Features
Museum Cafe
Annabella Santos-Wisniewski asked herself: "Why work for a foreign company when I could do my own thing?" She went on to make a name for herself in upscale hotels and food establishments management.
By Elaine Ruzul S. Ramos; Photos by Ocs Alvarez
Annabela Santos-Wisniewski is no stranger to entrepreneurship. She comes from a family that set up 50 years ago what was to become one of Manila's famous restaurants, and her keen interest and acumen in food services have made her a force to reckon with in the hospitality industry. Today, she owns and runs two thriving companies that manage a very impressive number of upscale food establishments and hotels in the Philippines.
"It's genetics-it's in the blood," says Annabel of her success as a food-service entrepreneur and manager. The president of Raintree Partners and HSAI Raintree Hospitality Management recalls that the Santos family had always been keenly entrepreneurial. Way back in the 1940s, her grandparents and her father were engaged in selling coffee packed in brown bags, and her mother, Honorata, now 91, founded the highly successful Bungalow Restaurant in Malate, Manila.
Honorata and a sister built the Bungalow as a one-story house complete with living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom in what was then a primarily residential district. They were assisted in the design and construction by Annabel's stepfather, Francisco Fajardo, an architect. The restaurant, which started with only five tables, became very popular for its pancit (noodles), arroz caldo (rice gruel), and lumpia (rolls). It grew and held its ground against the competition that included such established restaurants as Selecta, Aristocrat, and Bulakenya.
It was at about this time that Annabel went to the United States for her college studies. She took up hotel administration at Cornell University in New York and became the very first Filipina to graduate from Cornell. For her bachelor's degree, she did a feasibility study for a Polynesian restaurant. The concept of this study formed the basis for Luau Restaurant, a fine-dining establishment that the Santoses later put up along Roxas Boulevard in Manila. Recalls Annabel: "We flew in a chef from Hawaii for that restaurant. We catered to the Forbes Park people so we held fashion shows as part of its attractions. It was a very upscale affair and our closest competitors then were Madrid Restaurant and The Plaza."
But after running Luau for one-and-a-half years, wanderlust bit Annabel, who was 23 at the time. She went back to the US for graduate studies at Cornell, during which she met her future husband, Thomas Wisniewski. While in the US, Annabel learned as much as possible about the upscale restaurant business by working for the Waldorf Astoria in New York and the Kahala Hilton in Hawaii. In the 70s, she came back to the Philippines and rejoined the family business. By then the Santoses had already branched out into the cafeteria-corporate food business, servicing as many as 28 companies that included such heavyweights as PLDT and IBM.
Annabel recalls: "The family business was doing very well but my entrepreneurial background made me see other opportunities to make it more profitable. For one, I decided to have all the laundry for the cafeteria business done ourselves. I hired women to wash and iron the tablecloths. This arrangement worked for me because they also doubled up as my househelps and nannies for my kids."
But being both strong-willed individuals, Annabel and her mother soon ran into disagreements over how to run the business. For this reason, Annabel quit. Together with two fellow Cornell graduates, she put up her own firm, HOSTS Consulting. Among their first clients were the Manila Polo Club, Philippine Airlines, and a few Singapore-based companies.
By then the Wisniewskis already had a growing family and decided to settle in the US so they can raise their children there. The couple then put up ATW Enterprises, a partnership that managed two boutique hotels, the Orchard Hotel and Casa Madrona in Sausalito, California. In 1995, however, Scotts Holdings, a Singapore hotel and serviced apartment company with the Ascott and Palm Court brands, invited Annabel back to the Philippines, appointing her country manager and vice president for their local operations.
After two years, Annabel decided to go on her own. She recalls: "I began to ask myself: Why work for a foreign company when I could do my own thing?" She then put up Raintree Partners-with only herself, her secretary, and a driver as employees-to provide independent consulting work for such upscale clients as the Four Seasons Hotel and Shangri-La Hotel.
The consulting business of Raintree Partners was doing well but Annabel, keen on establishing a stronger presence and a better cash flow, decided to also go into operations. She formed another partnership, HSAI Raintree Hospitality Management, to operate luxury hotels under management contracts. Her partners in the new venture were the owners of Discovery Suites, which then tapped her to manage the hotel. Today, in addition to Discovery Suites, Raintree also manages the Country Suites in Tagaytay City and will do the same for Discovery Shores in Boracay, which is set to open this February.
