Interview with Mr. Dino Juan of Pier One

It was five minutes before 4'oclock in the afternoon, I arrived at the Pier One in The Fort, my appointment with Mr. Dino Juan is at 4pm. He is one of the founders of Pier One. He told me that they weren't expecting that Pier One would be this big. It started out in a drinking session outside their townhouse, they would bring out long tables outside, some were in charge of the food, and others were in charge of the music and the drinks. All of them were entrepreneurs who enjoy drinking. One night the son of Henry Sy, Herbert joined them and said, "Since you know how to cook good food, enjoys drinking, why don't you just put up a bar!" They realized it was a good idea because if they put up their own bar, they drink there; the money goes back to the restaurant. So they decided to push through with the idea.

S: What was your first step in this exciting venture?
D: We started looking for a the perfect location, because we knew that location is very crucial for a restaurant. There was a time when we inquired in The Fort if we can put up a branch there, the foreign consultants rejected us because they though it was a "beer house". The first branch opened in Libis,it was a successbut it closed down because it was causing too much traffic in C-5, so we relocated at The Fort, that time the foreign consultants were replaced by the Filipino consultants, who were the ones who invited us to put up a branch in The Fort because they found out that since the opening of Pier One in Libis, it was always in the top three resto bar in manila for the largest beer sales. Pier One in The Fort was another huge success. All the branches of Pier One through out Manila are doing well until now.

S: What is the market that Pier One caters to?
D: Pier One catersto people who want to enjoy, drink beer, eat good food that you can pronounce, and have clean fun. This people want value for their money , the young urban professionals, the corporate group, the wannabes (wanna be young again).

S: What do you think is the reason why people keep coming back to Pier One?
D: One of reason is that we have strict rules on maintaning a happy crowd, if the bouncers notice that your about to create trouble, they will kick out you out no matter what your surname is, they wont be in favor just because you spend a lot in the restaurant, or a son of a somebody. We also have a strict rule on under age drinking, even if your father is the one who's buying you a drink.

S: What were the strategies you used to maintain the market?
D: We are price sensitive. People will notice if you change your price by one peso. We also found out that music bands in resto bars were a hit, so we scheduled music bands every Monday till Thursdays, this is for the enjoyment of the older crowd, or the corporate crowd. We also have a raffle once a year, if you consume a bucket of beer; you will have a chance to win a trip for foour to Boraca. We also have promos like when you buy a case of beer, you get free sisig.

S: How was the management of Pier One?
D: We already have waiters that are now in the main office doing office work. The management values the sincerity and hard work these waiters show. They started out as a waiter then become a bartender then cashier, now their in the management. A lot of our staff that resigned are now in abroad, most agencies would easily hire you, if they find out you came from Pier One
because they know the management of Pier One maintains hard working staff.

S: What is your best-seller in you menu?
D: We were not expecting of all the dishes in our menu, the sisg would become the best-seller. Knowing that the sisig has a lot of cholesterol, we decided to toast it so that the oil would dry up, the result was the famous Crispy Sisig. We process six tons of sisig a month.

S: What is your advice for future entrepreneurs?
D: They should be prepare for hard work, and do not get high on your own supply, meaning if you give away your food to your friends that is suppose to be your customers, no money will return, no business transaction. Lastly, you should always take care of your customers.