Ely Buendia, partners turn Makati restaurant into Sari Kitchen
MANILA, Philippines — Offshore Records executives Ely Buendia, Audry Dionisio, and Pat Sarabia have taken over a Makati restaurant in the hopes of giving diners a literal taste of home, with a tinge of nostalgia on the side.
After a year and a half of soft operations, the three musicians officially launched Sari Kitchen with a menu full of Asian comfort food and a revamped Sari Sari Bar behind the restaurant which can host an array of events.
Philstar.com exclusively spoke with Buendia, Dionisio and Sarabia to discuss how they came about taking ownership of what was previously hotpot establishment Thai Mookata and finding the right ingredients to create Sari Kitchen.
Buendia began by pointing out that customers will always have opinions about a restaurant, and that was also the case when he dined at the previous establishment under different owners.
He admitted that the first thing he noticed was that the sound system, amplifiers and monitors in the bar needed an upgrade, which became one of their priorities after taking over.
Dionisio said the initial appeal was the idea of owning a bar, having friends over and enjoying food and drinks from their own menu. This was later trumped by the notion of having space for like-minded people.
"To come here, hang out, and kill time, that was already enough, na 'Uy, this is something we can call home,'" Dionisio recalled Sarabia saying.
Creating a new space for artists was also something the three considered when taking ownership of Sari Sari Bar. Sarabia pointed out that several familiar performance venues, including Route 196 and Today x Future, have closed down after the pandemic.
"Very limited na 'yung mga spaces for artists, not just musicians," she said, joking that she had always enjoyed coming to Sari Sari Bar because it was air-conditioned, unlike many gig venues.
Sarabia said they now have the opportunity to shape the space themselves and have been listening to feedback about the food and the venue as they continue improving it.
"Now we're blessed to have the opportunity to work on it, it's a dream come true. We listen actually to what people say for opinions on the food or whatever, it's a long work in progress to perfect [it] as a space for people to feel comfortable," Sarabia also said.
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'Anything goes'
The three owners also explained why they opted to retain the "sari-sari" theme for their new restaurant.
Buendia said only a few cosmetic changes were required from the previous establishment, adding they loved the concept of "sari-sari" where "anything goes" and "the sky's the limit."
Dionisio pointed to the nostalgic associations of the term, recalling sari-sari stores where people once bought plastic balloons and bubble gum.
"When you go to a place, it's always a good feeling to be reminded of the good old days," she continued.
Sarabia joked that foreigners enjoyed the idea. "Like what Ely said, we liked it, stuck with it, because there's so much you can do with that concept as well," she said.
For Buendia, the restaurant also extends the concept of "sari-sari" as something familiar and akin to home. This led them to expand the menu from being exclusively Thai to other Asian cuisines, including Filipino and Chinese dishes.
Dionisio said nostalgia also applies to music, with people returning to songs from the '70s and '80s, just as food can remind them of their mother or grandmother's cooking.
Apart from upgrading the sound system in the hidden bar, one of the biggest changes the three made was replacing the metal tables and chairs with mismatched furniture to give the restaurant a more homey feel.
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