Empower & Elevate Podcast

046: How Filipino Food Creates Community

• Marc Thomas • Episode 46

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Bringing Filipino Culture to Life Through Food | The Story of Adobo Boy

Food is more than just sustenance—it’s a connection to culture, family, and community. In this episode, we sit down with Ace Marasigan, founder of Adobo Boy, to explore how Filipino cuisine is creating meaningful cultural bridges in West Michigan.

From his childhood in Manila to his entrepreneurial journey in the U.S., Ace shares how passion, resilience, and authenticity have fueled his dream of bringing traditional Filipino flavors to a wider audience. He dives into the challenges of running a restaurant, from pop-up events to securing a permanent location, all while staying true to his roots.

This episode isn’t just about food—it’s about family, risk-taking, and building a legacy. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a food lover, or someone chasing a dream, Ace’s story is packed with insights and inspiration.

💬 What’s your favorite comfort food, and how does it connect you to your roots? Let us know in the comments!

🔔 Subscribe for more episodes on leadership, culture, and entrepreneurship.

Ace Marasigan on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/acemarasigan

Adobo Boy Website:
https://adoboboygr.com

Adobo Boy on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/AdoboBoyGR

Adobo Boy on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/adoboboygr

Adobo Boy on TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@adobo.boy

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Speaker 1:

And so an opportunity came in 2003. My friend at the restaurant is looking for partners or people to just kind of help him have a space. And then so I decided to say like hey, I'm going to do it with my wife and alongside with some of our friends. So we did like a pop up restaurant for a whole year with some of our friends. That exists in a restaurant.

Speaker 2:

and then for now, hey everyone, welcome back to Empower Elevate. Today's episode is serving up something truly special. We're sitting down with Ace Marasigan, the visionary behind Adobo Boy, a restaurant that's not just about food but about bringing people together through the love of Filipino cuisine. Ace isn't just running a restaurant. He's creating an experience, and a very unique one at that, with its rich flavors of dishes and the deep cultural connections he fosters. His journey is one of passion, resilience and purpose. We'll explore what inspired him, the challenges of the restaurant industry and how he's using food to share his heritage in the most delicious way possible. Please welcome Ace, mark thanks for the invite.

Speaker 2:

Definitely, definitely. I know it's been a couple weeks since, uh, I got to meet you, um, at your location there in grand rapids, michigan. Um, adobo boy man, amazing food, you and your wife jackie. Um, tell me a little bit more about it. How did you get started in the restaurant business?

Speaker 1:

well, thanks for asking, mark, and thanks for the invite. You know, the whole story really began with Jackie and I meeting at a Filipino restaurant in 2005. And that's kind of like the love we started and we always kind of dreamt of saying like, hey, we're going to work together in the future because we decided that we uh we need to be more intentional and spending time together as husband and wife. We always said, like, we're going to do something like this in the future. Be nice to be able to do an old restaurant. And then, just on, the road.

Speaker 2:

Yes, so you met in 2005. How did you, at what point did you establish that you had this passion for Filipino cuisine and wanting to start a restaurant and, I guess, share that with others, right?

Speaker 1:

You know, it's always been part of our culture, or part of our family culture the love of food. Right, we love Filipino food and we just wanted to make sure that we share the beauty of the cuisine. There's so much to offer and that's something that we've always stayed with us. You know she loves to cook, I also love to cook, her cooking is amazing, and so the love of the cuisine has always been there, part of the culture, part of the family, and that's always something that we've been always excited to do no, fantastic.

Speaker 2:

So I guess, how did? When you decided, hey, you had this, want to do this thing, how did you start it? Where did you? Where did you? How did you start first, I guess you know, is that preparing for friends, relatives, family, neighbors? I guess at what point did you say, hey, like, and I understand you and I talked where you're at today, but what, how did you get to that point?

Speaker 1:

And I understand you and I talked where you're at today. But how did you get to that point? We started with where we just cook for some of our friends. We'll invite them for dinner at our house, just to host dinners. And then we would do festivals.

Speaker 1:

We participated in some of the local festivals here in Grand Rapids One is the Grand Rapids Asian Pacific Festival. Some of the local festivals here in Grand Rapids One is the Grand Rapids Asian Pacific Festival. And then after that it just kind of grew the love and excitement of being able to share the cuisine and culture with people, and so an opportunity came in 2003. My friend at the restaurant is looking for partners or people to just kind of help him have a space, and then so I decided to say like hey, I'm going to do it with my wife and alongside with some of our friends. So we did like a pop-up restaurant for a whole year with some of our friends at that existing restaurant, and then for now it's been three, four months that Jackie and I are flying solo at this location where you actually visited us, mark.

