by Lovely A. Carillo
DIMSUM Diner, the restaurant that has popularized the various types of siomai in Davao City, opened its newest branch on Quirino Avenue Thursday. This is the company’s 9th branch, four of which are company owned and the rest franchises.
“Dimsum Diner opened the business in 2000, but we only started franchising in late 2001,” co-owner Czarina Lim said. The company started as a sole proprietorship, but was incorporated in 2008 to pave the way for its expansion plans. The company is now owned by Yumchay Ventures Corporation, which consists of young business people from Davao City.
Dimsum Diner is the corporation’s first venture, but Lim said they have expansion plans and are eyeing Cebu and Manila.
The newest branch which opened last week, is owned by the Davao Golden Mills Corporation.
“We believe in the business acumen of the people behind Dimsum, so we decided to make this the first venture of our corporation,” said franchisee Esna Yao of Davao Golden Mills Corporation.
She said one of the owners is actually a close friend of her husband, Henry, and they know how talented he is when it comes to running a business. “This was primarily the motivation behind our decision to get a franchise of Dimsum Diner,” she said, adding that
“Davao does not at all seem to be affected by the economic crisis, so it was not a hard decision to start a business at this time. Furthermore, we are a family of eaters and we go out a lot to eat and observe how Dabawenyos really do eat out,” she said.
She said getting a franchise is still the best solution for those who have the capital and who want to go into business but who do not have an idea as to what business to put up and how to run it.
With the franchise, she said, all they needed to do was to open up the business and provide the capital since the company that owns Dimsum took care of the training needs of their staff, and they even recruited the employees.
Despite the increasing number of franchised outlets in the city as well as in Cagayan de Oro and General Santos City, Lim said they make sure that each outlet meets the standards set by the company when it comes to taste and food preparation. She said all supplies of the franchised outlets come from the central commissary of Dimsum, to maintain the quality of their product.
She said they still welcome applicants who want to own a Dimsum Diner outlet. Franchise fee is from P3 to P3.5 million, which already includes all the products and inventory, equipment and other things needed to start the business. This investment can be recouped in two and a half to three years, she added.
While the company has not felt the economic crunch yet, Lim said the branches already experience it in terms of fluctuating sales. However, she said, food is very basic and people will really have to go out and eat no matter what.
