Oh, brother!

They’re scoring big with burgers nowIt took years for professional basketball coach Eric Altamirano to get a franchise of Brothers’ Burger. And when he finally did, he gathered his close friends to make his business dream become a reality.

"Eric had been badgering the management of Brothers’ Burger for a franchise for the past two years. But at that time they did not want to go into franchising, not wanting to add branches to their first store in the Philippines," says Eric’s wife Marissa (nee Beltran). "We are really believers of Brothers’ products. We love their food."

Luck finally smiled on the Altmirano couple when one day in 2001, they read in the papers that yes, Brothers’ Burgers was finally offering franchising.

Eric wasted no time in sending in his application. And in August last year, along with PBA player Benjie Paras and four other partners, Brothers’ Burger opened along Libis. Brothers’ provided the group with a well-trained staff and management crew whom Marissa describes as very loyal.

"I agreed right away to become part-owner because I am a frequent customer of the Meralco branch. Why not own a franchise of my favorite burger house?" says Benjie, who'se almost always the resto’s first customer.

Business has been good so far, despite the fact that their branch is located between two popular hamburger chains.

In a short time, Brothers’ Libis has established regular patrons, including a tycoon’s daughter who usually arrives at dinnertime with her two sons in tow. Delivery orders also make up the bulk of their sales, especially from the nearby subdivisions and the Cubao area.

Brothers’ Burgers is open from 10 a.m. to midnight on Sundays to Thursdays and until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Marissa says that the burgers are still their best sellers, especially the half-pounder Big Brothers’ Burger. The secret, she adds, is not just in the beef but in the toppings, too.

They also highly recommend their rich chocolate chips, pasta, shakes (chocolate, vanilla and strawberry) which are made of pure ice cream, fries that are definitely thicker in cut than what other burger chains offer and the Brothers’ Cheese Steak gourmet sandwich, made of tenderloin tips smothered with cream cheese garlic.