Recovery Center of Medina County

What Recovery Center of Medina County does

Recovery Center of Medina County is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in March 2018 in Medina, Ohio, that supports individuals recovering from substance use disorder through an integrated model combining vocational culinary training, peer recovery support, and reentry services. Its core program is the Sérénité Restaurant & Culinary Institute, which delivers a free 12-month curriculum based on the American Culinary Federation Certified Culinarian standards to cohorts of up to 12 students, accepted roughly twice per year from five Ohio counties (Medina, Wayne, Summit, Richland, and Cuyahoga). Students receive an hourly wage during training and graduate into employment in the culinary profession, with the organization reporting 45 graduates since inception and a 78% success rate.

The organization's technology and product footprint is intentionally low-tech and human-services oriented: the curriculum, the working fine-dining restaurant, and a network of community partnerships (Hope Recovery Community, Medina County Court of Common Pleas, Medina County Health Department, and numerous local agencies) form the operating platform. Adjacent services include Narcan training (Project DAWN), financial literacy counseling, AA/SMART Recovery/Families Anonymous meetings, and post-graduation job placement. Distribution is anchored in a single facility cluster at 528 W. Liberty St. and 200 Highland Dr. in Medina's Historic District, with the restaurant serving simultaneously as training ground, revenue generator, and experiential marketing channel.

The business model is a hybrid nonprofit/social enterprise: tax-deductible donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate donors (including the Medina County Board of Commissioners, Akron Community Foundation, and United Way) form one revenue stream, while profits from the public-facing Sérénité Restaurant and student labor form another. The program is offered free of charge to participants, eliminating price as a barrier for the target population of adults in recovery, many with prior involvement in the criminal justice system. The organization has won consecutive Silver Spoon Awards (2022, 2023), the 2021 Taste of Medina Best in Show, and an OpenTable Top 10 ranking in Northeast Ohio, indicating restaurant-side brand equity that materially supports the nonprofit mission.

Name

Recovery Center of Medina County

Legal name

Recovery Center of Medina County

Website

https://recoverycenterofmedinacounty.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Recovery Center of Medina County is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Medina, Ohio, that helps individuals in recovery from substance use disorder through a free 12-month culinary training program at its Sérénité Restaurant, supported by donations, community partnerships, and restaurant revenue.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Addiction Recovery and Vocational Training Services

NAICS

Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers (621420), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (62431)

SIC

Services-Specialty Outpatient Facilities, Nec (8093)

akta.pro primary industry

Substance Use Disorder Prevention & Recovery Services (BPAGACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Substance Use Recovery & Harm Reduction Support Services (BPAGAEAO), Peer Support, Recovery Coaching & Sober Living Services (HLAFACAN)

Keywords

• Addiction recovery services
• Culinary vocational training
• Peer recovery support
• Substance use treatment
• Second chance employment

Headquarters

HQ city

Medina

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Recovery Center relies on donations from individuals, foundations, and community organizations. Tax-deductible donations can be made online, through the mail, or in person. The organization lists numerous donors including foundations, individuals, and corporate donors.
2. Restaurant Revenue: Sérénité Restaurant generates revenue through fine dining service. All restaurant profits go directly into funding the organization and its programs. The restaurant serves classic European cuisine with vegan options, known for fish and beef selections.
3. Student Labor (In-Kind): Students work at the restaurant during their 12-month training program, receiving an hourly wage. This provides operational labor while delivering vocational training. Students are paid while in training, making the program unique in the recovery education space.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Recovery Center of Medina County delivers free, integrated substance use recovery support and a 12-month culinary vocational training program (Sérénité Culinary Institute) anchored by an operating fine dining restaurant (Sérénité Restaurant). Services include peer counseling, recovery support meetings, Narcan training, financial literacy, and job placement assistance for adults in recovery, funded primarily through donations and restaurant revenue.

Product overview

Recovery Center of Medina County operates a unified dual-program model consisting of the Sérénité Restaurant & Culinary Institute (a 12-month vocational training program offering culinary and hospitality education) and the Recovery Center (providing peer support, recovery programming, and life skills services through Hope Recovery Community). The organization serves individuals in recovery from substance use disorders with free programs including peer support, recovery meetings, financial literacy, Narcan training, and career development, all funded by the operating restaurant and donations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sérénité Restaurant: A fine dining restaurant that serves as the training facility for culinary institute students, located in Medina's Historic District.
• Sérénité Culinary Institute
• Hope Recovery Community