Speaker 2:

Diving into that. What kind of challenges did you face in that first year that maybe you didn't expect? Right, you're sort of just preparing food and sourcing ingredients, but what type of challenges did you face doing that?

Speaker 1:

You know, like some of the challenges you asked me, so some of the challenges that just to kind of get started, was like the whole premise is like just getting started. You know like the best part of starting something new is trying to talk yourself to not do it. And so the best biggest challenge that we had is how do we get it started it. And so the the best biggest challenge that we had is how do we get it started. And good thing that we had all these friends that has their own restaurants who are very, very accommodating and very uh, encouraging, saying like hey, you just got to do it, you will learn from experience.

Speaker 2:

And that's kind of like how we get started now I firsthand, obviously, when I get to areas I haven't been in a lot of times, bigger cities, right, I am in a very rural area here, but I might pull up the Google and I do a quick search and see if, by chance, there's any Filipino food nearby. Right, and I was shocked when I saw just a very just a short driveway. A few minutes away was this restaurant that was opening at 5 pm and I'm like you've got to be kidding me, there's no way, right? So and I think through our conversation quickly found out that you're like it there's really nothing else around the area the Grand Airheads area there serving Filipino dishes, correct?

Speaker 1:

That's correct. We are the only restaurant currently in West Michigan. I mean, we have friends who you know like, they're great cooks as well, and I'm hoping that in the future that they will feel encouraged and empowered that they could, just that they can do what exactly we're doing, and so love to see more Filipino restaurants pop up in the future. But for now, we are, we are it, you're it. Well, you know, I'm going to say I'd love to love to see more as restaurants pop up in the future, but for now, we are it, you are it.

Speaker 2:

Well, I wanted to say I'd love to see more as well, just everywhere. I think that Americans are missing out on some amazing food by having so little Filipino options. You said Colorado Springs is my mother's area and I found maybe one specific Filipino restaurant that I haven't yet to get the experience yet because I was sick, but there were some other. Maybe we're mixing maybe some Hawaiian food with some Filipino food, you know, but they weren't dedicated to strictly Filipino cuisine.

Speaker 1:

We decided that we were going to be strictly as authentic as possible and the only limitations we'll have are the ingredients. You know we can't obviously get all the possible ingredients that we want to use, but that will be the only restrictions and the whole goal is to represent the culture and the cuisine of the Philippine culture and be really proud of what we can offer. And I've seen some places where a fusion has been created. I'm more proud of that. I love what they're doing, but I just believe there's such a beauty on the authenticity of just being true to what you can offer. And you know, as much as possible we just want to be like, strictly just Filipino.

Speaker 2:

Love it and you know I met your wonderful wife, your wonderful wife Jackie, and they're in person and and you yourself and you were very accommodating. I walked in the door right Like going like oh, this guy he's so friendly and you know, like you were very welcoming and I really appreciated that. You know, and a lot of times in restaurants these days it's it's hard to find, um hard to find good service and good food and that combination together and people that really appreciated being there and I really felt that um, that's wonderful here, mark.

Speaker 1:

I mean that's just part of the filipino culture. I mean, if you have been to the philippines, I know you have but you can feel that in the presence of the people, you know that's something that's ingraining us the hospitality, making sure that people feel very welcome at home.

Speaker 2:

No, no, I love it. And yes, you're right. You know I experienced that firsthand just a few months ago when I was in the Philippines and along with some amazing food, and you know I had some assistants ordering off your menu and my understanding, your menu rotates a little bit on a week to week basis but, you know, with some variety. But you know some of the items on that order specifically mentioned that it's hard to find those at a restaurant because really that was kind of like a home-style cooked food. So you know you get.

Speaker 1:

Sorry, mike, go ahead.

Speaker 2:

No, I said so, you know. Help me understand. As far as bringing that not necessarily a commercial or restaurant, but bringing a home-style cooked entrees or options to share.

