Barkada turns love of burgers into a growing food business

Von Anthony Hamoy (left) and Sebastian Mijares (right) and their eight other friends have always loved burgers. Now, they have their own burger business named New Found Burger. | CDN PHOTO Jose Santino Bunachita

What started as favorite pastime for this barkada turned out to be a business venture.

Von Hamoy and Sebastian Mijares, both 24, and their eight other friends have always loved hanging out after classes, enjoying some drinks, band music, and their favorite food — burgers.

Circa 2013, when they were about to graduate from Don Bosco High School, the group started toying with the idea of opening their own business.

The plan was put into action in 2015 when the group, after months of experimenting on their own recipes, opened at the house of one of their friends in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City.

“We opened New Found Burger to our close friends, and we scheduled it on holidays because that’s the only time we were available since we had to juggle our schedule in between our studies, individual lives, and the business,” Mijares said.

By then, they were already in college and studying at different universities, taking up different courses.

The group was allowed to operate New Found Burger at the carenderia owned by the mother of Mark, one of their friends, which closes at around 6 p.m.

They operated on evenings until late nights during weekends and holidays when they don’t have classes.

After a few weeks, they started getting more and more customers. And eventually, they had to stop since they were not allowed to use the space anymore.

For the next year or so, the group had tried out different weekend food bazaars, pop-up stores, and makeshift areas for them to continue operating.

“In 2017, my father was able to buy a building which had rentable spaces. So we took the opportunity. Since some of us already had jobs, we tried to pool our resources to open our first ever branch,” Hamoy said.

With a starting capital of P200,000, the group purchased some cooking equipment, renovated their space, and bought some ingredients.

Fortunately, Hamoy’s father allowed them to rent the space for free for six months to help them establish their business.

Their first store, located at Casa Venna corner San Lorenzo Village, E. Sabellano St., Barangay Punta Princesa in Cebu City, opened last August 2017.

It is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The success during their initial makeshift operations proved to be true as they continued to experience a huge turnout in their first branch.

Just recently, they opened their second branch located at YelloCube in Wilson St., Barangay Lahug, Cebu City.

It is open everyday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.

They currently employ seven workers and they would also help out in the two branches themselves.

Their menu consists of burgers and sausages. They also have french fries and onion rings as sides.

One strength of New Found Burger is their affordability without compromising their taste and flavor.

Their burgers range from P60 to P180 each.

Their original Classic Boxer, the entry level burger, is priced at P90

Their other best sellers are Cheezy Cheza and Spicy BBQ Jude, both priced at P125.

We also have the JB junior burger priced at P60 for the kids and those who are on a strict diet.

“None of us friends have any background with business. We were really learning real time. We learned along the way,” Hamoy recalled.

Even with their problems on time management and their resources, the group still pulled through.

From their friends and relatives, their loyal patrons now include new faces who have heard about their burgers through word of mouth and through social media.

They also just promote using their Facebook page.

“The undying willingness to continuously learn was what helped us grow this business, the more we get involved the more experience we gain, we were able to distinguish between what to do and what not to do,” Mijares shared.

Soon, the group hopes that they will be able to open a bigger and full-blown restaurant for New Found Burger and also expand their menu.