Cebu's business ambiance turns tourists to investors

First they came to Cebu as tourists but now Koreans are entrenched in the vast business opportunities that Cebu can offer.

Take for instance this Korean couple who took over the ownership and management of a formerly established Japanese restaurant in the city. It was just a few months ago that Korean couple Cara Lim and Sam Kang took over Sen Ryu restaurant and have been reaping the benefits since then.

 Lim and Kang considers Cebu their second home after falling in love with the city when they came as tourists a year ago and now ending up as investors in the province’s thriving business environment.

Sen Ryu, located in Salinas, Lahug is an eight-year-old Japanese restaurant, which has an established client-base who are mostly Japanese patrons as well as locals who have grown accustomed to the taste of their food.

 Lim said that they took over the restaurant from its previous Japanese owner who was not able to sustain the business due to other investments.

She said that after they took over the business, they have changed the floor plan of the restaurant as well as refurbished its interior to change its setting and ambiance.

Sen Ryu can accommodate around 70 people and it has three function rooms that can accommodate clients for corporate meetings.

“We did not think about doing business in the Philippines at first and having a restaurant business but we like the Philippines after staying here for a year,” said Lim.

Kang, who had a long experience working in a Japanese restaurant way back in Korea said that they decided to take over the business because they liked the food served at Sen Ryu and they see that it has more potential for growth being the city’s first Japanese restaurant.  

“Sen Ryu is a very famous Japanese restaurant with eight years of experience and most Japanese here in Cebu and even Filipinos know about it because the food here is very good so it’s a good opportunity to take over the business,” said Kang.

He said that they always try to stress quality customer service to their staff so that their clientele will keep coming back because aside from their food, the experience would also matter to customers.

“We want them to think of their customers as family so they should serve them the way they serve their family so that clients will always come,” he said.

Aside from investment in Cebu’s food industry, Kang and Lim are also into real estate development in fact they have just recently built a 56-room apartment building in Talamban which they have leased to a Korean English school.

He said that aside from food and real estate, they are also looking at investing in tourism by putting up a resort development somewhere in Mactan.

But Kang said that for foreigners like them, it is a bit difficult to do business in the Philippines especially because they are not allowed to own properties without partnering with a Filipino.

But despite these challenges, Kang and Lim are still looking at business potentials in Cebu especially that they are seeing that Cebu has similar patterns of developments from that of Korea.

“Here in Cebu the cost of living is lower compared to Korea and the labor is cheaper and this is a very beautiful place with beaches you can access nearby so its a very good place to stay and to do business,” said Kang.