Speaker 1:

I had a customer on Friday. Actually, on Friday, he perfectly said what we were trying to accomplish. He said he felt like he was eating at home, in a home cooked meal, prepared in love but presented in such a wonderful way that he said, like you, presented, like he was, he felt like he was attending in a higher end restaurant and but with the feel of like, hey, I'm sitting here at home with people that loves what they're doing, and so I think that is the best way to summarize the way our cuisine is presented at our restaurant. You know, we just want to make sure we share the love, but we also want to, you know, level up the presentation because we want to make sure it's respected, and it's also a great representation of who we are as Filipino.

Speaker 2:

Oh great, so let's go back a little bit. Can you share some of your earliest, I guess, memories of filipino food?

Speaker 1:

well, I grew up in the philippines. I grew up in manila and manila, to be exact, and all I can remember is just my mom and my grandma in the kitchen just toiling away preparing foods that I enjoy. I remember my mom know like also allowing me to be in the kitchen and you know like cutting vegetables or actually doing some of the cooking at six or seven years old. So I just remember just all the different tastes. And then when you go to your cousins, your uncles, and then in the Philippines, there's so many different times that we, I feel like we make up festivals and events because we want to have an opportunity, a chance to invite our friends and family to just gather in a town. And so when you go to towns, everybody's so welcoming, everybody wants you to eat. It's like one of the greetings that you go into a Filipino home is the first thing they ask you is like which is? Have you eaten? I mean, that's our love language, right?

Speaker 2:

we want to make sure that you're perfectly fed and you know this is how we share our love with people well, I know I felt that love, uh, when I was in the philippines because, uh, there wasn't a day that went by that I probably wasn't, uh, almost ill from the amount of food that was being fed, right, like going, it was non-stop. But, uh, you know, that allowed me to experience so much. But, you know, once you get in smaller portions so I could sample a lot, um, and so you said you're from the originally from manila area, right, and my understanding is your wife is not she is.

Speaker 1:

She was born in mindana, which is the southern part of the the Philippines, but she also grew up in Davao City and so that's where she grew up. You know, the Philippines being an archipelago having 7,641 islands, you know we all develop our own like cooking styles. I mean, what something that we would share at a restaurant adobo, like the process of the cooking adobo can be different from like different families and you know, like it's just different from different regions but all shared, just kind of like same kind of common basic, using the soy sauce, vinegar, and it's just a cooking process. And so I could say, like you know, even though she's from Davao City, she and I have a shared love for food and you know of food might be different, but it still showcases the beauty of the Philippines.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and that's something I was going to ask you, with your wife being, I guess, raised in a different portion of the Philippines, right Different region of the Philippines, and we know that obviously dialects can be so drastically different in short distances. But then on the food you know and her upbringing, and how does that differ from yours and how you are used to things being made in Manila?

Speaker 1:

Uh, the same. I believe the same thing applies for the Philippines, right, Because it's it's just like your family, your, your familial's, they're always going to be taking care of. You're going to share with you the way that they would prepare meals. You know, like the whole idea is like, hey, we all spend time together in in the table, we'll share with you how we cook it, because there was no cookbooks before, right, it's all about, um, you know, verbally sharing the cuisine, the recipes being passed down from generations to generations and also being passed down to different region. My wife she speaks four different dialects or four different languages, and so for that I am so proud of her that she's able to just communicate with me in tagalog and she knows that you know, like the way we do it in tagalog can be similar to to dabo city as well. So it's such a beautiful thing when all everything kind of comes together and accumulates into this like beautiful cuisine that's presented in front of me no, that's, that's really cool.

Speaker 2:

And then you said, as far as the cuisine, you mentioned vinegar, as you mentioned soy sauce. Right, you know what are some of the key ingredients. That is most general in most of your the cuisine or most of your offerings, I guess. I mean, is it mostly soy, mostly vinegar? Um, are there other things that kind of a staple across the board?

Speaker 1:

so I would say vinegar is a big uh use for us at the, but vinegar has always been something that's been used. The early accounts for adobo cuisine or the way to process. Vinegar was used for preservative and that was also used as a way to cook the meats. Soy sauce was introduced by the Chinese later on introduced by the Chinese later on. But the term adobo when the Philippines was colonized by Spain, the Spanish called that indigenous cuisine or way of preparing meats or cooking as adobo or adobar, you know, like to marinate, and so it just kind of stuck. But it's the vinegar is like the big thing that filipinos would probably use us at the restaurant. We, we need it, we love it, we love the taste of it, we love things that are sour, you know, like sinigang, but things like that is always uh, it's something that we do so the recipes using your adobo, those would those traditional.

