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Because of the media exposure, PenPen experienced a 300 percent increase in customers after only a month. Aside from the bigger lunch crowd, it now also attracts customers for dinner. Also working in PenPen's favor are its relatively low prices compared to those of other restaurants in the Tomas Morato area.

Medina admits that at first, he found it difficult to handle the sudden surge of customers brought about by his promotional effort. He explains: "Hindi kami prepared. Hindi namin inexpect na ganoon kadami ang magiging customers [We weren't prepared. We didn't expect such a big volume of customers]."

Due to the huge volume of orders, he says, service slowed down and ingredients ran out of stock. That incident was a major learning experience for him: when you advertise, he says, be prepared to keep up with the demand. At any rate, he decided to add one waiter-busboy to his current team of two cooks, one cooking assistant and two waiter-busboys to serve his growing number of customers.

Medina, who loves both acting and running PenPen, says the two are very different disciplines. "They are polar opposites," he quips. "Sa showbiz industry, very irregular. Eto kasing business parang halaman na kailangan mong alagaan, i-check from time to time. Ibang-iba ang discipline compared to acting [The restaurant business is like a plant that you need to take care of, to check from time to time. It's an entirely different discipline compared to acting]." He maintains, though, that he gets a better, longer-lasting sense of fulfillment from his restaurant business.

He explains that while his restaurant business is something that he had carefully thought over and planned, he got into show business simply through chance or, as he calls it, serendipity. "My acting career just happened," he says. He recalls that while still in high school, because people thought that he looked very much like the brother Paciano of Jose Rizal, the Philippine national hero, he was invited to play the part in the movie Jose Rizal in 1998. His acting stint in that movie was followed by more movie acting offers.

But Medina says that his acting career really took off only two years ago through his role in Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros. His successful portrayal of Bogs, the older brother of the lead character Maxi, in the critically acclaimed movie led to more acting projects. He recently finished shooting for his role in the independent film Selda [Prison Cell] and currently has a supporting role in the early afternoon soap opera Prinsesa ng Banyera [Princess of the Fish Tub] on ABS-CBN.

He envisions expanding PenPen restaurant into five branches or more, not only for profits' sake but to enable him to make a bigger contribution to such nonprofit, cause-oriented organizations as Manikako, which aims to give free art workshops to children in need. At the moment, PenPen is sponsoring one nonprofit organization per month with a donation of 10 percent of the restaurant's profits. Aside from this donation, PenPen displays the organization's merchandise in the restaurant's premises for one month to generate both sales and publicity for the organization. "The bigger the profits, the bigger our donations," he says.

So far, Medina finds running his restaurant business happy and fulfilling. He explains: "Iba yung fulfillment kung 'yung vision mo, 'yung concept mo, nagustuhan ng mga tao. Kahit may mga self-doubts ka at may doubts din ang iba, itinuloy mo pa rin at naniniwala kang magwo-work—at nag-work nga [The self-fulfillment is different when your very own vision and concept is liked by other people. Even if you have self-doubts and others also have doubts about it, you just go ahead in your belief that it will work—and it did work in my case]," he explains.

CONTACT DETAILS:

PENPEN: COMFORT FOOD ARAW-ARAW
105-C Scout Castor St. corner Tomas Morato
South Triangle, Quezon City
Telephone: (02) 411-4157