It was built with a concept of “hitting two birds with one stone” in January last year bearing the name of the owner’s Japanese Shih Tzu dog Waka Waka.
Upon driving in the one-year-old Waka Waka Grill in Lahug, Cebu City, one would immediately notice a welcoming ambiance and the Waka Carwash on the side, which would give a chance for customers to get their cars washed and cleaned while they meet and dine with family and friends.
“We saw that as an opportunity because it spells convenience to most customers. We want this to be a place where people would decide to hang out with family and friends and at the same time have their cars cleaned,” said Jojo Lupisan.
Partners
For the Waka Carwash, Lupisan partnered with entrepreneur Lean Bautista, who developed a liking for cars since he was only 14 years old and was into the buying and selling cars.
The 1,500-square-meter property is enough to accommodate customers, who come in for carwash services while they dine in or wait for their take-out orders at the grill.
Lupisan invested around P800,000 to set up the place. He also hired 10 people to help in the business operations.
Waka Waka Grill is just one of three businesses run by Lupisan. He also operates the Leonardo’s Catering and the Kalye 80’s, which are businesses all related to the food industry.
He said he was confident of his investment in the Waka Waka grill.
“A business in grilled food always works and aside from that we also offer short orders like Pancit, Balbacua and Caldereta, mostly Cebuano favourite dishes,” Lupisan said.
Bikers
After a year of operations, Lupisan said that their property had become a favorite stopover and a meeting place for people, especially those who go biking in groups.
“They come here in the morning to eat after their morning biking with friends. And I’m glad at that turnout,” said Lupisan, who wanted the place to be known more as a place for bonding with family and friends instead of just a place to drink alcohol with friends.
A biking enthusiast himself, Lupisan said that he knew what a biker would prefer in a place so he made sure all that were incorporated in the design of the grill.
“It should be a place that’s inviting and not intimidating. We also made sure our people here always attend to our customers because customer service is always an important factor for these types of establishments,” said Lupisana.
Koreans
Koreans also visit the grill, which is located in one of the busiest areas in Cebu City.
To compete with other establishments in the area, he keeps the right prices for his products and have the right kind of entertainment like live bands every Fridays and Saturdays that play hit music from the 80s.
“Our market here includes the call center agents and people living nearby so we made sure that we have affordable food. We have pork barbeque which is only P20 each,” said Lupisan.
Getting a carwash is also very easy on the budget. For as low as P150 for the sedan-type cars, P180 for SUVs and P210 people can already have their cars cleaned while they wait at the grill and enjoy food or drinks with friends.
Waka Waka Grill is open from 10 a.m. to 12 midnight and until 2 a.m. every Fridays and Saturdays.
Plans
Lupisan said he was planning to expand the grill’s menu to also cater to the people that would soon be living in the pension house currently built beside the property.
He also planned to build a wall climbing corner within the property to attract the “adventure seekers” market.
“We hope to have it within the next two months here because there are a lot of people now who likes facilities like that,” said Lupisan.
Bautista, for his part, said he and Lupisan would set up a ramp at the Waka Carwash so that they could also offer under chassis cleaning aside from the washing and waxing services offered now.
“True to our slogan ‘washing cars with class’ we’d like to become Cebu’s best destination when it comes to quality and affordable carwash and cleaning services,” said Bautista.