Tell us about the name, Notorious Concepts. What does it represent? How does it align with the group’s philosophy?

The word Notorious means infamous, typically for some bad quality or deed. At the start of our Poblacion quest, it came to our attention that we had become the talk of the town. The gossip on the streets was coming from all sides—some were good, some were not so good. I suppose our foray into the neighbourhood may have raised a few eyebrows from the already-established operators. Because of all this buzz, the name Notorious seemed apt, especially considering my best friend Jeff Oh and I are both from New York City. We grew up in the early ‘90s when hip hop was not just a genre but a way of life. We try to always remember our roots, and we wear that Brooklyn pride like a badge of honour. The name Notorious is also a nod to one of our favourite rappers we grew up with, Biggie.

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How are each of your concepts unique yet united under the Notorious Concepts brand?

The concepts all represent different cuisines and, naturally, have different menus and even different target demographics. What unites all the concepts is music. Whether we’re talking about Korean, Filipino, or Japanese, our mission is to always create a vibe that everyone can feel and appreciate. Across all locations, we have regular DJ performances; we find that no matter the cuisine or target market, good music and festive environments are universally loved.

Our music director Arthur Tan, also the CEO of After The Noon Records, curates the music we bop our heads to in each location. Based on the target demographic, the cuisine, and the vibe we are trying to strike, he comes up with what he thinks will connect with our guests. On weekends, you’ll find many of his talents under his label spinning at our spots. It’s been a pleasure working with Tan and After The Noon Records for the last year, and we will continue to churn out sweet, sweet tunes with him for the foreseeable future.

How do you ensure that each concept delivers top-quality food across the spread of different cuisines?

To ensure top-quality, it’s simple: start with quality ingredients. Saving a few pesos here and there on lower-quality items might net you better returns in the short term but hurts the brand in the long run. Customers are getting more and more particular every year, and with new restaurants popping up all over the place, it’s becoming harder and harder to stand out above the rest.

The other simple yet difficult solution is to have a fantastic culinary team heading the kitchens. I work closely with chefs Mikko Reyes and Mark Isla, the executive chef and sous chef of both Alamat and West 32. Both have excellent pedigrees coming from The Palace Group and Wildflour, respectively. These guys are passionate about the food and beverage industry and give it their all, day in and day out. It’s been a pleasure working with them, and it’s one of the big reasons we’re finding success. 

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How does working in the music industry compare to working in the F&B industry? What are some new challenges you encountered working in F&B, and conversely, what about the two are similar?

Working in music isn’t too dissimilar to working with food. At the end of the day, musicians, chefs, and bartenders are all artists. They just happen to have different mediums with which they express themselves. We’re extremely lucky in that all our artists in both Careless and Notorious are professionals and take their craft very seriously. No ego gets in the way of getting the work done.

The music industry and F&B industry are remarkably similar in a way. All of the restaurant staff must move together in perfect harmony—not unlike a choreographed dance or musical number. Every dish coming out of the kitchen, every single drink coming out of the bar, and every interaction between our staff and guests are all like notes in a song. Like a singer, if you get one note wrong, it can sour the entire song. The F&B industry is quite unforgiving in that way. You can get it right 100 times in a row, but you get one dish wrong, and you’re now that restaurant that “used to be good.” When a famous singer goes on stage and bombs one part of a song, think of the memes and backlash they’d face. It’s very similar to the F&B business. People expect us to perform at 100 per cent every night and will accept nothing less.

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What has been the greatest lesson learned in your F&B experience thus far?

Don’t rest on your laurels. If you find success, just remember that it’s great to stop and smell the roses, take time to reflect on what the success means to you, and then forget about it and challenge yourself again. If you stop and assume you can now relax and coast, you are forgetting that there are tons of other people out there who are gunning for your crown. Whether they know it or not, whether you know it or not, someone will come along one day and knock you off the top spot. So do not let up. Do not relent. Keep your foot on the gas and find ways to reinvent and reimagine. Always push to be the head of the pack because if you fall short of reaching the stars, at least you’ll land on the moon.

What’s next for Notorious Concepts?

Aside from growing our concepts into other areas of the Philippines, we’re interested in trying our hand at other popular cuisines sometime soon. Nothing is set in stone at the moment, but we’re most likely going to do a Chinese concept, a café-wine bar, Italian and Vietnamese restaurants, and maybe even a burger joint. The possibilities make me giddy just thinking about it!

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