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IHOP leads wave of new foreign restos in PHL
IHOP is coming to town. The well-known US pancake chain is only one of several foreign restaurant brands that are arriving in the Philippines, drawn by growth in the economy.
“We are planning to open 12 (restaurants) next year, some of which are new brands that we'll bring in from overseas,” Archie Rodriguez, president and chief operating officer Filipino-owned restaurant chain operator Global Restaurant Concepts Inc., said in an interview at the opening of California Pizza Kitchen, another of the brands testing Filipinos' appetites for new flavors.
Rodriguez said they want a January roll-out for the first Philippine branches of US-based IHOP (formerly The International House of Pancakes), Seoul-based Korean-Italian restaurant Mad for Garlic, and Japan-based Yukaku.
“There is an opportunity for us to expand. The economy is growing well, we want to grow with it,” he noted.
The new brands will likely rise alongside the newly opened California Pizza Kitchen in Global Restaurant's own building in Global City
Global Restaurant now operates 13 restaurants under four brands. Specifically, 10 branches of NASDAQ-listed California Pizza Kitchen; one branch each of US-based P.F. Chang's China Bistro and One Orchard; and an ice cream cafe carrying brands of London-based Morelli’s Gelato.
Finding a marketing partner
Global Restaurant is also looking at expanding outside Metro Manila. Only one of its stores, a California Pizza Kitchen in Harbor Point, Olongapo City, is outside the capital region.
“We are seriously looking at Iloilo, Davao and Sta. Rosa [in Laguna],” Rodriguez said, adding that two branch openings may happen in these locations next year.
The company is also eyeing the restaurant scene in Cebu and Cagayan de Oro.
“The most important thing to consider when going locally is finding a good marketing partner,” Rodriguez noted.
“There are differences in taste from one region to another, and it is important to know and take advantage of that,” he said.
Along with “... quality food and service, this is the key to staying afloat in the food business, ” Rodriguez added.
“The market is expanding, but so is competition. This – and with rental rates skyrocketing – puts pressure for you to become a better operator and be the 'go back to' place,” he noted.
Wanting an original brand
Asked about plans to starting an original brand, Rodriguez said, “That's something that we want to do in the future.
“Building your own brand requires a lot of hard work. You have to find the right chef to formulate the menu and come up with a marketing strategy,” he added.
Rodriguez is keen on opening his own Filipino restaurant. “I want a Filipino concept to complement our existing brands. That is something that I really want to do in the near future.”
Global Restaurant will wrap-up its 2012 expansion when it opens a P.F. Chang branch in the Global Restaurant building on Wednesday, the company noted in a statement. — VS/HS, GMA News
