Hospitality alumna gives back with Metropolitain Brasserie bursary

Posted on Wednesday, January 4th, 2023

White man, white woman dressed in business clothes looking at computer in fancy lobby.

A $10,000 gift from Metropolitain Brasserie Restaurant will support 10 students studying hospitality over the next five years. The Metropolitain Brasserie Hospitality and Tourism Bursary will provide a $1,000 bursary to two students a year, one in the Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism Management program and the second in the Hospitality – Hotel and Restaurant Operations Management Diploma program.

AC alumna Sarah Chown, who co-owns the Metropolitain Brasserie Restaurant in downtown Ottawa, graduated from the Hotel and Restaurant Management program in 2002 and serves on a program advisory committee in the school of hospitality. She was the driver behind the bursary, which her business partner fully supported.

Chown says the hospitality industry needs to support students who will go to work in the industry, including through mentorship. The pandemic hit the restaurant industry particularly hard and building a pool of skilled hospitality employees should be a priority for every restaurateur, she said.

Metropolitain Brasserie Restaurant frequently employs Algonquin College students and graduates, including through co-ops and other placements. “When I see Algonquin College on a resumé, it’s an asterisk,” she said. “I know I have to give that person a shot.”

A restaurant worker since high-school, Chown credits the College with giving her the skills she needed to achieve success – and to be able to give back: “The College has always been a big part of my life. It helped instil a lot of important skills, including back-of-house knowledge and business skills that have taken me to where I am.”

The Metropolitain Brasserie Hospitality and Tourism Bursary will be awarded in the Winter term in 2023 and in the Fall term in subsequent years.


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