Speaker 2:

Are those with your family or her family recipes, or is that a combination of both?

Speaker 1:

It's a combination of both, both the taste that we love and, you know, just going with the basics, right, the soy sauce and vinegar and just like developing that taste from there.

Speaker 2:

So the name Adobo Boy. Obviously we know where Adobo comes from. How did you settle on the name Adobo Boy, you and the wife?

Speaker 1:

It's kind of funny that you asked that. So Adobo Boy is really a nickname for our son. So when he was three years old he always had tasted pork adobo, and he always asked his mom for adobo, always saying like Mom, I want some adobo. And then we just started calling him Adobo Boy and that moniker just kind of stuck with him. And then we would always say like hey, if we ever open up a restaurant or something food related in the future or any business in the future, that we would call it Adobo Boy. And we just love that name because it represents us but also represents what we're doing for our son Red.

Speaker 2:

You said his name is Red.

Speaker 1:

His name is Red, so Red is a combination of Ray and Ed. My wife's dad's name is Ed, my dad his name was Ray.

Speaker 2:

That's very interesting because I recently actually I have one team member that's on maternity leave right now and she shared with us basically how she's coming up with the baby's name and it was like a combination of like three or four names put together right, and they're going well. That's really interesting. It's not just finding a name or it's like going.

Speaker 1:

It was like three or four names they combined I don't know if we, uh, we were following any traditional norm, but we just wanted to make sure we honor both of our, our fathers and I don't know, the, the we. We came up with different combination, but the, the name red was just something that's easier to, to kind of say now, what type of, I guess, feedback?

Speaker 2:

obviously you know someone like myself coming in and raving about your, about your food. You know I was. When I was sitting in there I heard a gentleman walk in and he was talking with you and he's like I've never had Filipino food right, and do you get a lot of that? You know people walking in hey, I've never experienced Filipino food, and what kind of feedback do you get from them?

Speaker 1:

You know we do experience a lot of people saying that this is their first time being at a restaurant not just a restaurant or being exposed in Filipino cuisine altogether.

Speaker 1:

And that really excites me is that I have this pride or not just pride, more like excitement for the love of being able to share our culture. And so the feedback after they have tasted the food and I would check on them just to make sure they're doing okay, most of the time they would say, like you know, this is a food that they've never tasted before and it's wonderful. And when they say that it gives me so much joy, because it gives me so much joy that my wife, she, works so hard to make food. And and when people are appreciative of it, and really honestly, when they, when you know, because I want to make sure it's true and honest and they would say like no, no, we're not kidding, we're so honest that your food is amazing. We never realized filipino food to be like this. We want to try more, and so that for me, is the best feedback and best compliment they say we want to try more.

Speaker 1:

We want to try something else, we want to try more, and so that, for me, is the best feedback and best compliment.

Speaker 2:

They say we want to try more, we want to try something else, we want to try more and what percentage of those that come in for their first time um have a good experience and tell you they. Obviously they enjoyed the experience that you see.

Speaker 1:

Come back uh, it's probably a good 85 to 90%.

Speaker 1:

I would never come back. We'll just say, like you know, I'm only here in town for a day or two, but if I ever come back in town then I will come back. So 80, 90%, I would say, um out of the 80, 90%, when they come back, they do actually bring their families or someone someone with them. They do actually bring their families or someone someone with them, and so for me, that is the best compliment, means that they're they felt proud of sharing that our cuisine and they felt like this is something that their friends needed to experience. So for us, that's a great uh return rate and also great you know, great feedback yeah, definitely, definitely, and he said that that's a compliment in itself.

Speaker 2:

Right, and you said you were originally from manila. Um, you're both, obviously, you and your wife, both from the philippines. Um, what brought you here? What brought you to the us?

Speaker 1:

so my wife, she, uh, she moved here for work and and for us my, my american story is my sister married an American. Okay, and so that's my American story. My wife's American story is she moved here from work.

Speaker 2:

Okay, so she moved here from work and then, when she was here, decided to stay, type of thing, or did she change employers? I guess I'm kind of curious, like if she was on assignment, you, you know, how did that work for her?

Speaker 1:

yeah, she was, she was a, she came here for work, she's a, she's a nurse. So she ended up going to hospital and that's what she was doing. And then, um, and eventually, after a while, she just, you know, she was just, she just kept working. You know she's got a. Um, she was, she was a resident, and then we ended up like meeting and then we ended up getting. She just kept working, she was a resident, and then we ended up meeting and then we ended up getting married and we were both American citizens.

