At the crack of dawn, the San Francisco fog rolled in as temperatures dropped to 40 degrees Farenheit. Bracing himself against gusty winds of biting cold, a young boy donned a skiing mask, zipping up a blue hooded parka to keep warm. Uphill and downhill he went, pedalling on a bicycle piled with newspapers. While most of his classmates were sound asleep in their warm beds, 14-year-old Charlemagne Chua Lim was already up and about delivering newspapers. His daily route covered four Bay Area villages.
During the rainy season, he was required to put the papers inside plastic bags and secure them individually with rubber bands. “This made my workload longer and harder. My mom would often wake up to help me out because she knew how anxious I was about completing my deliveries on time.”
So determined was Charlemagne to keep his job that he would not let anything, not even accidents, get in the way. One day, while delivering papers, the handlebar of his bike broke and he came crashing down the road with the huge and heavy load he was carrying. Unfazed by his fall, he ran to more than a hundred houses, with newspapers hanging in front and at the back of his body. He refused to miss his 6 a.m. delivery deadline in a job he kept for two years. On top of that exhausting ordeal, he still had to go back to the place where he left his broken bike and carry the entire thing all the way home. For one starting so young in the challenging game of life, his sense of determination and responsibility was very deeply rooted.
Today, Charlemagne, 34, owns Little Asia, a nine-year-old restaurant that has three branches in the metro. But surely, there’s more to him than the extensive menu of sumptuous Asian dishes he serves at his restaurants.
God blessed him with such wonderful parents and grandparents. “My dad Charlie Lim was a restaurateur while my mom Teresita Lim was the manager.” Sadly his dad passed away when Charlemagne was 11. “My mom was in the US when that happened, so she decided to stay there and look for a job so she could support me and my siblings.”
Charlemagne was born and raised in the Philippines but migrated to San Francisco when he was 12. He finished grade school in the US. He then returned to the Philippines and finished third and fourth year high school at St. Stephen in Manila. For college, he went to the College of St. Benilde and majored in Human Resource Management.
After college he went to the States for vacation but ended up working as a dishwasher at In-N-Out burger. He also swept floors, cleaned restrooms, diced and peeled vegetables.
Charlemagne recalls that when his father was still alive, he always reminded him to study hard, be ambitious and always be protective of his baby sister. In obedience to his late father’s wishes, Charlemagne was a consistent dean’s lister. He also won the outstanding thesis award and received a gold medal on his college graduation.
“My dad’s mother, Tiu Siok Tin, was the one who took care of us while my mom was abroad. My mom and grandma taught me so many values while growing up. My mom taught me to be humble, polite and respectful, to know how to save money, to be hardworking, to be good and fair to our employees, to be charitable to the less fortunate, to respect a girl and never to swear or lay a hand on her. She also taught me not to be materialistic, to be appreciative of what we have. But the most important value she imparted to her children is that the three of us should always be close to one another and never ever fight each other.”
“I learned from my grandmother what true sacrifice was. Growing up I have seen how she devoted her life rearing us like her real children. She stood as father and mother to me and my siblings, making sure we were growing up healthy, studying diligently and inculcating in us traditional Chinese values and virtue. It was because of her that I was inspired to work hard so that I, too, can one day provide for my siblings.”
Yet it was his grandfather Vicente’s delicious crispy chicken recipe, which has now become known as Little Asia’s “crispy chicken,” that inspired Charlemagne to open up Little Asia restaurant. “If it wasn’t for his recipe, I will not have thought of venturing in the restaurant business. So I am very thankful to him.”
He is also most grateful to his business partner, mentor and friend Nelson Manabat, who gave him his break in the restaurant business. They have also been in the business of producing major concerts since 1994.
He says he is meticulous in running the restaurant. His siblings are involved in the business, too. His brother Charlson, 32, is in charge of the kitchen and inventories. His sister Charlynn, 30, is in charge of accounting and human resources management.
“The three of us, when we were babies until we went to college, slept in one king-size bed and stayed in one room all together with our grandmother. This is the very reason why we remain very close to each other,” he recalls.
My work mantra is “If you want to have something done, you better do it yourself.” I also learned that every problem that you encounter always has a solution. Work becomes fun because the three of us get to talk to each other every day.”
His first business venture was a liquor store in Quezon City. But because of bad location, he had to close the store.
When Little Asia first opened in Tomas Morato, Quezon City, he was so determined to succeed. “I had to make it because my lifesavings, my own career, my two siblings’ careers included were all on the line. During the first one and a half years of Little Asia, I was the first person in and the last one out. I was the one who locked up the doors every night. I was working seven days a week with no breaks and day offs. I was literally eating and breathing work. All the sacrifices eventually paid off.”
When their second branch in Promenade, Greenhills opened, Charlemagne stayed awake for two straight days and worked every day until the operations became smooth. They opened their third branch in Venice in McKinley Hill in Fort Bonifacio. Also, they are into catering now (0917-8334223).
Charlemagne’s other passions include fitness and basketball. He is the MVP of his St. Stephen’s alumni team. He also imports, distributes and sells supplements, which are currently available in Little Asia.
Despite the many challenges he has encountered, his faith has remained strong. He visits Baclaran Church every Wednesday for the past 16 years.
“I always light up candles and make wishes. I always pray for the safety of my family, the health of my mom, the success of our business, for God to watch over our employees and customers,” he concludes.
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