Bringing home the bacon

It looks like a sparse lunch crowd on a lazy, rainy weekend at the Blue Bacon & Green Eggs restaurant cum deli. Nothing much going for the friendly and efficient staff and waiters. That would be the likely impression for those eating at the restaurant for the first time.

But in the kitchen, it’s a heady mix of steam, sizzles and flavors as the chefs are a-buzz, whipping up orders to be picked up by well-heeled customers.

"It’s been a good six years," said BBGE founder Mike Prado, Jr. Since its opening, the restaurant has been listed as one of the top 10 restaurants of the local food critics’ circle. Not bad for Prado, who opened the businesss in 1996 without the benefit of a feasibility study and in a bad location–a residential area in Cubao.

But for Prado, a seasoned traveler (a perk he continues to enjoy in his other equally thriving business, exporting home decors and novelty items to high-end American retail shops like Saks and Nordstrom), location plays second fiddle to what really matters.

"I’ve been wined and dined by my buyers, from the posh, expensive places to the cheapest and simplest ones. And what is common about the places people keep coming back to is the food. It has to be good, interesting and new. I thought I could bring the same experience and share it with my family and friends here," he said.

BBGE opened three months after Prado made up his mind and borrowed P10 million from banks.

Although BBGE did not spend on advertising, the crowds came in.

"We had customers coming from all over Metro Manila, mostly from Greenhills-Ortigas, the exclusive villages in Quezon City, Makati and Ayala-Alabang," he said. "It was mostly word-of-mouth."

Just months after opening, BBGE expanded from a 20-seater to a 120-seater business. Today, BBGE can seat 300 people in two venues, the Courtyard and the Gazebo.

Appeal

In part, BBGE’s success could be traced to a philosophy that Prado subscribes to in all his business endeavors. "What has kept me afloat in my businesses is my adherence to the consistent pursuit of excellence through innovation, creativity and consistency in whatever I do, whether it’s a product or a service," he said.

Even with no formal training in the restaurant business, Prado worked with his chefs in coming out with a menu that is not like any other and hired the best staff and waiters available.

"I am meticulous when it comes to details and I am uncompromising when it comes to meeting standards. We have set a standard in fine dining. We have a reputation to protect and our customers are very discerning. They will know if we are scrimping on ingredients, for instance," said Prado.

Franchise

Now that BBGE is franchising, Prado has a feasibility study to back him up. At least five franchises will be established in Metro Manila and all are in prime locations: Greenhills, Pasig, Makati, Ayala-Alabang and Malate. Outside Metro Manila, Prado is toying with proposals to put up outlets in Metro Cebu, Davao, Baguio and the economic zones of Clark and Subic.

By next month, the first Blue Bacon Café will open at the newly-constructed E Square along Ortigas Ave.

Each of the five branches will have a different look. "It will be a theme restaurant. The one in Greenhills will have the "under the sea" look. The other themes will be "gondola"" le cirque", "fantasy fairy" and "harlequin". All the restaurants will also carry exclusive lines of collectible home decors that Prado’s company exports.

The franchise fee is a stiff P11 million.

"We will fit and equip their kitchens with the same ones that we have. We will train their people. It will be a turnkey arrangement," said Prado. To ensure that BBGE standards are not compromised, all the supplies and ingredients will come from a commissary to be put up by BBGE.

Prado is bullish about Blue Bacon Café’s prospects in the cutthroat restaurant business.

"There is demand for the kind of food and service that we offer and I am making sure we find the right partners who share our vision of staying long in the business. We need to be innovative, creative and consistent in terms of quality. That way, the chances of failure are very small and the chances of success are far greater," he said.