(Photo: http://rekomendasi.me/)
How does a man who has never been in F&B business could successfully start and run a restaurant from ground up? Truth is, behind this zero-to-hero story there’s a good amount of story untold. In Rian’s case, it took him a while to bring the idea into fruition and one full year to get the fundamentals right. Here’s what happened in that time frame.
From Customer To Investor
Rian has always been a regular patron of Bebek Tepi Sawah for quite a while. The thought of taking it outside of Bali crossed over his mind, as over time, he observed that many of the famous crispy duck clientele in Ubud are fellow Jakartans. Besides, he could really save the time and expense of travelling that far to taste his favorite Balinese treat. He finally pursued it wholeheartedly and took the initiative to the owner. Odds were on his side as their family has been friends for a while. At the moment, there were many larger groups who wanted to franchise the business, however, the owner has already been comfortable with Rian. Who knew that an art transaction made years before could eventually lead to mutual business partnership.
First Thing First
The first chapter has began and you can see Rian’s focus from the earliest days is quality and consistency.
“From the beginning I also thought, if the taste cannot be the same, don’t even bother, but if it can be, let’s do it.”
And he intends to stay true to that. He had no clue about how to run a F&B business, but he looked for the right person and was fortunate to meet someone as dedicated as himself to make that happen.
He decided to start small. He believed starting small has its beauty. It allows them to run the restaurant as a tight team. As most of the food is manually done, there is no formula they can just pluck from a book and then implement. They invested a lot of time and experience in ensuring quality. Ryan himself has been dining regularly at his own restaurant up to 5 times a week because he believed that it’s the only way to maintain consistency. “Constant supervision is key”, he continues.
May 2012, the first Bebek Tepi Sawah outside of Bali was opened for public. A nightmare but also one of the most memorable day as Rian recalls. Since day one, they have been gathering inputs from customers to learn, iterate, and finally reach a certain standard of quality. The moment they found it, they stick to it.
The Next Big Thing
When asked further what he thinks about Jakarta food scene, the market and the future for Bebek Tepi Sawah, Rian believes that there will always be a market for Indonesian food.
“Our tongue has already built like that. You will always go for sambel.”
With that in mind, he planned to open a second branch soon. One of the insight he got from the customers is that people has been associating coming to Bebek Tepi Sawah as some sort of mini holiday. Responding to that, he intends to recreate the serene atmosphere of Bali in the new restaurant in Jakarta. A restful place for the mind as he envision to counter the bustling madness of The Big Durian.
Going Forward
Along with Bebek Tepi Sawah’s success, Rian sees the existence of internet and social media is influential to grow and maintain their lead. While word-of-mouth can only go as far as family and friends, internet, blogs, and social media allows stories to travel to millions of potential clients.
As the conversation nears to the end, Rian spills out five of his favorite eateries in Jakarta. As expected, Bebek Tepi Sawah is on the list. What a dedicated businessman, being a full time evangelist to his own restaurant.
Bebek Tepi Sawah may just be the first of many food ventures to come for Rian. This young, determined, and resourceful businessman is also a big foodie which made a huge plus point. Let’s see what he’s got more in store for us.
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