George Schindler, Visionary Behind Some of Cleveland’s Most Beloved Restaurants, Dead at 70

Cleveland is mourning the loss of George Schindler, co-founder of Hospitality Restaurants, which played a major role in shaping Northeast Ohio’s culinary scene. His work includes restaurants in the area that have perennially been reader-voted as the best in Cleveland Magazine, such as Blue Point Grille.

Schindler, who died on Oct. 11 at the age of 70, started his first business plan by scribbling it on a cocktail napkin. That vision would become Cabin Club in 1991. Last year, he was voted into the Ohio Restaurant & Hospitality Alliance Hall of Fame, as Hospitality Restaurants boasted locations like Delmonico’s Steakhouse, Rosewood Grill and Thirsty Parrot.

“There are so many more restaurants in Cleveland now than there were 30 years ago,” Schindler told Cleveland Magazine back in 2021. “We have quality, but we don’t have a lot of trendy food on the plate. Cleveland Magazine’s Best New Restaurant is an award that we have never won, but all of our restaurants are still extremely popular and extremely busy. And over those 30 years, the list is pretty long of hot new restaurants that came and went.”

While Schindler is no longer here, his legacy lives on in Northeast Ohio. Hospitality Restaurants plans to continue honoring Schindler’s values of community and that excellent hospitality can make the world a little better. Just recently, the company donated $34,000 to local charities, such as the Sentinel Foundation and the Autism Society, through its annual Hospitality for Hope initiative.

He believed that to create a special place in the community, it started with treating your employees right and like family, because their care is passed on to the customers.

“Our company has always put our employees on a pedestal and treated them right because they represent you at the table, at the front door and behind the bar, and when they believe in what they're doing, every plate of food comes out looking as good as it possibly can because they care,” Schindler said in 2021. “For 30 years, we’ve stuck with the same training modules and stuck to the same principles we’ve held since day one. Treating your people right trickles down.”

More than just a restaurateur, Schindler was a devoted family man to his wife, Karen Schindler, and his two children, Samantha Brown and Max Schindler, as well as his grandchildren.

“George was our North Star. He showed us what true hospitality looks like — not just in how we serve guests, but in how we treat people,” Chris Kneeland, managing partner of Hospitality Restaurants, said in a press release. “His wisdom, generosity, and kindness will forever guide this company. Because of George, we know the difference between simply running restaurants and building a family that takes care of people.”

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