300+ Hospitality & Food Service Jobs in Columbus, OH

For the local role group measured directly, the BLS put the median hourly wage for food preparation and serving occupations in Columbus at $17.24 and the mean at $17.86 in May 2025. In the local job sample, hourly postings centered on about $15 to $17 / hour, while salaried postings centered on about $48k to $60k, which likely reflects a mix of supervisors, managers, and higher-end culinary roles rather than typical front-line pay.

Full August 2026 market report

Advertised pay

Across the 192 openings that disclose pay, the advertised range midpoint runs $31,980 at the 25th percentile, $37,440 at the median and $40,560 at the 75th. These are advertised ranges, not earned pay.

Active openings as of September 25, 2026

Senior roles | Entry level | Remote | Posted this week

Live from the Callings.ai index of over 13 million postings, refreshed hourly and re-checked here nightly. Roles that close are dropped at the next refresh.

Showing 30 of 250+ openings.

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What our analysts see this month

Balanced market | next 3-6 months

This is a workable market, but not an easy one. Food preparation and serving roles made up 8.6% of Columbus-area employment in May 2025, and the local hiring sample still showed more than 400 postings across more than 150 companies over the last 90 days. But statewide direction has softened: Ohio hospitality, food service & travel employment was down 1.4% year over year and active postings were down 6.1% year over year in August 2026, while Columbus's unemployment rate was 3.2% alongside a labor force that was down 1.7366% year over year. That usually means openings exist, especially for front-line work, but employers can be choosier on schedules, reliability, and direct fit.

Best positioned: Applicants who can work on-site, start quickly, and show customer service, cash handling, food prep, or beverage prep skills, with ServSafe for kitchen-facing roles, have the best odds right now.

Main caution: The biggest mistake is assuming the low local unemployment rate means employers are desperate; the shrinking labor force and softer Ohio hospitality posting trend point to a tighter, more selective market than the headline rate alone suggests.

From the August 2026 market report

Who is hiring here

Counted across all 332 openings in this market. 10 of the employers below are hiring for more than one role right now.

1. Cameron Mitchell Restaurants: 28 open roles
2. Panda Express: 15 open roles
3. Caesars Entertainment Corporation: 13 open roles
4. Compass Group: 13 open roles
5. Concord Hospitality Enterprises Co.: 7 open roles
6. Bickford Senior Living: 6 open roles
7. Drury Hotels Company: 6 open roles
8. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.: 6 open roles
9. Levy Restaurants, Inc.: 6 open roles
10. Wallick: 6 open roles

Where the openings are

• Columbus: 220
• Dublin: 28
• Westerville: 17
• New Albany: 11
• Hilliard: 8
• Grove City: 5
• Powell: 5
• Delaware: 5

Work arrangement

on-site 290 (100%)

Where the demand is

Real opportunity in Columbus is spread across a long tail of employers rather than a single dominant brand. The local hiring sample showed more than 400 postings across more than 150 companies over the last 90 days, and hiring was described as fragmented across employers; Starbucks Corp. was the only named employer surfaced at more than 50 postings. The strongest concentration is by venue type, not by one company. Within local postings, hospitality accounted for about 40% of demand, healthcare about 15%, restaurants about 15%, and food & beverage about 15%. That means Columbus is not just a restaurant market: hotel operators, hospital and institutional kitchens, school food-service contractors, and branded chains are all meaningful hiring channels. There are also a few specific local pockets worth targeting now. Levy Restaurants is hiring at the Columbus Convention Center, Chartwells K12 is running a school-food campaign through November 1, and Tabla Columbus recently opened near Easton Town Center.

• Hotels and general hospitality venues (high): This is the single biggest segment in the local posting mix, with hospitality accounting for about 40% of postings.
• Institutional food service (high): Healthcare represented about 15% of local postings, and Chartwells K12's Columbus campaign through November 1 points to seasonal school food-service activity as well.
• Chain coffee and fast-casual (high): Starbucks Corp. led the named employer list with more than 50 postings, and local hiring mentions also included Wendy's, Checkers & Rally's, Sam's Club, Chipotle, and Café Zupas.
• Convention and event catering (moderate): Levy Restaurants hiring at the Columbus Convention Center points to active banquet, bartending, and culinary demand tied to events.

