ATLANTA, GA / AGILITYPR.NEWS / February 28, 2022 / For more information:

Michael Erickson

Melissa Libby & Associates

404-816-3068

michael@thinkMLA.com

As Workplaces Reopen, Onsite Foodservice Provider’s Commitment to Restaurant Safety Provides Confidence During Time of Uncertainty

ATLANTA (Feb. 28, 2022) – Sterling Culinary Management is well known for bringing innovative menus and distinctive attention to detail to the corporate dining experience. While the company is often tasked with making traditional employee cafes more intimate and inviting, this year the chef-driven team, led by CEO, executive chef and co-founder John C. Metz, is faced with a new challenge: making corporate dining safer now that employees have begun trickling back into the office. 

“The first thing we did was ask our clients what they wanted to accomplish and advised them on how their protocols work in a café setting,” explains Metz, who also operates Marlow’s Tavern and the Woodall. “They really appreciated that partnership.”

Metz and his team shared their cleanliness and sanitation procedures, reminding clients that they have always had these processes in place and will continue to do so. By sharing his experiences with sterilizing equipment and the Reme Halo air purification system he utilizes in his own restaurants, Metz and his team were able to help corporate clients make informed decisions to protect the health of office building tenants and their employees.

Additionally, Sterling helped increase front-of-house safety for the cafes by installing sanitation stations for guests and employees and by translating restaurant protocols for onsite corporate dining operations. 

To offer added convenience and contactless service, Sterling also launched a mobile app for online ordering and contactless pick-up.

Sterling has always had a huge commitment to safety including installing Reme Halo air filtration systems and partitions at many locations. This allowed for new growth in 2021 and 2022 as many companies were looking for a way to reinvent their onsite food service operations for the COVID world. “While some offices wanted to shrink their platform and limit service to more of a fast-casual approach, others wanted to offer more expansive food service,” Metz explains. “We also adjusted hours of operation for many of our restaurants and cafes to accommodate hybrid schedules by shortening hours on Mondays and Fridays and extending hours Tuesday through Thursday.”

But the company set up systems for to-go and third-party delivery, invested in Reme Halo air filtration systems and partitions, and converted some locations into purchasing warehouses to share resources.

The company was able to keep ten cafes throughout the pandemic and will have 40 locations total throughout Georgia, Florida and Kentucky open by the end of 2022.

Sterling has been and remains one of Food Management’s Top 50 Management Companies in the country for several years thanks to the company’s commitment to growing relationships and offering personalized solutions. Its chefs create menus daily and offer fresh, customized options, differentiating the company from its competitors. 

“It’s always about fostering relationships for us; we don’t have a cookie-cutter approach,” says Metz. “For every client partner we have, we try to become part of their culture rather than forcing our style upon them. It helps us listen better and customize menus for their tastes, flavor profiles and how their employees come into the building.”

About Sterling Hospitality

Sterling Hospitality operates Marlow’s Tavern, which offers classic American tavern fare with an upscale twist, as well as Sterling Culinary Management, which specializes in creating on-site restaurant and café options for the corporate dining industry; Market Street Café, a corporate café concept located in the Prominence Tower building; and the Woodall which serves a globally inspired take on contemporary favorites. In 2020, Sterling Culinary Management was named 36^th out of 50 top food service companies by Restaurant Business. For more information, visit marlowstavern.com and sterlingculinarymanagement.com.

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