throughout the Cleveland and Akron markets, Western Pennsylvania, and across Northeast Ohio.
We fill the full management and culinary stack — from Kitchen Managers and Sous Chefs all the way up to District Managers, Regional Directors, VPs of Operations, and C-suite leadership for corporate restaurant groups. For senior leadership searches, explore our executive search services. If you have a management-level opening in the restaurant space, we can help.
Job boards surface active job seekers — typically a small percentage of the available talent pool. Patrice & Associates recruits the experienced managers who are currently employed and succeeding in their current roles. These are the candidates who don’t respond to postings but will take a call from a trusted recruiter when the right opportunity is presented. That’s who we find for you.
Search timelines vary based on the seniority of the role and the specificity of your requirements. For most restaurant management positions in the Greater Cleveland and Akron markets, our team can present qualified candidates within a few weeks of engagement. Executive and VP-level searches may take longer given the smaller candidate pool at those levels.
Yes. Our Cleveland office serves employers throughout Northeast Ohio — including Akron, Medina, Youngstown, Strongsville, Independence, Beachwood, and Lorain — and extends into Western Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh and Erie. One call to our Cleveland office initiates a regional search with no territory restrictions.
Patrice & Associates stands behind every placement with a replacement guarantee. If a placed candidate doesn’t work out within the guarantee period, we restart the search at no additional charge. Ask our team for specific terms when you engage us for your search.
Tell us about the position and your ideal candidate. Not sure where to start? That’s fine too — Chuck and Sharon Helden can help you define what you’re looking for, develop the role description, and build a hiring strategy that works for your market and your brand. Your search starts with one conversation.
Laura T. says that Chuck Helden went about and beyond!Working with Chuck Helden was an absolute game-changer in my career. From the day he reached out to me, he took the time to truly understand my goals, skills, and what I was looking for in my next role. His insight into the industry, personalized guidance, and constant support throughout the process were unmatched.
Thanks to his efforts, I landed my dream job, a role that not only aligns perfectly with my aspirations but also challenges and excites me every day. Chuck went above and beyond, advocating for me at every step and ensuring I was fully prepared for interviews and negotiations.
I can’t thank him enough for his dedication, professionalism, and belief in my potential. If you’re looking for someone who genuinely cares about your career success, I wholeheartedly recommend Chuck Helden.
Thank you, Laura T.
Remzi Yilmaz“Patricia’s approach to searching for candidates allows her to find top notch prospects each and every time. She has the ability to know exactly what qualifications we are looking for when a vacancy becomes available. I appreciate Patricia’s enthusiasm, tailored approach, consistent communication and follow up when recruiting for our company. She is truly a wonderful partner!”
