Class photo with happy children and teachers

The Heart of Our Restaurant

It all began in Christchurch, New Zealand where an autism specialist and a chef met, and fell in love. Sarang Kitchen is a new social enterprise Korean restaurant based in Toronto, and our mission is to break down the employment barriers faced by the neurodivergent community.

The people in the photo are why we do what we do - my class of 4 years in Waitaha School. Our goal is to bring Sarang Kitchen back to Christchurch, New Zealand so that my students will have access to meaningful employment after they leave school.

Photo was posted with permission from individuals in the photo.

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A safe space for everyone

We believe in providing an inclusive environment for our staff, and the same goes for our guests. Our sensory boxes and multi-sensory room allow guests to dine in our restaurant at ease knowing that there are fidgets, weighted blankets, and noise-cancelling headphones they can use, and a sensory room they can relax in if they are feeling overstimulated or anxious.

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Our Values

Empathy: We are mindful of how we need to treat all employees and customers with respect and kindness.

Connection: We value everyone’s need for connection and we will be conscious about creating opportunities to foster the connection.

Diversity and Inclusion: We will build a culture where everyone feels like they belong. We celebrate Diversity.

Sarang Kitchen believes in equity

We follow a Hospitality Included (HI) model and discourage tipping because we believe our staff deserves pay equity and our FOH and BOH should both be compensated fairly. The revenue needed to pay them a well above minimum wage has been built into the menu items. .We also provide extended Health benefits for our staff.

Hospitality Included does not mean tips are included in the prices. How are we able to decide how much tips customers should pay and put it in our prices?

Why did we choose to follow the Hospitality Included model?

Firstly, Hospitality Included is designed to compensate the entire team (both FOH and BOH) more equitably, competitively, and professionally, and provides a clear path for career progression. Secondly, with HI in place, staff can be allocated fair compensation that is predictable from day to day, insurable insofar as it increases an employee’s government entitlements such as employment insurance, vacation pay and contributions to the Canada Pension Plan. Lastly, tipping culture is often predatory, punitive, objectifying, sexist, and racist. There is also a lack of legal guidelines when it comes to tipping.

CAN I STILL LEAVE A TIP?

We know that your generosity comes from a great place – and as a team we want you to feel great about your experience with us, and consider any number of other steps, including; returning again soon, leaving a positive review online, recommending us to a friend or family member, or just saying thank you. As much as we discourage tipping at Sarang Kitchen, sometimes our guests insist. Any money left beyond the cost of your meal will be split evenly among our entire team, based on the amount of hours they worked. These earnings are added to their paychecks and only further increase their insurable benefits.

What if I am not satisfied with the service?

Our team hopes to always make our guests happy by giving them the best dining experience. However, our customers' feedback is very important to us and we would love to know how we can improve. Sarang Kitchen will bear the responsibility if the guest experience is compromised instead of deducting the cost from the employee's wages.