The Covid-19 pandemic has hit many people hard, including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were displaced from their jobs. This Bacolod OFW couple survived the economic crunch by building a Mediterranean shawarma business. Read the story of Mommy Tania Garcia Romagos and her husband Jack, a former chef in Dubai.
From Being an OFW couple to Bacolod Entrepreneurs
Mommy Tania and Daddy Jack have stayed in Dubai for several years. Jack was a chef de partie for a hotel while Tania had a part-time job, which allowed her to sell chili sauce and dulce de leche on the side.
But she came back to Bacolod in November 2019 because her father was stricken with a terminal illness. A month later, he passed away.
Several months later, the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and the hotel where her husband used to work was temporarily closed. Since he had no work and no pay plus the viral threat, he was obliged to come home as well.
Since both of them have talents in food preparation and the business side of it, they decided to sell food items. They had humble beginnings: bananacue and native coffee that they served from their garage. Tania also made chorizo pudpud from a recipe that she got from her grandmother.
Then came the idea of selling Mediterranean style shawarma.
Why Mediterranean-style Shawarma?
When the hotel that Daddy Jack was working for in Dubai closed due to the pandemic, he came back to Bacolod. At this time, Mommy Tania was already selling food items.
Since Jack used to work as a chef in Dubai, he knows Mediterranean-style cooking. Shawarma is already a widely accepted dish in Bacolod City, so they decided to start with that together with Tania’s eldest brother, Pierre.
They developed their own shawarma sauce and system of beef marination. Plus, they make their own pita bread. Tania related to me that they had to develop a pita bread that’s unique, soft, and tasty.
Before she knew me, she read my other blog post about Shawarma in Bacolod City. I commented there about how one store’s pita bread was not to my liking. And that inspired her to really put great attention to making their wrap.
“I posted our shawarma creation on Facebook and my cousin tried it out. She and her family loved it. That was when I felt that it was the right product to highlight,” Tania relates.
And that was the start of their foray into the shawarma business, which they call Eleven11 Shawarma.
Why the name? Because this number always came into Mommy Tania’s consciousness during the hardest times of her life. She clings to the bible verse, Jeremiah 29:11.
You can see that she really puts her wholehearted faith in God for her family and their business.
Business Challenges of this Former OFW Couple
Needless to say, they experienced a lot of challenges as a start-up SME. Foremost of which was the capitalization.
Read: Should You Default on a Personal Loan During the Pandemic?
Since this former OFW couple lost their jobs in Dubai for quite some time now, they say that it was a leap of faith for them to start this business. “Personally, I prayed for it. Good thing is, we made use of our garage space, thanks to my mother, so we don’t have to pay any rent.” Her in-laws also helped in building their mini food cart as well as in other expenses.
They literally started from scratch so they made use of their daily earnings to support the business. In short, it was a rolling store.
Next would be their system in the kitchen. They are trying to streamline their operations from the curing of the meats, the making of the sauce, and the quality of the pita bread. That way, it will be easier for them to translate their system into a big-time operation once they get into franchising.
Products and Future Plans
At present, Eleven11 Shawarma serves beef and chicken shawarma at P75 each. If you want more meat, vegetables, or anything else, those are optional. Additional charges apply.
Furthermore, they are planning to add hummus and tahina served with pita bread on their menu.
On a big scale, they are setting their sights on franchising their food cart business.
Contact Details
The Eleven11 Shawarma food cart is located at 253 Makiling St., Brgy. Villamonte, Bacolod City. Bacolod residents may order through the PickNDrop Bacolod app – a local food delivery service.
Eleven11 on social media
- Facebook: @Eleven11ShawarmaStation
- IG: @Eleven11
- Whatsapp: 09079073364.
Resilient Pinay Moms
Meanwhile, here are other stories of resilient Pinay moms featured in this blog.
- The story of Mommy Blessy and her Heavenly Desserts that Kept Her Family Afloat During the Pandemic. She is also a former OFW.
- OFW wife Mommy Tata Grows Her Own Vegetables in This Crisis: Urban Gardening.
- Mommy Irene lost a lot of bookings for her events company during the pandemic. Read her story about Coping with the Crisis: From Events Planning to Soap-Making
- Bacolod mom Arlene is a creative soul who is into the making of Bacolod souvenir items. But during the pandemic, she came up with The Farmtory: Surviving the Lockdown With Tauge
- Since they also needed to boost the immune system of their families, two Bacolod Mompreneurs Distribute the M2 Health Drink in NIR
- Read about Mommy Cleth and her Homemade Kare-Kare with Love
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Nice naman successful story ng business sa panahon ng pandemic. Patok talaga itong shawarma gawing business 💝
Di talaga natin makakaila na ang mga Pilipino ay madiskarte kahit anong pagsubok pa ang dumating ❤️
Ang galing nman po Nila. Ang gandang Business din Po Ang Shawarma. Jusko kahit ako all time favorite ko to. Ang sarap sarap po Kasi KAYA patok business Nila.
Another Successful and inspirational stories under Pandemic.Iba talaga ang Fighting spirit nating mga Pilipino..Samahan pa ng Talento at Sipag Lahat kakayanin.