Speaker 2:

And that's who we are. And as far as your sister coming here, right, you said your sister, correct?

Speaker 1:

My sister and I'm marrying an American.

Speaker 2:

yes, yes, and did it take much to convince you to come? Or is that something you're like? Going you know, is that something you kind of always eyed, going, you know, doing something different and moving to the US?

Speaker 1:

I was young, okay, and so there's really no option. If your parents are moving, eventually you have to move too Gotcha.

Speaker 2:

So that's what you get well, and just curious, because I, you know, I hear a lot of different stories, right, and I hear those that you know, even some of our team members talk about, you know, relocating somewhere, whether it's canada or some other country at some point, you know, just for different opportunities and um, yeah, I think that's always something that people, when I was younger, we always talked about how it's great to be in America, and something I don't think a lot of people realize.

Speaker 1:

You know, it is a great land of opportunity, but you do have to make your path, and so it's an opportunity and there's a chance for you to make it if you, you know, working hard and just trying to follow your dreams.

Speaker 2:

So when I was there, you mentioned and you mentioned to hear about the pop-up and and three minutes you're known. You also mentioned that of um potentially looking for a new home for a Dovo restaurant, right restaurant, right adobo restaurant. Um, it sounds like that the challenge that you're currently faced with, right, you're looking for potentially another place to move the restaurant to that is currently the the challenge and we are.

Speaker 1:

We are probably going to be leaving the location that currently we are right now and we've set a date that our last time we're going to be leaving the location that currently we are right now and we've set a date that our last time we're going to be serving food at that location will be march 22nd, which is coming up soon yeah, so it'll be here before we know it yeah, the challenge now is really to find the next, the next spot.

Speaker 1:

Um, there's a couple places that we already identified. Okay, we've set our letter of intent, meaning that we are are, you know, like talking to the land landlords and trying to see if we could negotiate and find the perfect win-win for both of us to be able to operate and for them to make money. So trying to figure out if that would make sense and hopefully we'll hear something from them this week. If not, we'll just kind of keep looking. Uh, we'll let March 22nd go. Eventually we'll come back.

Speaker 2:

So, as a business owner, talk to me a little bit about that, right? So what you said, the challenge of that, but in negotiating, what are some of the things and challenges that you face? You know when you're negotiating, do these negotiations, what are you looking for? You know what kind of obstacles are being you're trying to remove or barriers you get around. Help me understand. Is it the build outs? Is it finding something that's already set how you want it? I mean, what kind of things are you looking for?

Speaker 1:

Well, having something that's already set as a freebie restaurant would be the most easiest way for us to continue and operate. That would be probably the cheapest option and also the quickest option, but right now there are only a couple handful that I could look at and say like that's the one I want. We are really looking into doing a build-out. A build-out is something that we have to start from scratch. You got to put all the kitchen equipment. A build-out is something that we have to start from scratch. You got to put all the kitchen equipment, and that gives us the best way to really feel like that space belongs to us, where we can design it the way we want it. We can make it as efficient to the way we're doing the cooking, and so that's what we're looking for. We're looking for a place where we can do a build-out.

Speaker 1:

But yes, obviously we're not going to say no if there's an actual restaurant that's open they're looking for different owners then we would definitely look at that as an option as well. But a build-out is what we want. Some of the challenges really is like you know, the negotiating part is like we want to win-win right If the rent is too high where we were going to be stressed. We're not going to be able to continue. That's really not good for us and it's also not good for the landlord, because if we end up folding within six months, and that's really not good for them either.

Speaker 2:

Sure, sure. Now through that process. I mean, are there loan applications? Are we talking to the SBA? Are there other organizations supporting the causes?

Speaker 1:

I'm just kind of curious you know what kind of avenues you've looked at for assistance to get that off the ground and help that search maybe be a little bit easier what we were doing is, um, I applied for a, a one loan for now and I'm just waiting for for the, for what happens, because this loan I got through the local community um, it's probably one of the most lowest price interest loan that I could use for the equipment and I want to see, if that, how is that taking place? And so, once that is all set, I will try to see what. What's the next steps? An sba loan, uh, small business administration loan, uh, other small business loans that we could possibly take, and you know we have some savings that we're going to use as well. We also started a gofund and that's pretty amazing that some of our friends already have started donating to that, and we'll just see what happens.

