ronald and ronnie: a deep friendship forged through a shared journey (part 1) RONALD BURGOS is 42 years old and single. RONNIE DUYONGAN is five years older at 47, has been married for seventeen years and has two kids; a son age 16 and a daughter age 10. Ronald comes from a middle-class family while Ronnie was raised in more modest circumstances by his mother. Both were born and raised in Bacolod City but didn’t know each other until 2003. Their respective personal circumstances prior to that made it highly unlikely that their paths would ever converge. They were then in their twenties. Ronald was a few months shy of his twenty-second birthday. With a baccalaureate degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management from La Consolacion College, he was eager to try his luck in the real world. In fact, he had already sent out job applications to several hospitality establishments in the continental United States and Canada. Though he hasn’t received a reply from any of them, he remained optimistic. Meanwhile, Ronnie, who was nearing thirty, had been operating a makeshift barbecue stall across the road from the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City. It barely made enough to support him and his mother. School breaks are dreaded times because they meant zero sales. He works hard to make an honest living. He gets up early each morning to buy the meat portions he needs, works through midday to prepare them, then grills and sells them from midafternoon to dusk. He often wondered if he would ever get the chance to have a better life. It was something that he constantly yearned and prayed for At that point, Ronald and Ronnie had only one thing in common aside from being born and raised in Bacolod City: both were in search of their own proverbial place in the sun. Neither one could have imagined that it would become a shared journey in which they would, in the process, also forge a deep friendship. It was the summer of 2003 when they met at JT’s Manukan Grille at Granada St. in New Manila, Quezon City. They were the first hires of its owners, multi-awarded actor Joel Torre and his wife Cristy, who also hails from Bacolod City. This first branch of what eventually became a food chain was not even intended as a dining place. The original plan was quite modest. A take-out counter for chicken Inasal (Hiligaynon for roasted or grilled meat) in a space made available to the couple by the Vera-Perez family at their Sampaguita Pictures compound.

the heart (and humanity) of a successful food venture Entrepreneur RIA LAUS PUNO CORONEL hails from Pampanga. Now in her forties, she is both proud and grateful for what she has accomplished in her personal and professional life. She and husband Alex will soon celebrate twenty-five years of married bliss. They are blessed with twokids, daughter Alexandra (21) and son Alexander (18). They own a logistics company and also have equity in a number ofcommercial food ventures. Aside from husband and business partner, Ria also regards Alex, who is thirteen years her senior, as a mentor. Asked to elaborate on their respective roles in their business ventures, she explained that he is mainly responsible for strategy and policy, while she takes care of execution and management. Ria attributes the success of this arrangement to the fact that their decision-making process is based on mutual respect. We sat down with Ria one rainy afternoon last October and had a fascinating conversation about her lifelong romance with food. For this she credits her mother, who belongs to the prominent Laus clan of San Fernando City in Pampanga. What could partly account for this is the fact that Ria is the eldest and only girl among five siblings. Their family owns the Hungry Neighbors restaurant, which features a Western-Asian fusion menu. As in the case of many Kapampangans who are much renowned for their local cuisine, they parlayed their passion for good food (they love cooking for family and friends) into a lucrative commercial venture. The resto has gotten consistently good reviews since it first opened in Angeles City, Pampanga in 2015. It remains a favorite among foodies, especially among their Cabalens; it now has severalbranches, the latest along popular food avenue Tomas Morato in Quezon City. Ria is also a franchisee of JT’s Manukan Grille. She opened her first store in Bacolor, Pampanga in 2017, followed in the same year by another branch at the Caltex Drive and Dine along the southbound portion of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) in Valenzuela City. The former is a 50-seater with seven staff, the latter is an eighty-seater with seventeen. She is looking forward to opening another store before Holy Week of 2024 at the northbound portion of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) in Dau, Pampanga. The year 2017 was certainly a significant one for Ria, a watershed, as it were. Their family experienced a major crisis when her mother suffered from a brain aneurism. It was also auspicious, as it was the same year that she became a part of the JT’s Manukan Grille family. Her fondest memory of that time was the day when her mother was discharged from thehospital after her convalescence at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). On the drive home from the hospital, they drove by the newly opened JT’s Manukan Grille at Bacolor. The mother’s recovery, and her wholehearted approval for the new food venture, was a moment of rapture for the daughter with whom she shared a passion for good food. For Ria, the roll out of her first JT’s Manukan Grille was personal, describing it as something akin to giving birth to a child. Prior to 2017, Ria, her husband and their two kids were already regular diners at the first ever JT’s Manukan Grille at Granada St. in San Juan City. With her “educated” palate, she recognized the quality of the food. But more than that, what really impressed her and made her a regular was the total dining experience. It is that “thing” that would – without even being aware of it – make an ordinary person come back, and what a genuine foodie would immediately recognize and truly appreciate. In this particular instance, the word Ria chose to describe it was spot-on. “Authentic.”

