The visionary restaurateur Victor Vincent “Vic Vic” Villavicencio was loved for his generosity of spirit. He believed that the simple pleasures of good food and company need not be expensive. His pioneering restaurant promotions that drew volume sales have since been widely imitated.

“To my father, life was a celebration, and it shouldn’t cost much. That was his personality. He translated that into his business model,” said Victor Sixto “VeeJay” Villavicencio, the eldest of Vic Vic’s seven children that includes Pia, twins Mara and Cara, Bokie, Victoria and Vic.

“My dad loved family lunches and dinners. We had to be complete. We could be in a carinderia or in one of those lit places. That’s how we learned to appreciate good food and service,” said VeeJay.

Born on Nov. 8, 1951, Vic Vic grew up in a compound with several families, where he learned to cook in large quantities for get-togethers.

Following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Sixto Villavicencio, an engineer, Vic Vic took up engineering at De La Salle University. He dropped out of school when he married Maridel Baltazar and started a family.

VeeJay, 46, recalled that they lived in a one-bedroom apartment. “He struggled to make ends meet. He would go to Palawan to get fish and sell them in Manila. That’s how he developed his love for fishing.”

Vic Vic’s grandfather, Jorge Vargas, then asked Vic Vic and his cousins to manage Villa Adelaida, Jorge’s resort in Tagaytay. The experience exposed him to all facets of the hospitality industry.

Resourceful and instinctive, Vic Vic took advantage of the view of Taal Lake by organizing outdoor barbecue grills with locally sourced crabs and shrimps. He observed that people preferred to eat with their hands. It inspired him to develop a new restaurant concept.

Bare hands

In 1977, Vic Vic opened the Filipino restaurant Kamayan, whose main attraction was to eat with bare hands, a novelty in the food industry.

Since it was his first venture, VeeJay recalls, Vic Vic worked intensely. He left the house at 8 a.m. and returned at 1 a.m. every day. But he always brought home good food for his wife and children.

“He always made time for us,” said VeeJay.

In the ’70s and early ’80s, Japanese food was enjoyed only by the elite. When Vic Vic opened Saisaki, he made sushi, sashimi and tempura accessible to Filipinos.

In 1993, another new concept, Dad’s, introduced the eat-all-you-can buffet. Since Vic Vic was brought up not to waste food, he rewarded customers with a huge discount if their plates had no leftovers. Diners sometimes cheated by hiding their excess food in tissue paper or dumping leftovers in the toilet, clogging it.

Dad’s has since evolved into Dads World Buffet, a crossover of the fare from Kamayan, Saisaki and other international cuisines. Vic Vic understood that the diverse food accommodated the different tastes of his customers.

VeeJay noted that today’s patrons have learned to curb excesses. The eat-all-you-can buffet at a friendly price, leaving minimal wastage, has become the norm.

VeeJay was five years old in 1977 when his father brought him to Kamayan. He witnessed his father’s dedication to his work and how Vic Vic developed his taste and standards.

“My dad once said, ‘The restaurant will always be for you, but you have to love it. If you do, you won’t feel as if you’ve been working,’” said VeeJay. “He said that if we ourselves are happy, it would show in the product.”

In later years, Vic Vic remained hands-on in concepts and decision-making, while the children took over operations.

Cara Villavicencio-Espinosa looks after Dads World Buffet.

VeeJay is managing director of Ogetsu Hime, a high-end Japanese restaurant at SM Aura and SM Megamall.

While other restaurants serve wagyu steak or Matsusaka beef for P6,100, Ogetsu Hime prices its Matsusaka beef at 50 percent less. A regular cut of 200 g costs P3,050.

Fresh supply

The logic is that if the restaurant offers an upscale product at a competitive price, it would get more orders. This guarantees Ogetsu Hime a fresh supply from Japan twice a week. In other establishments, pricey steaks and beef stay longer in the freezer.

“It’s like an ongoing promotion for our customer. We make enough money for the restaurant to continue,” VeeJay said.

Sambo Kojin, managed by Bokie (or Victor Constantino), is a Japanese and Korean grill and buffet. Its appeal lies in the smokeless grill and the various skewered items, infused with oriental flavorings and char.

Vic Vic’s foray into fast casual dining is No. 1 Barbecue, managed by Pia Villavicencio-Lago.

“Since Pinoys love grilled items, my dad developed a concept around barbecues. Coming from a buffet restaurant, we expanded with other products that would complement the menu,” said VeeJay. If a father liked American smoked barbecue, the son could order fried chicken.

Despite their responsibilities, VeeJay maintained that the siblings support each other. The different brands are consolidated under the same operational guidelines and shared accounting and engineering services. Vic Vic wanted to see his children as employers united with the staff.

Vic Vic was also an avid sports fisherman. The younger Villavicencio would bond with his father in Sta. Ana, Cagayan, for its diverse marine life.

To make up for his long hours at work, Vic Vic organized family vacations every year. They were spent on the beach, since Vic Vic loved the water. It started with the siblings touring Boracay, Palawan and Cebu. The traveling group grew when they got married and had children.

Before Vic Vic died on April 29, reportedly of heart attack, the clan spent the Easter holiday in a resort in Langkawi, Malaysia.

“My father was always gracious,” said VeeJay. “He wanted all of us to be there, and not talk business. We would just bond and laugh. My dad was the happiest person I know. He wanted to live life to the fullest. There was an activity every hour of the day. I’m going to miss that.” —CONTRIBUTED