of their “IG wall,” full of customers’ snapshots and posts about their Shawarma Bros
experience. PHOTOS BY MAGIC LIWANAG
“YOU’LL be having the Lamb Steak Plate, right?” asked Shawarma Bros co-owner Gab Sobrepeña as we sat down for dinner. His offer was irresistible.
Three years ago, when the food truck was just creating a buzz among foodies with its shawarma rice meals, what got us hooked was the lamb—smoky, succulent and seasoned to perfection, without the gamey aftertaste that normally puts off the not-so-adventurous palate.
Now we don’t have to wait for the food truck to satisfy our cravings
anymore, because Shawarma Bros has permanently “parked” itself right in the middle of one of Manila’s busiest business hubs.
Even though its fledgling food truck business has gone in a different direction, the Bros—Sobrepeña, with business partners and Ateneo school buddies Rammy de Claro, Abe Castro, Joey Reyes and Paolo Layug—haven’t changed much from the bright-eyed yuppies behind this successful “rice meals on wheels” venture.
“We actually started thinking about a year and a half ago that maybe the food truck revolution wasn’t going to happen,” said De Claro. “We realized that it was difficult to find good selling locations consistently.”
By sheer coincidence, Castro found a spot in the newly constructed Bonifacio Stopover in Bonifacio Global City (BGC). The prime location makes it easier for their target market—hungry nine-to-fivers and graveyard shifters with a strong shawarma craving—to find.
As the Bros’ plans took shape, Castro resigned from his day job to handle operations. The rest of the Bros met every week to hold brainstorming sessions for new products.
Main menu
Shawarma Bros’ main menu—grilled chicken, beef or lamb shawarma—is served with biryani rice and tangy veggies on the side, and comes with garlic yogurt, cheese or chili tomato sauce. Meals are reasonably priced, ranging from P149 a la carte to about P300 per head depending on one’s appetite.
Our order of Lamb Steak Platter arrived, exactly as we remembered, but with a couple of twists. This time, the meat was served boneless, and came with something extra: keema, a lightly spiced ground beef dish.
“We call this the Big Bro. It’s an updated version of our regular rice meal,” Sobrepeña explained as we dug into our plate.
The idea of adding keema came about when the Bros wanted something that wouldn’t hurt the pockets of meat lovers with bigger appetites. A word of caution for weight watchers: the Big Bro meal might make you want to order extra rice to go with the extra meat.
Another new item is the Burrito Bro, a tasty treat to-go for busy bees who have only enough time to eat and run. Unlike the usual shawarma wrap, this one has rice, which makes it as heavy as a full meal.
Other products, like kebabs and dessert items, are also in the works.
As far as drinks go, the house iced tea, bottled water and soda in can are the only ones on the menu, but the Bros are currently working on additions. “We’re trying to find a craft beer that’s best paired with our shawarma,” De Claro explained. The name? “Bro Beer,” of course.
Laid-back vibe
The interior is well-lit and nicely done in signature yellow, orange and black. On one side of the wall is a mural—a throwback to Shawarma Bros’ busy early days when its patrons dined al fresco in the middle of Glorietta 3 park on a weekend. Understandably, the resto has a more laid-back vibe where people can enjoy the food and each other’s company at their own leisure.
“We don’t want to be pretentious; we want it to be fun and lively,” said De Claro.
The “IG wall” at the far end, decorated with customers’ Instagram snapshots and posts about their Shawarma Bros experience, adds a personal touch. According to the Bros, this concept enables them to interact with new fans and loyal patrons who are active on social media.
“By putting pictures of people who like us and follow us, it says something to our customers—that we appreciate you guys,” De Claro explained.
Challenges
Aside from the concept shop/commissary along C. Raymundo in Pasig and this flagship resto in BGC, the Bros are toying with the idea of opening another branch not far from here. But before they take plans further, the Bros want to make sure they’re stable, operations-wise.
While business has been generally good since opening in late July, there have been challenges that come with the shift from food truck to resto, such as higher customer expectations, not-so-nice feedback, and competition with more experienced neighbors. But they see these challenges as a valuable learning experience.
“You can’t please everyone. We just serve our food in the best way we can, hoping that the people who love our food will keep coming back,” said Sobrepeña.
Are they worried about competitors? Not quite. Although they had initially balked at the fact that one of their sources of inspiration, New York’s The Halal Guys, has arrived in Manila, the Bros believe they have nothing to fear since Shawarma Bros is homegrown.
“We’ll just stay true to our food,” De Claro said. “We hope it’s a good kind of competition that gets people more interested in different kinds of shawarma.”
‘Bro code’
Now that they’ve more or less adjusted to the changes, the Bros are focusing on another marketing move to set themselves apart from the rest—something at the core of their business, beyond their mutual love of Persian food. “We started out as Bros, but we realized that we needed an emotional aspect: to focus on spreading brotherhood,” De Claro said.
Even before the Shawarma Bros concept came to life, the partners had their own “bro code”—that they wouldn’t fight with each other, no matter how things turned out. And they never have.
“In each decision we make, we always factor in that we are friends first before business partners,” said Sobrepeña. “People say, ‘Don’t become partners with your friends,’ but it’s the thing that has kept us going for the last two to three years.”
“We made sure that that was the frame of mind when we entered this business,” De Claro said. “Whatever happens, I think it’s the one thing we will always be proud of.”
Wrapping up the conversation with clean plates and satisfied stomachs, we congratulated the Bros for not only turning their dreams into reality, but also for tackling each day with the same earnestness and dedication they’d started out with years ago.
Here’s to good food, good vibes, and good ol’ brotherhood.
Shawarma Bros is at 2/F Bonifacio Stopover Pavilion, Rizal Drive cor. 31st St., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City. It opens 11 a.m. daily and closes at 9 p.m. (Mondays), 11 p.m. (Tuesdays-Thursdays), 12 a.m. (Fridays-Saturdays), and 8 p.m. (Sundays).
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