Restaurants, real estate: Alden Richards shares how he grows money amid showbiz uncertainty
MANILA, Philippines — Actor Alden Richards has a lot of things on his plate, and not just in a literal sense when it comes to food especially as he helps manage a restaurant franchise, just one of the business ventures he has entered in the past few years.
Talent manager and content creator Ogie Diaz got the chance to talk with Alden for his YouTube channel by paying a visit to Concha's Garden Cafe — the restaurant franchise Alden co-owns — in Cavite.
After some brief banters, Ogie asked Alden's intentions to open up a branch in Metro Manila, and the actor expressed interest, however, he admitted he and fellow partners were still reeling from the effects of having to close their Quezon City branch in the middle of the pandemic.
"'Yung memories at gatherings na nangyari doon, mga tao na napasaya ng food at experience, doon ako nalulungkot [at] 'yun ang pinaka-heartbreak[ing]," Alden shared. "Pero wala tayong choice, kailangan tanggapin kasi nga mas magiging malaki 'yung damage kapag pinilit pa namin."
While there are plans to open branches in the capital region, the focus at the moment are cities in provinces particularly in the northern parts of the Philippines.
Alden commended the ongoing success of Concha's four current branches and owed a lot of it to the food.
"Siguro ang naging strength talaga namin is, more than the ambience, people, staff, and crew, is really the food since pagkain 'yung champion namin dito, doon tayo nag-concentrate," Alden added, expressing gratitude for his co-partners who he says are hands-on for new recipes and maintaining the quality of signature dishes.
The actor explained he entered the food business because he loves to eat, "May business man na papasukin, why not food business since mahilig akong kumain?" He can cook well enough on his own with a recipe to follow, but rarely does he cook from scratch
There was a time where Alden was asked if a dish at Concha's would be named after him, something he gave a lot of thoughts on.
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"Sabi ko 'Yes Concha's is under my name, kilala siya because of the Alden Richards brand, pero when it comes to the food gusto ko magkaroon ng sariling identity 'yung pagkain na hindi kailangan ipangalan sa akin,'" Alden said. "'Yung lasa ang magiging factor para matandaan siya ng tao, hindi dahil may Alden sa pangalan ng food."
Alden also owns a McDonald's branch in Biñan, Laguna, has entered the build-and-sell business, and put up the production company Myriad which does live events, co-productions, and e-sports.
"Pina-realize sa'kin na pagpapasok sa isang negosyo, siguro ang dapat unahang iisipin ay mahal mo ba magiging business mo? Ako mahal ko ang pagkain, ang gaming, alam ko ang nitty-gritty at field niyan," Alden explained.
The actor acknowledges that even with so much on his mind, he knows there are still a lot of things he could do.
"Hindi sa anong hindi pa nagagawa, pero ano pa ang puwedeng gawin... Kapag may opportunity na tingin ko kaya ko naman na bago sa akin, pinapasok ko 'yun," Alden ended. — Video from Ogie Diaz's YouTube channel
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