Speaker 1:

And, like what I was telling everybody, if somehow we end up not using, like opening up another restaurant and we just return the money from the GoFundMe, I don't want to use my retirement fund, but we have to, and that's something that we go to use. Um, there's many avenues that we're trying to still see, so we'll see what happens, mark, and in a week or so, and okay. So it's challenging, exciting, but it's it's, you know, something that we want to do well, that's something I ask is you?

Speaker 2:

a lot of our listener base and a lot of our, you know, is business owners or those maybe that have an interest in business, and so I always ask about the challenges and the type of avenues you're looking at and cause we're real here right Like go and have real conversations and say, hey, look, you know cause I, you know we have a local Mexican restaurant that recently got some grant money you know to to help build the facade and help get them in this new location for their ice cream shop. You know, and, and so I'm always curious about you know what resources you know are you out there finding that can help you and maybe help others right?

Speaker 1:

No, that's, that's absolutely true. So the one I'm using is from through a local restaurant place called GROW, which is Grand Rapids Opportunities. Initially it's called Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women, but GROW just became something that's for the whole community. They have just well enough $50,000 that you can use for equipment, inventory and staffing. That's something I applied for. Currently it's underwriting, so I believe that we're going to be able to get that. Um, we got some savings that we we're going to use up. Um, then, raptor, once we are are approved for the 50 000 um money with the lower interest rate, then, yes, we're definitely going to look into a small business loan and I'll uh, and I'm searching right now for grants, and so there's ways to be able to start this business, and as little stress as possible would probably be the best for us well, sir, and and and less debt right to carry over your.

Speaker 2:

You know, have it hanging over your head, you know, and that's why I'm curious about grants and things. And you know, when you talk about the culture aspect, are there cultural organizations out there that maybe there's some funding available to help the cause?

Speaker 1:

Not, um, not easily or readily available, but definitely there are some opportunities that we're going to be uh, looking at sometime, hopefully sometime this week or next week. I'm just waiting to make sure that we can land a space, because that's probably the biggest challenge there is like, hey, can we land this space into the rate that we want? Or, of course, to the rate that we want and to the terms that make sense to us. And so once we land that, then I'm going to go full stream, 100% into just like looking for all the different possible grant money. Um, you know, loans, yes for sure, but try and look for the smaller, lower, lower price loads.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and the application process, um, you know, applications usually aren't fun, you know, okay, yeah, that's pretty in depth of the things you're using aren't fun. That's pretty in-depth with the things you're applying for.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, there's a lot of things that they did ask for. They asked for personal returns, our profit and loss books, financials, things that would make sense to them to see, and so there's a lot of things that they're collecting. There's things that they would ask for. All they wanted to make sure is that we're going to be able to pay back the loan.

Speaker 2:

Oh sure.

Speaker 1:

And that makes a lot of sense to us, right? And so make it as easy as possible for them to collect what they need, and we'll just see what happens next. Yes, there's a lot of process in this application, but once you've collected all the forms and the things that you need for one, it's pretty much like what they were going to be asking for the other one, so Kind of excited to be able to just kind of go into another place and say like hey, are you able to give us a loan at a lower rate and fill out this application?

Speaker 2:

Now I did notice. I did see that you had kicked off a fundraising campaign and I looked prior to this episode, or recording this here with you is you were at $3,810 so far of a $5,000 goal that you're working towards. Congratulations, by the way, that's phenomenal that you've made that big of a dent in that goal so far. Um, I guess, how do you, how do you feel about that progress?

Speaker 1:

That's amazing because, uh, we just, we just put it in there, uh, we didn't do any much more campaigning for it, because I also don't feel right just asking people for money. But this is the time that we actually would need some assistance from our friends or who believes in what we're doing. And $5,000 can go a long way. That can be potentially a freezer and a fridge that we could buy for the restaurant, or a stove, and so that can go a long way. Um, you know, having you know, we went through a construction company for estimation in this one space that we're looking at. When they gave us an estimation cost that made me almost puke.

Speaker 1:

I I turned to again to our restaurant friends and one of them said like, hey, I'm going to help you build this place from the ground up, exactly how I did my restaurant. I did it by myself. Well, you know, like I hired the people that needs to do the things, and it cost me way, way less. It cost him a third from what the estimation was, and so really excited about the difference that we've developed along the way here in Grand Rapids, and people here are very philanthropic and very helpful, and so for us that's the first step. And so the first step really is just secure that place and we're going to get going.

