DB
Don Bailey
FounderFounder & CEO · Charleston, SC
Operator first. Twenty-plus years running hotel F&B, independent restaurants, and multi-unit growth before building 3SP to recruit, open, and fund the next ones.
The team
Operators first. Then the search firm.
Client Work is who we recruit for. This page is who ran the restaurants before 3SP existed — mapped onto the five practices we sell. Brands hire this team for C-level through store managers — and the corporate departments behind a growth brand. If a vertical cannot point at a restaurant we actually operated, we do not pretend.
- 135+
- Combined years
- 6
- Named partners
- 10
- Restaurants we ran
- 5
- Practices
Founder
JI Jeff Iovino
SVP of Business Development & Strategy
3SP Co.
Business development and growth strategy — the conversations that turn a search into a longer partnership.
- Capital Advisory
- Real Estate
- Project Mgmt
KH Kristopher Horton
VP of People Operations
3SP Co.
People operations for the search side of the house — client slates, the talent network, and how a bench actually gets built.
- Recruitment
- Management Dev
- TW
Taylor Weldon
Executive Recruiter · Philadelphia, PA
Nearly two decades in culinary leadership before the search. Senior culinary and restaurant talent — culture, leadership style, and long-term fit.
Taylor Weldon is an Executive Recruiter at 3SP with nearly two decades of restaurant and hospitality experience. A Boston University hospitality graduate, he spent his career in culinary leadership — rising quickly at Hillstone Restaurant Group as an Area Culinary Manager, then holding senior roles including Senior Culinary Manager, Executive Chef, multi-unit leader, and Culinary Director with P.J. Clarke's, Doc B's, Cooper's Hawk, and Sakara.
That operator background now shapes his work in search. Since joining 3SP a year ago, Taylor has used a national industry network and firsthand operational insight to recruit senior culinary and restaurant talent. He focuses on culture, leadership style, and long-term fit — not just matching a résumé to a job description.
Outside of work, Taylor remains connected to the hospitality community and enjoys ice hockey, golf, and time with family and friends.
Hillstone Restaurant Group · National · Doc B's · Florida · Illinois · Texas · Cooper's Hawk · National · P.J. Clarke's · Philadelphia, PA
- Recruitment
- Management Dev
- CM
Christopher Mearn
Real Estate Partner · Boston, MA
National retail site work, pointed at restaurants. The next four walls — selected, leased, and opened.
Chris is co-founder and Principal of District, the Boston retail advisory he built in 2014 around a more hands-on, relationship-driven model. Twenty years of landlord and tenant representation, site selection, and national rollouts — including leading Trader Joe's expansion across 33 states, and work with brands such as Naya, Mendocino Farms, Cactus Club, and Blackbird Doughnuts. Institutional owners from Related Beal and Boston Properties to Federal Realty and New England Development. Before District, Vice President of Leasing and Acquisitions at Rubicon Real Estate. Babson College. Licensed broker in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. At 3SP he is Real Estate Partner — site strategy for the restaurants brands ask us to help them open.
- Real Estate
- Project Mgmt
- SB
Susanna Banks
Strategic Growth Partner · Boston, MA
Harvard-trained growth advisor. Capital, real estate, and the people who make a new market actually open.
Susanna is a strategic growth leader and trusted advisor whose work spans consulting, commercial real estate, commercial construction, energy, and nonprofit leadership. A Harvard graduate, she brings a cross-sector perspective to helping organizations translate long-term vision into actionable growth.
In those roles she secured strategic investment from the Ford Family Foundation, M&T Bank, Citizens, Harvard, and Stratford Capital Group, as well as angel investors. Novogradac named her a Rising Star. The Women's Affordable Housing Network named her an Emerging Leader.
She is passionate about bringing people and communities together. She volunteers as a Unified Golf Partner with Special Olympics Massachusetts — a belief in inclusion, collaboration, and shared purpose.
At 3SP she partners with leadership teams to navigate scaling, entering new markets, and turning ambitious goals into sustainable results. She believes that meaningful growth happens when you bring the right people together, align around a clear vision, and build the right team to get it done.
- Capital Advisory
- Real Estate
- Management Dev
Recruitment
The people who grow the brand.
C-level through store manager — then finance, marketing, tech, people, development, purchasing, and facilities.
- Don BaileyFounder & CEO
- Kristopher HortonVP of People Operations
- Taylor WeldonExecutive Recruiter
Boston Harbor Hotel
Operated · Boston, MA
F&B manager across every outlet in the hotel — wine program, bars, and service.
