Meet the chef

John C. Metz – President, Co-Founder & Executive Chef
Sterling Hospitality

With more than 28 years of restaurant and hospitality experience, John Metz knows what it takes to create, run and maintain a successful restaurant company and has done just that for the past 13 years.

Metz’s love for the restaurant business originated at a young age when he started as a dishwasher at one of his father’s restaurants, soon moving on to prep cook and eventually running the kitchen.
Metz began his education at one of the top learning institutions in the country, The Pennsylvania State University, where he received his bachelors degree in Hotel & Restaurant Management.
He then went on to pursue his culinary education by obtaining a degree from the distinguished Culinary Institute of America where he graduated at the top of his class.
Metz began his laudable career at some of the finest restaurants in New York City including The 21 Club, Tribeca Grill, Park Avenue Café, Montrachet and Della Famina’s in East Hampton.
In addition, Metz served as executive chef and executive director of research and development for Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, the franchisor for T.G.I. Friday’s, where he helped develop the brands of Italianni’s, Front Row Sports Grill and Samba Room.
In addition he headed up the research and development for Carlson’s international restaurant and business division opening restaurants in 10 countries around the world.

In 1997, Metz and partner Thomas DiGiorgio started their business with the creation of Hi Life kitchen & cocktails in Norcross. Hi Life focuses on fresh, local ingredients for a menu of reinvented American cuisine and a wine program that boasts over 50 wines by the glass.
“Hi Life put our company on the map at a time when those trends were not as developed as they are today,” says Metz.
Currently, Metz is the president, co-founder and executive chef of Sterling Hospitality. Under the umbrella of this company, Metz created, and currently operates, six locations of Marlow’s Tavern, an upscale neighborhood gathering place, and Atlanta-dining-destination Aqua blue Restaurant & Bar, which specializes in offering a unique seafood, steak and sushi experience.
In addition, Metz co-founded and operates an upscale contract foodservice company, Sterling Spoon Fresh Culinary Management, which specializes in on-site restaurant management.
This on-site food service and catering company runs corporate dining facilities for The Coca Cola Company, Global Payments, Inc., Ryla Teleservices and Cousins Properties in the Atlanta market.
Sterling Spoon offers a unique corporate dining alternative to the on-premise business cafeterias of the past by creating a full service restaurant environment inside each of the cafes it operates, adding a chef-driven culinary flair to ensure the highest quality flavor and presentation.
Metz is very involved in the industry and communities in which he operates his businesses. He serves on numerous boards in the restaurant and hospitality industry as well as many local charity organizations.
He is on the National Restaurant Association’s Board of Directors, Georgia Restaurant Association’s Board of Directors, The Atlanta Visitors and Convention Bureau’s Board of Directors and was appointed as 2007 and 2008 Chairman of the Board Distinguished Restaurants of North America (DiRNA).

In addition, he is actively involved with the Special Olympics of Georgia and Share our Strength organizations. Sterling Hospitality has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for these and other local community organizations.
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Metz’s concepts have also been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Restaurant Business magazine, Chain Leader, Atlanta magazine, Jezebel and Nation’s Restaurant News to name a few. For more information, please contact Melissa Libby & Associates at 404-816-3068 or visit the websites www.marlowstavern.com, www.aquablueatl.com, or www.sterlingspoon.com