Speaker 2:

No. So as far as in your market, I know in a lot of other markets I see there's a lot of empty commercial buildings, you know, um, even though the commercial real estate isn't necessarily, you know, uh, at its peak right. I mean, you know, I have another for other friends, real estate they don't want, they don't want to touch commercial right now. Um, is that helping you in your search? Do you think at all, or are you still struggling regardless? You in your search, do you think at all, or are you still struggling regardless?

Speaker 1:

No, it's very helpful in negotiating. We found a space that we believe is the right spot for us. It's closer to our home Convenience. It's closer to convenience, but it's also a very busy intersection. So for us, we just want to make sure that we can be in a spot where be good for businesses and but also be closer to residentials, because our restaurant is built upon a family dynamic.

Speaker 1:

Right, we want families to come and visit us and spend their time with us, get to know the culture, so that's the spot that we would want. We know we prefer that people don't just come in, in and out. Um, we want to be able to spend time with them, we want them to spend some time with us, and so hopefully that's the location that is going to be done. Um, that's where we send our letter of intent and we're hoping that we could meet halfway to what we want and what they want and where it makes sense to us. If not, like you said, there are plenty of other open spaces right now, but they also have to make sense, right, location has to make sense, and so that's where we are, but definitely helpful in the negotiating part.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and I know even those that have negotiated, renegotiated, or even other businesses that have negotiated, renegotiated, or even other businesses right that have recently moved, just to the fact that you know there is some leverage out there due to a lot of you know, just the economy the way it is.

Speaker 2:

You know a lot of things have changed in the past five years, six years, drastically. So, as far as you know, we talked about this build-up cost being high. We see, everything seems to be high these days, right, I mean, goodness, currently, look at the price of a dozen eggs, right, I'm saying, is everything's high? And I have another gentleman I'm friends with and he's been working on a build-out and things that he priced a year ago, two years ago, has doubled right, and it's just crazy on a build out and you know things that you know he priced a year ago, two years ago, is like doubled right, and it's just crazy and it's, you know, a restaurant type environment but, um, and obviously you're experiencing that too really high price to build out yes, I mean, the price on the build out is astronomical and I makes you kind of like wonder what are we doing?

Speaker 1:

are we? Are we in the right business? Yeah, the return of investment here.

Speaker 1:

Maybe we should do build outs instead yes, um, you know, like the, the estimated price that that construction company gave us. I keep thinking about, like how many, how many food do we have to sell to be able to even just catch up with that, you know? And so, uh, that is a challenge and I I can see why not a lot of people would want to open a restaurant. You know, there's a lot of initial costs, there is a lot of things that you have to traverse and kind of figure out, hey, where, where we are in this adventure. But hopefully we're not done yet, mark, hopefully we'll find the right spot. Oh, you're not done yet. You're not done yet.

Speaker 2:

You got too much to offer, so let's talk about not being done yet. Obviously, adobo Boy isn't just a restaurant. To you, I'm really sensing it's not just a restaurant.

Speaker 1:

So could you share, I guess, the legacy that you hope to build for your family and the community through Adobo Boy? The dream is to be able to have a place where we can, friends, can be who they are, regardless of race, religion, gender, and be able to say like, hey, this place is truly a place of belonging. The Philippines and the people were so accepting, right, and so that's the thing that we want to share here in our location, despite all the noises out there saying that we should be divisive. This is a place that you know like. The legacy here is being able to share with our son who we are as people. We are a people who are accepting and always making sure that we include people around us, and so that's the legacy that we want to leave here and in west michigan, and hopefully to our son, who beef we continues to own the restaurant no, that's.

Speaker 2:

That's very cool. I I can definitely appreciate what you're doing and what you want to do. Let's have some fun here. Adobo can't be the answer. Adobo can't be the answer. But if you could only eat one Filipino dish other than an adobo forever, what would that be?

Speaker 1:

Forever, oh my goodness, that's a tough one. There's so many good food, Mark. I know If I could have one food I would eat every day besides adobo it would probably be sinigang. That's a tamarind-based soup, a sour soup, because I think it's such a versatile kind of soup. I could eat it with anything, with rice, but that would probably be it. That would be it All right, it has to be either adobo or that one.

Speaker 2:

Yes, Well, I'm always curious, right Like going, especially with somebody. You're in the restaurant business, you're in the food business, you've got this. It's like hey, besides adobo's in the name. But you just to find that Filipinos are big on karaoke, and I think I've seen some of that in your social media feeds as well. So, with that being said, what's your go-to song when it comes to karaoke?

