Right location, market identification vital in making resto business successful
The key to a restaurant’s longevity and success is not just opening more branches and saturating the market, said Ricky Gutierrez, chief executive officer ( CEO) and co- owner of the 1771 Group of Restaurants which include Sentro 1771, Chateau 1771, Cafe 771, Side Bar and Wine Bar.
Gutierrez said positioning and creating a niche market are imperative in keeping a restaurant business successful. The 1771 group of restaurants has been in the business for the past 23 years.
“I don’t believe in saturation because it diminishes the value of your product. I believe in positioning, in creating a niche. If you are focused and positioned properly, then you create the right niche that enables a restaurant to survive. A lot of restaurants fail because they fail to identify their market. They try to be everything to everyone and that’s not the way to go about it,” Gutierrez said in an interview.
Gutierrez recently unveiled plans for the brand’s expansion and again stressed the importance of choosing the right location.
“We’re now looking for property. We’re trying to find the right location, for the Café, we plan to bring it to Fort Bonifacio and Salcedo. For Sentro, we plan to bring it to Ortigas and Quezon City. We’re talking to Ayala for certain locations and waiting for them to turn over the location. We’re also talking to the Ortigas for an outlet. The thing is we don’t want to hurry. The reason why I don’t hurry is because haste makes waste, when you are in a hurry, the tendency is for you not to get the right location. But if you stay cool, you can negotiate the right location,” Gutierrez said.
“I also believe we have a strong brand and we have a following. The locations has to be on target.” he added.
Vicky Rose Pacheco, co-owner, COO and executive head chef of 1771 Group of Restaurants, agreed with Gutierrez about the importance of creating a niche market.
Sentro 1771, may only have two branches, Serendra and Greenbelt 3, but it is a story of success and longevity. Likewise with Chateau 1771 (Greenbelt 5) Cafe 1771 (Ortigas). Sentro recently celebrated its 10 years in the business.
Pacheco attributes this to Sentro’s loyal base of customers and of course, the trailblazing cuisine which has been defined as modern Filipino.
Sentro 1771 pioneered in the very famous sinigang na corned beef, short ribs and beef boneless shanks with vegetables in sour tamarind broth, in which the soup’s sourness can be adjusted depending on the taste of the customers.
“We have dishes that people keep coming back. We have regular guests that come back, balikbayans. They come back once a week, once a month, every two or three years, we recognize them,” said Pacheco, who come from the illustrious family of food connoisseurs.
Pacheco is the eldest grandchild of Teresita “Mama Sita Reyes” of the famous Aristocrat restaurant, the daughter of Dona Engracia Reyes, the mother of Filipino cooking.
The name Mama Sita has always been associated with genuine delicious food.
Vicky has pioneered with her own dishes that she introduced at Sentro, particularly sinigang na corned beef, which is her invention.
She said Filipinos will always come back for home-grown Filipino comfort food. Pacheco is specially delighted that Pinoys are open to cuisines that are slightly different from the usual.
“For Sentro, they keep coming back for the sinigang na corned beef, crispy pata, the galunggong fillets in olive oil, the tomato kesong puti salad. For Chateau 1771, they like the Raclette, the tomato cheese fondue, the pasta chorizo and the steaks. For the Cafe they like breakfast,” Pacheco said.
Pacheco counted perseverance as a factor why the 1771 restaurants are loyally patronized.
“Not everyday is a good day but still we have to put up with the same standards. We try to keep customers happy, even though they’re not coming back, we still try to reach out to them,” she said.
Pacheco admitted that it’s easier to capture the palate of foreigners than that of Pinoys, but still glad that Pinoys are more open to different tweaks in the beloved Filipino cuisine.
“Actually for me, mas madaling !nin ang taste ng foreigners. It’s hard with the Pinoys but I know what they like, they like crispy pata, they know how to prepare it, and favor a certain taste. Like adobo, there are a thousand ways to prepare it. We get comments like ba it a!nti lang ang sabaw sa adobo and I understand because they remember a particular cooking from their childhood, it’s about culture and their upbringing really,” shared Pacheco.
“The Filipino food comes in different forms but the taste is there but slightly different. At Sentro, we have dishes that might look Vietnamese, but taste Filipino, “Pacheco said.
Gutierrez, for his part, said they will never be complacent about the way things are at their restaurants.
“We’re very OC (obsessive compulsive). When it comes to the food, we don’t compromise our value. we don’t set up something just to make money. It’s a work of art, we strive for excellence and perfection,” Gutierrez said.