ronald and ronnie: a deep friendship forged through a shared journey (part 2) Ronald didn’t know Joel Torre personally but was referred by his aunt, a friend of the actor. He was hired as a dishwasher, his first job fresh out of college. While he was excited to start this new chapter in his life, the people closest to him were not as enthusiastic. Two decades later, Ronald still felt the sting of his father’s words. With a pained look on his face, he shared what his father had said: “Bakit dyan ka sa ihaw-ihaw lang?” This sentiment was shared by the dean at La Consolacion College, whom Ronald looked up to as a mentor. He recalls that dean even reached out to him, not once but twice, to offer him a teaching job at the college. The young man, however, stuck to his decision and would later be vindicated. It was more personal for Ronnie as he and the actor were already friends, and he was the latter’s choice to man the grill at the new food venture. Heaven has finally answered Ronnie’s prayers. Being friends with Joel Torre mattered to Ronnie, not so much because Torre was a movie star, but because the friendship is authentic. Already a famous actor, Torre would still visit Ronnie and hang out at his modest home. There was one time that he didn’t have to open his barbecue stall because Torre had consumed and paid for his entire inventory for the day while having a few drinks at his house. Torre also knew how close Ronnie was to his mother. If Ronnie was to join his food venture in Manila, it would mean that for the first time their lives, mother and son would be apart from each other. He didn’t have to, but Torre went out of his way to talk to the mother and ask for her blessing to take her son to Manila. “Parang namanhikan,” recalls a visibly amused Ronnie. Aboard the ship bound for Manila, Ronnie was moved to tears as the reality hit – his mother would be left alone in Bacolod City. They would be reunited several years later when she became ill. Torre immediately decided to have her brought to Manila for medical treatment and shouldered the costs. She died of breast cancer in 2007.  Ronald and Ronnie’s first day at work was on Labor Day of 2003, part of an entire staff complement of six. It would turn out to be their baptism of fire. To mark the soft opening of JT’s Manukan Grille at Granada St., couple Joel and Cristy Torre would be hosting lunch for invited guests. Based on the schedule, the staff would probably be done by mid-afternoon at the latest. They started work at 7:00 am. Everything was on schedule and lunch was served. There were latecomers but that was expected, so the work continued. So far, so good. Fast forward several hours later, it was already sundown and people were still arriving. Lunch had turned to dinner. The staff was falling behind and was in danger of getting overwhelmed. Joel and Cristy, as well as his brother-in-law, joined the line, cooking and grilling alongside the staff. By the evening of the first day of JT’s Manukan Grille, it was operating with “all hands on deck,” including the owners. Everything seemed like a blur, then the pace eventually started to wind down and wrapped up past midnight. (To Be Continued)      

ronald and ronnie: a deep friendship forged through a shared journey (part 3) Ronald, Ronnie and the entire staff were exhausted. Yet they were also euphoric as they realized they had accomplished an extraordinary feat, something they never imagined they were capable of. In retrospect, they also witnessed on their first day at work a demonstration of genuine leadership by the owners, Joel and Cristy. The kind of leadership that inspires people to show up every day and do their best because it tells them: “It’s ok, I’ve got your back.” The experience had turned out to be a blessing. Things would be hectic at Granada St., especially on weekends, as more diners discovered the delectable spread offered by the small food place tucked away at a quiet part of the city. Thus, it had become second nature for the staff to fill in at an area that was short-handed so they don’t fall behind on the orders. Ronald would spend the next three years at Granada St., working his way up to being a waiter, cashier and eventually supervisor. Ronnie would man the kitchen for the same period, before both transferred to the commissary. Ronald eventually became head of admin while Ronnie headed up the central kitchen. Before they first met twenty years ago, Ronald and Ronnie were going through their own struggles, and both were yearning and praying for a better life. Both their prayers seemed to have been answered. Ronald admitted that over the years, he would at times wonder what could’ve been if one his job applications to the continental United States and Canada yielded positive results. But he has no regrets and is happy how things have turned out for him. He has even realized his dream of travelling to a foreign land. In 2019, He was sent by JT’s Manukan Grille to open its store in Guam and has also been on a visit to friends in the US mainland. Ronnie is grateful for the life that he now has. It is certainly a long way off from that makeshift roadside barbecue stall in Bacolod City. He has also grown professionally, having been responsible for developing the recipes for many of the dishes on the menu of JT’s Manukan Grille. His latest was the “Batchoy,” which remains a bestseller. They now also view the struggles they went through two decades ago in a positive light – a learning moment. The painful putdown of Ronald by those he looked up to for his decision to work at an “ihaw-ihaw,” and the hand-to-mouth existence that Ronnie had to endure, had inspired both to empower the younger people they now work with. They had become mentoring partners. Ronald would at times tease Ronnie of his gentle handling of their younger colleagues by always prefacing his advice with the caveat not to take offense. Ronnie’s playful reply would be to point out that Ronald was equally guilty for occasionally cooking for the younger staff. Before they met, they didn’t have much in common except for having their roots in Bacolod City and were both in search for their place in the sun. What they have now is so much more. They had shared a journey to a better life, a deep and life-long friendship and a common desire to empower their younger colleagues for their own journey through life.