Products and services

• Sérénité Restaurant & Culinary Institute A 12-month vocational culinary and hospitality training program accepting up to 12 students twice yearly, offering free tuition with paid apprenticeship and job placement assistance. Students rotate through the American Culinary Federation Certified Culinarian Curriculum covering fine dining, kitchen skills, and front-of-house training. The associated Sérénité Restaurant serves as the hands-on training facility.
• Recovery Center of Medina County (Recovery Support Program) A non-profit recovery support organization providing peer support counseling, recovery maintenance skills, financial literacy, referrals for sober housing, and job placement services to individuals in recovery from substance use disorders.
• Hope Recovery Community (Recovery Resource Center)

Quantifiable outcome

• 78% success rate with all graduates employed in culinary profession
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Medina County Court of Common PleascoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2018Established in early 2000s by Judges Chris J. Collier and James L. Kimbler to address substance abuse issues. The court has been actively engaged in fighting substance use disorder, particularly opioids. In 2017, Ohio had 4,293 opioid-related deaths, more than double the US average. The court looked for long-term solutions and helped establish the Recovery Center in March 2018.
• Hope Recovery Community (HRC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHRC collaborates with RCMC to provide recovery and life skill programming for students, staff, and the community. Provides peer support, case management, recovery support meetings, financial and budgeting assistance, job assistance and placement, and NARCAN Training. Hope Recovery Community center located at 200 Highland Dr., Medina.
• Medina County Health DepartmentcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAdministers Narcan Training workshops through Holly Phillips. Provides Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided with Naloxone) resources. The organization is committed to reducing opioid-related fatalities through training and distribution.
• Executive Chef Niko CoureycoreOthersServes as Executive Chef and General Manager of Sérénité Restaurant. Leads culinary training program and interacts with diners to share stories about the program. Oversees the 12-month culinary curriculum implementation.
• Bellefaire JCBminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as community partner providing mental health and related services for families and children.
• Cornerstone Psychological ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as community partner providing psychological services.
• Ohio GuidestoneminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as community partner providing community-based recovery services.
• United Way of Medina CountyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as community partner providing support for community programs.
• LCADA WayminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as community partner providing alcohol and drug addiction services.
• Medina County Board of CommissionersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as community partner providing county-level support and funding.
• Akron Area Intergroup Council of AAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as recovery support partner providing AA meeting coordination and resources.
• Cleveland IndependentsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as community partner, a consortium of independent restaurants in the Cleveland area.
• Medina City Career CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as community partner providing career development resources and connections.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• Chrysalis: Los Angeles nonprofit providing workforce development, transitional employment, and job placement for individuals experiencing homelessness, recently incarcerated, or in recovery — overlapping vocational-support mission without the restaurant chassis.
• The Doe Fund: New York City nonprofit operating transitional employment (street cleaning, moving) for formerly incarcerated and homeless individuals with wraparound case management; comparable case-management-plus-work chassis.
• Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation: Foundation of the Bon Appétit food-service company funding culinary training for underserved populations; partial thematic overlap on culinary-vocational training for individuals facing barriers.

Direct peers

• L.A. Kitchen: Los Angeles nonprofit providing culinary job training to individuals coming out of incarceration, foster care, and recovery, with a social-enterprise catering arm — a direct comparable on the recovery-plus-culinary-training axis.
• DC Central Kitchen: Washington DC nonprofit running a large culinary job-training program for adults facing barriers including addiction, homelessness, and reentry, with social-enterprise revenue streams from catering and food distribution.
• Café Momentum: Dallas nonprofit restaurant and 12-month paid culinary and life-skills training program for at-risk and justice-involved youth; operates an integrated fine-dining training-restaurant model that directly parallels Sérénité's structure.
• Homeboy Industries: Los Angeles-based reentry nonprofit operating multiple social enterprises (bakery, café, merchandise) that employ and train formerly incarcerated and gang-involved individuals; comparable second-chance employer and vocational training model.
• The Other Side Academy: Salt Lake City residential program that operates social enterprises run entirely by students in recovery/formerly incarcerated, with vocational training and self-governance — a structural analog to Recovery Center's peer-led, work-as-therapy model.
• Edwins Restaurant & Leadership Institute: Cleveland-based fine-dining restaurant and 501(c)(3) that provides free culinary training, housing, and wraparound services to formerly incarcerated individuals — the closest geographic and operational analog to Recovery Center of Medina County's Sérénité model.

Broad incumbents

• Goodwill Industries International: Largest U.S. nonprofit workforce-development operator, including for individuals in recovery and with criminal backgrounds; broader and more diversified than Recovery Center but the dominant reference point for social-enterprise vocational funding.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/medinarecoverycenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/recovercenterofmedinacounty
• Instagraminstagram.com/explore/locations/118590545422470/recovery-center-of-medina-county

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Recovery Center of Medina County