Where to focus: Focus first on branded, on-site employers that hire in volume—chains, hotels, school or healthcare contractors, and event operators—before you spend most of your time on smaller independent openings.

Roles worth searching next

• Retail sales associate or shift supervisor: Customer service and cash handling transfer directly from hospitality into store-floor work.
• Warehouse associate or picker-packer: Columbus hourly talent competition includes logistics, which draws from the same local pay band as entry-level hospitality work.
• Customer support representative: Hospitality workers already use customer service, problem-solving, and fast-paced communication, which are transferable foundations.
• Facilities or environmental services attendant: Sanitation, on-site reliability, and shift discipline transfer well from food service and housekeeping-style work.

What postings ask for

• Customer service (table_stakes | immediate): Customer service appeared in about 15% of local postings, and recent Columbus front-of-house hiring also emphasized in-person guest interaction and kitchen communication. Who: Everyone, especially entry-level applicants and career switchers.
• Cash handling (table_stakes | immediate): Cash handling was the most frequently cited hard skill in the local posting mix at about 20%, which makes it one of the clearest resume filters for cashier, barista, and counter-service roles. Who: Entry-level job seekers, retail-to-hospitality switchers, and front-of-house applicants.
• Food preparation (table_stakes | immediate): Food preparation showed up in about 15% of postings, which keeps it central for line cook, prep cook, school food-service, and institutional kitchen roles. Who: Back-of-house applicants and anyone trying to move from cashier work into kitchen work.
• Beverage preparation (differentiator | immediate): Beverage preparation appeared in about 15% of local postings, and Starbucks Corp. was the most active named employer in the sample with more than 50 postings. Who: Barista, café, counter-service, and bartender-track applicants.
• Food safety and sanitation (differentiator | immediate): Food safety and sanitation each appeared in about 10% of local postings, which means employers are screening for clean operational habits even in entry-level roles. Who: Kitchen, catering, hospital, school, and shift-lead candidates.
• ServSafe (differentiator | near-term): ServSafe was the most commonly required certification in local postings, even though it appeared in only about 5% of ads. Who: Anyone targeting back-of-house, institutional kitchens, catering, or lead roles.

Questions about this market

What do Hospitality, Food Service & Travel roles pay in Columbus, OH?

For the local role group measured directly, the BLS put the median hourly wage for food preparation and serving occupations in Columbus at $17.24 and the mean at $17.86 in May 2025. In the local job sample, hourly postings centered on about $15 to $17 / hour, while salaried postings centered on about $48k to $60k, which likely reflects a mix of supervisors, managers, and higher-end culinary roles rather than typical front-line pay. This is a moderate-pay, broad-access market. The local hourly center is consistent with Columbus shift work broadly running around $13–$20 per hour, so hospitality is competing in a crowded entry-level pay band rather than clearly outpaying other hourly work.

Where is demand for Hospitality, Food Service & Travel roles in Columbus, OH concentrated?

Real opportunity in Columbus is spread across a long tail of employers rather than a single dominant brand. The local hiring sample showed more than 400 postings across more than 150 companies over the last 90 days, and hiring was described as fragmented across employers; Starbucks Corp. was the only named employer surfaced at more than 50 postings. The strongest concentration is by venue type, not by one company. Within local postings, hospitality accounted for about 40% of demand, healthcare about 15%, restaurants about 15%, and food & beverage about 15%. That means Columbus is not just a restaurant market: hotel operators, hospital and institutional kitchens, school food-service contractors, and branded chains are all meaningful hiring channels. There are also a few specific local pockets worth targeting now. Levy Restaurants is hiring at the Columbus Convention Center, Chartwells K12 is running a school-food campaign through November 1, and Tabla Columbus recently opened near Easton Town Center.

Which employers are hiring the most Hospitality, Food Service & Travel talent in Columbus, OH?

Recent postings show the most activity from Starbucks Corp. (50 postings). See the full market report for the complete employer landscape.

Can Hospitality, Food Service & Travel roles in Columbus, OH be done remotely?

Of recent postings, 5% are remote and 0% hybrid, with 95% on-site. Use the Remote filter above to see only remote openings.

How current are these listings?

Openings come from the Callings.ai live index of over 13 million jobs, refreshed hourly. This page searches postings from the last 30 days; run the search yourself to filter by anything else in plain language.

Browse Ohio openings by job title

• General Manager: 140 open roles statewide

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