Speaker 1:

Wow, I have so many go-to songs. But in the past I used to join this performing group and I branded myself as the impersonator of Elvis impersonator. So if I were to do a karaoke song have to be an elvis song an elvis song yes, it's uh, something I enjoy. Um, yeah, it has to be an elvis song. Okay, probably falling in love and proud if it's a song wonderful, wonderful.

Speaker 2:

It's always interesting. Once again I I couldn't help it, but uh experienced a lot of karaoke just passing through streets and things. And you know, I hear from my teammates, you know they've got the Jeepney drivers that get off shift and they're karaoke next door and they can't sleep and so, yeah, it's an abundance in the Philippines. There's a lot of karaoke going on.

Speaker 1:

That's true, and that's what we do after we shut down the restaurant at night. We were so tired, but hey, we unwind, play a couple songs and then we end the night there.

Speaker 2:

In the kitchen. I know you said your wife does cook. You're cooking Biggest memorable mishap you've had in the kitchen.

Speaker 1:

It's probably my wife, I think she and my friend. When we did the pop-up they almost burned down the kitchen and that was only like it was on day one, and so that was probably the most memorable mishap. What happened? They left something on the stove. They did not realize the stove was on because we're so brand new in that space, and the thing just caught on fire, and good thing they were able to distinguish it before it gets any bigger yeah, good thing just that experience that's not the way you want to start things off is burning down the kitchen right oh goodness, all right, well ace, Well Ace.

Speaker 2:

some final thoughts here. So you know, what advice would you give someone? Obviously, you know you're on this journey and everyone's in a different place on their journeys, but if you had someone that was looking to get into the restaurant business, especially based off of your family traditions and culture, what's one piece of advice you'd want to give them?

Speaker 1:

You know it's important to plan, but it's very important to take action, and so the advice I could give you yeah, get to know some of the details, but you have to make sure that you have an action plan, that you are actually going to take action and to pursue what you want to do, because that's where a lot of people kind of stumble and just say, like I can't do it, there's too many details, there's too many things I need to do. You just have to do it and the rest will fall into place. Just got to do it. Just do it.

Speaker 2:

Just do it All right. I think there's a slogan out there somewhere, right, yeah, I think all right. Um, where, uh, where can you be found online social media?

Speaker 1:

yeah, so for now, just find us on our website, which is adoboboygrcom, um, in our in our facebook and instagram at adobe boy gr, and so hopefully we'll find you guys on instagram or facebook. We also have a tiktok. Okay, we'll do some dance because, um, because at the end of the week we uh, my wife and I, and sometimes our guests will will do a quick end of the week dance and just saying, like you know, thank you for the visit and thank you for the support and thank you for joining us in this journey very cool.

Speaker 2:

Now, um, I'm going to say that with that, um, we'll list all your uh social to try to find them all, and get them all listed in the description of the show so people can make it easier on them to find you and, uh, you know anyone's in the area by a grand wrap, even make the trip. You know, like, I know, you know, I I don't know that if I can make it before march 22nd, but I'm sure gonna try, uh, to get back up there and experience you one more time before you get moved, and I know it's gonna happen. And, uh, good things are yet to come for you. And, and jackie, um, I appreciate your hospitality, I appreciate your food, I appreciate your culture and I appreciate you for taking the time for us today.

Speaker 1:

Well, we are very appreciative that you invited us in your podcast and if you have any Filipinos listening today, I just want to say, well, not just Filipinos, for everybody, marami, salamat, thank you very much for allowing us to be here, and you know, mapuhay to the Filipinos and mapuhay to you, mark, and thank you for everything.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, Ace. And yeah, and that GoFundMe is out there and we'll be throwing something your way too very shortly so anything we can do to help.

Speaker 1:

I appreciate that, Mark. Thank you, brother.

Speaker 2:

Have an awesome day.

Speaker 1:

Bye my friend.

Speaker 2:

Hi, I'm Mark Thomas, founder and CEO of Current Tech Solutions and CyberGuardians. We know business owners like you want to focus on growing your company, not worrying about IT problems or security threats. That's where we come in. Our team uses AI to protect your business from cyber risks and keep everything running smoothly. If you're ready for peace of mind and a stronger future, reach out to us today. Let's secure and elevate your business together.

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