Aquitaine Group
Operated · South End, Boston, MA
GM, then Area GM — Aquitaine, Metropolis Café, and UNION Bar & Grill as the group grew from two restaurants to seven.
bartaco
Operated · CT · NY · VA · Atlanta
GM then Area Director — West Hartford, Westport, Stamford, Port Chester, Reston, and three Atlanta restaurants. First internal promote to AD.
Patina Restaurant Group
Operated · New York · Los Angeles
VP of Operations — multi-unit fine dining. People systems, product cadence, and the space between restaurants.
P.J. Clarke's
Operated · Philadelphia, PA
Culinary Director — menus, kitchen leadership, and the people who make a historic dining room run.
Hillstone Restaurant Group
Operated · National
Area Culinary Manager — kitchen leadership across the group.
Doc B's
Operated · Florida · Illinois · Texas
Senior culinary and multi-unit kitchen leadership.
Cooper's Hawk
Operated · National
Culinary leadership across the winery restaurants.
Blues Coastal Bar & Grill
Owned · Independent FSR
Operator-partner on an independent full-service restaurant — P&L, people, and the capital stack.
Real Estate
The next four walls.
Site work and new-market restaurants, not a listing service with a hospitality logo.
- Don BaileyFounder & CEO
- Jeff IovinoSVP of Business Development & Strategy
- Christopher MearnReal Estate Partner
- Susanna BanksStrategic Growth Partner
Jerry Remy's
Opened · Boston, MA
Opening GM, 2009–2012. Pre-opening construction, design, investor relations, F&B programming, and training.
bartaco
Operated · CT · NY · VA · Atlanta
GM then Area Director — West Hartford, Westport, Stamford, Port Chester, Reston, and three Atlanta restaurants. First internal promote to AD.
Management Dev
Leaders who survive unit five.
Area directors and internal promotes — the same muscle 3SP installs for clients.
- Don BaileyFounder & CEO
- Kristopher HortonVP of People Operations
- Taylor WeldonExecutive Recruiter
- Susanna BanksStrategic Growth Partner
Boston Harbor Hotel
Operated · Boston, MA
F&B manager across every outlet in the hotel — wine program, bars, and service.
Aquitaine Group
Operated · South End, Boston, MA
GM, then Area GM — Aquitaine, Metropolis Café, and UNION Bar & Grill as the group grew from two restaurants to seven.
Jerry Remy's
Opened · Boston, MA
Opening GM, 2009–2012. Pre-opening construction, design, investor relations, F&B programming, and training.
bartaco
Operated · CT · NY · VA · Atlanta
GM then Area Director — West Hartford, Westport, Stamford, Port Chester, Reston, and three Atlanta restaurants. First internal promote to AD.
Patina Restaurant Group
Operated · New York · Los Angeles
VP of Operations — multi-unit fine dining. People systems, product cadence, and the space between restaurants.
P.J. Clarke's
Operated · Philadelphia, PA
Culinary Director — menus, kitchen leadership, and the people who make a historic dining room run.
Hillstone Restaurant Group
Operated · National
Area Culinary Manager — kitchen leadership across the group.
Doc B's
Operated · Florida · Illinois · Texas
Senior culinary and multi-unit kitchen leadership.
Cooper's Hawk
Operated · National
Culinary leadership across the winery restaurants.
Blues Coastal Bar & Grill
Owned · Independent FSR
Operator-partner on an independent full-service restaurant — P&L, people, and the capital stack.
Project Mgmt
Owner's rep to opening day.
Pre-opening construction, design, and first-service — then we staff the restaurant.
- Don BaileyFounder & CEO
- Jeff IovinoSVP of Business Development & Strategy
- Christopher MearnReal Estate Partner
Jerry Remy's
Opened · Boston, MA
Opening GM, 2009–2012. Pre-opening construction, design, investor relations, F&B programming, and training.
bartaco
Operated · CT · NY · VA · Atlanta
GM then Area Director — West Hartford, Westport, Stamford, Port Chester, Reston, and three Atlanta restaurants. First internal promote to AD.
Patina Restaurant Group
Operated · New York · Los Angeles
VP of Operations — multi-unit fine dining. People systems, product cadence, and the space between restaurants.
Capital Advisory
The stack behind the brand.
Investor conversations from the operator side of the table.
- Don BaileyFounder & CEO
- Jeff IovinoSVP of Business Development & Strategy
- Susanna BanksStrategic Growth Partner
Jerry Remy's
Opened · Boston, MA
Opening GM, 2009–2012. Pre-opening construction, design, investor relations, F&B programming, and training.
Blues Coastal Bar & Grill
Owned · Independent FSR
Operator-partner on an independent full-service restaurant — P&L, people, and the capital stack.