Still another business opportunity came up for Annabel when Raintree was contracted by the Kuok Group to develop a food court for the tenants of its Enterprise Center in Makati City. Annabel felt she was truly cut out for this project, given her family's background in the cafeteria business. Using both formal knowledge and experience, she decided to give the office cafeteria concept a unique twist, innovating on its look and general layout and on the way it dispensed food and drinks.
"It's genetics-it's in the blood," says Annabel of her success as a food-service entrepreneur and manager. The president of Raintree Partners and HSAI Raintree Hospitality Management recalls that the Santos family had always been keenly entrepreneurial. Way back in the 1940s, her grandparents and her father were engaged in selling coffee packed in brown bags, and her mother, Honorata, now 91, founded the highly successful Bungalow Restaurant in Malate, Manila.
Honorata and a sister built the Bungalow as a one-story house complete with living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom in what was then a primarily residential district. They were assisted in the design and construction by Annabel's stepfather, Francisco Fajardo, an architect. The restaurant, which started with only five tables, became very popular for its pancit (noodles), arroz caldo (rice gruel), and lumpia (rolls). It grew and held its ground against the competition that included such established restaurants as Selecta, Aristocrat, and Bulakenya.
It was at about this time that Annabel went to the United States for her college studies. She took up hotel administration at Cornell University in New York and became the very first Filipina to graduate from Cornell. For her bachelor's degree, she did a feasibility study for a Polynesian restaurant. The concept of this study formed the basis for Luau Restaurant, a fine-dining establishment that the Santoses later put up along Roxas Boulevard in Manila. Recalls Annabel: "We flew in a chef from Hawaii for that restaurant. We catered to the Forbes Park people so we held fashion shows as part of its attractions. It was a very upscale affair and our closest competitors then were Madrid Restaurant and The Plaza."
But after running Luau for one-and-a-half years, wanderlust bit Annabel, who was 23 at the time. She went back to the US for graduate studies at Cornell, during which she met her future husband, Thomas Wisniewski. While in the US, Annabel learned as much as possible about the upscale restaurant business by working for the Waldorf Astoria in New York and the Kahala Hilton in Hawaii. In the 70s, she came back to the Philippines and rejoined the family business. By then the Santoses had already branched out into the cafeteria-corporate food business, servicing as many as 28 companies that included such heavyweights as PLDT and IBM.
Annabel recalls: "The family business was doing very well but my entrepreneurial background made me see other opportunities to make it more profitable. For one, I decided to have all the laundry for the cafeteria business done ourselves. I hired women to wash and iron the tablecloths. This arrangement worked for me because they also doubled up as my househelps and nannies for my kids."
But being both strong-willed individuals, Annabel and her mother soon ran into disagreements over how to run the business. For this reason, Annabel quit. Together with two fellow Cornell graduates, she put up her own firm, HOSTS Consulting. Among their first clients were the Manila Polo Club, Philippine Airlines, and a few Singapore-based companies.
By then the Wisniewskis already had a growing family and decided to settle in the US so they can raise their children there. The couple then put up ATW Enterprises, a partnership that managed two boutique hotels, the Orchard Hotel and Casa Madrona in Sausalito, California. In 1995, however, Scotts Holdings, a Singapore hotel and serviced apartment company with the Ascott and Palm Court brands, invited Annabel back to the Philippines, appointing her country manager and vice president for their local operations.
After two years, Annabel decided to go on her own. She recalls: "I began to ask myself: Why work for a foreign company when I could do my own thing?" She then put up Raintree Partners-with only herself, her secretary, and a driver as employees-to provide independent consulting work for such upscale clients as the Four Seasons Hotel and Shangri-La Hotel.
The consulting business of Raintree Partners was doing well but Annabel, keen on establishing a stronger presence and a better cash flow, decided to also go into operations. She formed another partnership, HSAI Raintree Hospitality Management, to operate luxury hotels under management contracts. Her partners in the new venture were the owners of Discovery Suites, which then tapped her to manage the hotel. Today, in addition to Discovery Suites, Raintree also manages the Country Suites in Tagaytay City and will do the same for Discovery Shores in Boracay, which is set to open this February.
Still another business opportunity came up for Annabel when Raintree was contracted by the Kuok Group to develop a food court for the tenants of its Enterprise Center in Makati City. Annabel felt she was truly cut out for this project, given her family's background in the cafeteria business. Using both formal knowledge and experience, she decided to give the office cafeteria concept a unique twist, innovating on its look and general layout and on the way it dispensed food and drinks.
