Head of the table

Gomez says everything counts: Food quality, service quality, your environment and how you address people’s concerns. — SAMUEL ONG/The Star

BY most accounts, F&B and hospitality operator The Olive Tree Group is faring rather well. Established in 2003, the group is behind some of the local dining and bar scene’s most recognised brands such as Frangipaani, Rockafellers and La Chica Mexican Grill.

Today, it operates 28 restaurants, pubs and bars across the country, and just this year it made its first international foray with its new outlet, Frangipaani at Prana Bali. But the group’s founder and managing director Leslie Gomez is not one to take these successes for granted.

“In this industry, nothing is permanent. It is an everyday evolution.” he states. “We are recognised in the market, and one of the leading F&B groups in Malaysia, but it is a very flimsy industry. Even though you may have a good team and a good background to build from, everything still comes down to the day-to-day operations.”

This is, according to Gomez, because such businesses are highly dependent on direct dealings with a wide range of customers, characters and personalities. “The whole footing needs to be strong. You need to know where you’re going and what brands do and don’t work for you, and understand where you fit in,” he elaborates.

A keen understanding and intuition for the restaurant and hospitality business is key, and the entrepreneur has it in spades, thanks in no small part to his long background and extensive experience steeped in the industry.

“I have a degree in hotel management and catering, so I come from the F&B culture itself,” he shares.

After cutting his teeth in the Taj Hotels group, India, he moved to Malaysia, where he gained further experience in the trade for a few years. It was in 2003 that he took the leap to open Pride of India, an Indian cuisine restaurant in Desa Sri Hartamas.

In the years that followed, the business expanded with more dining outlets around Kuala Lumpur, eventually branching out to Johor Bahru and Penang, and diversifying into more restaurant-and-bar concepts such as the Olive Kitchen & Bar.

Today, the F&B group is home to a litany of notable brands such as Rock Bottom, Sutraa, WoW Genting, Temptations and Luca, and boasts numerous industry awards to its name.

Seasoned entrepreneur

For Gomez, one of the most significant factors when it comes to dining and hospitality is location.

“Foot traffic is an important thing we look for. We are in many tourist-heavy areas like Changkat Bukit Bintang, Genting and Penang Road,” he notes.

After 21 years of weathering the ups and downs of the business, he says, one learns to discern the dynamics and economics at play in various locations.

“I wouldn’t put a brand like Luca in Langkawi because it’s not going to do what you intend it to. I’d put Rockefellers there, as it’s food, drinks, entertainment, sports all packaged together — that’s what you want.”

Additionally, today’s F&B landscape necessitates a more thorough approach to choosing locations. “Before, some used to say that you could put a restaurant in a jungle and people would still come to you. It doesn’t work like that anymore,” he notes.

“Now with traffic jams and transportation considerations, you need to be in a location that is accessible to everyone, with good parking access and good connectivity. These days the first thing people ask is, ‘Is parking free?’, so it plays a very big role.”

Even menu design, to a certain extent, is determined by where an outlet is placed. For example, Rockefellers in Penang features European and Indian style cuisine while Changkat’s Rockefellers offers British and Irish dining options, Gomez says.

Adapting and diversifying appears to be critical to The Olive Tree Group’s operations. With an ever-expanding portfolio of culinary specialities across its brands, ranging from Northern Indian and English to Spanish and Mexican, the group stays competitive by adjusting to changing needs, tastes and demands.

“There’s so much competition in the market now, everyone’s out there trying to get a piece of the pie,” Gomez explains. “Here we only have 32 million people and within that, it’s only a certain small section of people that everyone is seeking to capitalise on, so it’s not easy.”

“You need to stay relevant to the market,” he adds. “You cannot keep the same menu for ten years. Everything counts: Food quality, service quality, your environment and how you address people’s concerns.”

Rooted in progress

In the notoriously cutthroat industry of F&B, Gomez opines that MCO restriction during the pandemic was truly a make-or-break moment for many businesses. “It really taught you the biggest lesson if you survived the MCO — the way you held things together. It wasn’t easy for us but we came out of it and opened 11 more outlets after that,” he shares.

Despite this, the volatile period has undoubtedly left its mark. Gomez observes that even now, the market remains unstable and that 2023 saw a dip in numbers across the board after 2022’s rebound.

“Spending power has dropped and people are holding back because there’s less certainty currently.”

Yet the show must go on, and businesses should be diligent and scrupulous in ensuring their survival even through unsteady times. “You have got to try and push yourself to get people coming in,” he stresses. “It’s very important to know your costing and purchases against your selling. You have to know this industry — it will be very difficult if you don’t.”

Rapidly shifting standards of consumer demands mean dining and hospitality establishments need to be agile in responding to them. “The perception of F&B outlets has changed; the dimensions have changed,” he says. “Today, they don’t care if their pasta’s hot or cold — not until the photograph is taken. They’re tagging themselves, they’re sharing that they’re in this place, and they care about how the food is presented to them.”

“With social media everywhere, you’ve got to be experimenting. You have to be up for anything,” he adds. Another pillar that is paramount for him is top quality service. In fact, he opines that that service is an area our local industry still falls short of.

“We are far behind many countries,” he observes. “When you come into this kind of place, you want everything to be tip top, you don’t want to have to raise your hand. Service plays a big role — understanding a customer’s way of expressing their needs, or asking them about any concerns. This sort of thing makes a lot of difference in the industry, and that’s what brings people back to you.”

Gomez shares that to achieve a high level of customer service, having qualified people is essential. While most restaurateurs will agree that staffing is often the biggest challenge, he also notes that service employees are the backbone of the business. As the lead of a 500 staff-strong group, he emphasises the importance of personnel in an industry predicated on daily human interactions.

“You’re not dealing with robots, but humans and human nature,” he says. “Everyone working here needs to be on the same page. If they’re happy, that impacts the service they bring, so we try to take care of our employees. I always believe that what you give is what you get back.”

“You need to stay relevant to the market. You cannot keep the same menu for 10 years. Everything counts: Food quality, service quality, your environment and how you address people’s concerns.”

This article first appeared in Star Biz7 weekly edition.