Cover Photo: @kodawari.ph/Instagram | Photography by Sonny Thakur; Styling by Chichi Tullao-Garcia
Photo: @kodawari.ph/Instagram | Photography by Sonny Thakur; Styling by Chichi Tullao-Garcia
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Co-owner and creative director Toni Potenciano shares how the brand grew from an online-only business run out of their partner’s kitchen to now having two branches
Like many businesses that were birthed during the pandemic lockdowns, Kodawari blossomed from the ashes of a once-thriving F&B business. Toni Potenciano— a third of the trio behind the non-traditional Japanese food concept Kodawari— talks to us about how the Instagram business started with co-owner and chef Jake Aykardo, and went from a home-based business to having a full-blown restaurant in Salcedo Village, with a second one just softly-opened in BGC July 2024.
“Jake ran it out of his kitchen in Quezon City as one of his many efforts to make a living after his food park concepts were forced to close,” Potenciano narrates. “Eventually, when word got around about Instagram user @jakeaycardo’s gyudon, he felt it was probably more practical that the gyudon trays could have their own thing and brand, not attached to his face or name.” That was how the Kodawari brand was born. It grew organically as the food trays were ordered [as gifts] for friends and family that were missed, separated by the lockdowns yet tied together by the common love for food. It was a common theme that ran throughout the pandemic, and perhaps thanks to this very Filipino need for closeness, it helped keep many homegrown businesses alive, including Kodawari.
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Still, Kodawari could have easily drowned in a sea of Japanese-themed IG businesses, but they had their ways of setting themselves apart from the rest. “Another thing was also Kodawari’s approach to art and design,” Potenciano explains. “We’re by no means a traditional Japanese brand— talbos ng kamote and a sous vide egg in a beef rice bowl are the farthest thing from an authentic gyudon—and so a lot of our inspiration is drawn from our love of Japanese pop culture, 90s nostalgia, and fan art. This was how we got to grow Kodawari’s fanbase within the creative community. Of course, it helps that the product itself was good!”
Which indeed it was, and so when the demand kept growing, co-owner and serial entrepreneur Ryan Serrano came in to move chef Jake’s home-based operation into a satellite kitchen. He was also the one who floated the idea of turning their online business into an actual brick-and-mortar. “It was scary given that we only had three things on the menu—gyudon, shroomdon, chashudon. How were we going to make a full menu from those three things? Would it work out? How will we explain our concept to people who have never heard of us? Lots of those questions in the run-up to opening our first branch in Salcedo Village,” says Potenciano.
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Potenciano considers themselves “lucky” getting their ROI so quickly— just within a few months of opening. “When we announced our soft opening in Salcedo during the first weekend of March 2023, we were surprised that there was a line,” she shares. “Friends and longtime clients of Kodawari came and supported us. It was hard, but every day got better. It did well enough for us to fund our second location fairly quickly. The lines thankfully haven’t abated just yet.” It is this kind of fandom which gave the trio the confidence to “ride the wave” of the Salcedo branch’s success and open a second one rapidly at its wake.
Their menu consists of what Potenciano describes as “casual, progressive… drawing inspiration from Japanese food, but it’s not the only thing.” Their bestsellers are still led by the gyudon, closely followed by the Chilimansi, a dry ramen with sous vide egg, chilimansi sauce, and togarashi that draws inspiration from the instant pancit canton that is a pantry staple in many Filipino households and college dorm rooms. “Another best seller is our spicy salmon— fried molo chips, spicy salmon tartar— which came up in our earlier R&D sessions when we were thinking: What is an essential pinoy order at any Japanese restaurant? It’s a very lean menu, but we keep it lean because we only want to serve food we like and enjoy,” she points out.
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Their name after all, as Potenciano explains, means “the pursuit of perfection, fastidiousness, attention to detail.” This extends not just to the food but to the branding and the overall experience that has made them attractive to a young millennial and Gen Z market. Was it part of their plan to cater to that particular age group and market segment? “Definitely not deliberate. Not at first,” she admits. “It started out with me and Jake (Note: who is also Potenciano’s first cousin) navel-gazing about the things we liked while we were growing up. That was the mood of 2020 for a lot of people– just turning to the things that gave you comfort. For us specifically it was anime, video games, art, and the media we consumed when we were kids, and then we translated this to the content we’d share on our Instagram.” It was no surprise that it resonated with their millennial peers, but it did come as a shock when they drew in a largely younger crowd. “I theorise that between millennials and Gen Zs, the latter are more inclined to seek out new experiences, to eat out with friends, et cetera. To make up for lost time, if you will, with the pandemic pause and all. We’re lucky they saw Kodawari as a new experience and that it’s become a mainstay for some of them.”
Kodawari has truly evolved from the time they first opened in Salcedo Village— from merely expanding their online menu to now thinking of ways to enhance customer experience, overall design, and attracting a wider audience without alienating their original followers. All while staying true to the brand. “It may have evolved in scale, but I think at the heart of it, we’re still hoping to deliver something new at the price point we’re in,” Potenciano explains. So what’s next? We ask. “We may or may not be working on branch three,” she divulges. “I hope that everyone still continues growing with us! I’m always afraid one day this will all end. But until then, we’ll keep delivering the best we can.”
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Jaclyn Clemente Koppe is a food and lifestyle writer, as well as a consultant to some of the country’s beloved food and beverage brands. Her passion for food and drink is only surpassed by her devotion to her family, most especially to her soulmate, Pepa the poodle.
