On a roll
Credit to Author: ANNA CAYCO| Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2019 16:18:58 +0000
“I never binge-watched when I was in college,” 25-year-old Milka Romero admits. “I just learned how to do it now.”
If, during her days at the Ateneo de Manila University, Milka had no time to station herself in front of a computer watching television show and films for hours, that’s because she led a not-so-ordinary student life. In the morning, she would train with the women’s football team as its captain, then hit the books for her management economics degree. And as if that wasn’t enough, she would hop over to oversee her Japanese restaurant, Roku Sushi + Ramen, right across campus in Oracle Hotel, owned by her mother, Sheila Romero.
Six years later, Milka remains just as busy, more so now as managing director of Roku Group, which handles restaurants, Roku Sushi + Ramen, Sushi Nori and Narra Thai and Asian.
While young girls were playing with toy appliances, Milka grew up with professional gas stoves and convection ovens. After all, her mother Sheila, a household name in the restaurant industry, had tucked several food enterprises under her belt since 1993, including the Mediterranean Azzurro Bistro and Wine Bar in Legaspi Village in Makati City.
It was only a matter of time for Milka to decide what kind of restaurant she wanted to put up. While still working for her undergraduate degree, her journey as a restaurateur intensified because of a heightened sense of customer insight on Japanese cuisine at the time.
She recalls: “Back then [2012], there was no Japanese restaurant in terms of quality and affordability.” Most affordable Japanese restaurants of the day were selling mere Westernized versions of Japanese food such as chicken teriyaki, pork tonkatsu or California Maki rolls.
And so, Roku Sushi + Ramen saw the light. Until now, it is still frequented by students and families, who seek a fresh and reasonably priced take on Japanese cuisine.
Roku’s decadent sushi rolls are an unlikely but daring combination of ingredients like the Dream Roll — tempura-battered salmon, imitation crab and cream cheese or their Sailboat Roll — a spicy tuna roll topped with a crispy wanton. Even their Apple Pie Gyoza — a deep-fried dumpling oozing with a warm, sweet, apple filling — is a union of traditional American and Japanese flavors.
The mother-daughter duo had split the duties of handling their new venture along Katipunan Avenue (now known as C.P. Garcia) in Quezon City, with Sheila mentoring her offspring in the essentials such as accounts and operations, and Milka specializing in branding and social media marketing.
“It’s the little details that count,” she emphasizes. Social media marketing for her is more than posting digital advertisements for Facebook and Instagram users to see, but also engaging with a new community of millennial patrons. “Just a simple comment can go a long way. As a customer, you’re being heard and that’s what gets us regular and loyal customers.”
Being entrusted with hefty responsibilities at a very young age was indeed commendable, but it was also a double-edge sword for Milka. It proved challenging for her to be a superior, whose team members were often older than she was. There was also the pressure to prove her worth, not only to herself but also to her employees. She admits: “I needed more self-confidence to become a leader at a young age. And that was difficult because it was so scary, di ba [right]?
“During those times, I would make a lot of mistakes.” Then, she had to pass on certain tasks, often involving negotiating with her workers, to her more seasoned mother. Her mother’s advice: To be a boss of a company is also to be a teacher of your employees.
Milka’s dimension as a student did not hinder her as a restaurateur, but provided that boost of self-confidence she badly needed. Insights culled from management classes combined with her determination to grow a thriving food and beverage concern have resulted in the confident yet grounded entrepreneur she is today.
Milka says: “You need to be confident about what you’re teaching. The more I learned about something, the more I could be sure this was the right thing. You can’t just talk the talk.
“Back then, it seemed like I was just playing around. But upon reflection, I learned so much more than just theories. I was able to make a sustainable business!”
Milka’s passion for quality but affordable Japanese food has not been confined to Loyola Heights in Quezon City, but has expanded across Metro Manila. She opened her sophomore venture Sushi Nori, an on-the-go sushi joint for students and yuppies in 2015. Inspired by similar stores in cities like Tokyo, New York and London, Milka says: “You don’t need to sit down and read the menu for too long. Just order one sushi roll for yourself.” Indeed, another one of Sushi Nori’s outstanding features is its colorful yet well-organized menu, which sorts the rolls by price and type.
Although she continues to operate Roku Sushi + Ramen with her mother, Sushi Nori is where Milka truly took her leap from the nest and flew solo. No longer is she afraid to lead her team, which mans six branches around the city, as well as an outpost in the popular surfing town of Siargao, Surigao del Norte. In the meantime, her mother handles their franchise of the popular Narra Thai and Asian.
Not a working day passes by without Milka visiting one or two of her sushi joints to catch up with her employees and show them the ropes, echoing her mother’s earlier advice of being a role model. “It shows that you care about the brand. When you’re an entrepreneur, you’re a project manager, contractor, accountant, chef and a marketing officer. So, [I do] all of that within the day!”
Now a five-year veteran in the service industry, is Milka exhausted?
On the contrary, she is exhilarated, saying: “Every day is another challenge I want to encounter… [My] responsibility is to give my customers something new.”
Filipinos are served a smorgasbord of new restaurants every year, raising the difficulty for these outlets to entice the hungry diner into their premises. But that doesn’t seem like a hurdle for Milka and her growing group of restaurants.
She still has two new restaurant concepts up her sleeve for this year: A Filipino dessert café, Yelo Yelo — a play on the beloved Filipino summer treat halo-halo — and a
Hong Kong-inspired bar, Ms. Gee — “because to spell the name is MSG.”
In addition, the sushi restaurateur will be taking classes in the sushi capital itself, Tokyo, sometime this year. She says: “I’ve been there to do a few short courses, but this one is a bit longer, so I’m excited talaga (I’m really excited).”
Armed with an insatiable desire to do business — her father happens to be colorful businessman and politician Mikee Romero — and an unlimited supply of energy, there is no doubt that Milka Romero is following her parents’ footsteps while making her own entrepreneurial mark.
She, however, has to get over being shy about discussing the achievements she’s chalked up on her journey as a restaurateur. Milka says she would rather the spotlight shine on her establishments, not on her. For this young lady, her eye is definitely on the prize.
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