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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
Tante is tops among
Asian entrepreneursThe owner of a humble community-favorite restaurant at the Big Island's Kona Bowl has won a national award.
Asian Enterprise Magazine presented Tante Urban, founder of Tante's Restaurant, with one of five Asian Entrepreneur of the Year awards last month in Las Vegas.
Winners were selected based on financial condition and business growth; job creation; number of employees; ability to overcome economic and or ethnic barriers and challenges; quality of product or service; customer satisfaction; personal standards, hard work and perseverance; and community involvement.
Urban was selected in the hospitality category during the 10th anniversary of the awards, along with other entrepreneurs in categories including technology, service, architecture and engineering.
Tante's is not your everyday bowling alley eatery.
Opened in 1996, its cuisine includes the types of food one would expect at a bowling alley restaurant, pizza, burgers and the like, but that's the tip of the menu iceberg.
The 80-seat, family-run restaurant has an extensive selection of Filipino dishes, popular local foods and offerings that Urban's publicist John Kitchen calls, "more continental," such as salmon with capers.
Urban's menu didn't start out as large as it is now.
"We put some things on for specials and people really liked it so we just kept adding on to the menu," Urban said.
"Most of our customers are local and we have a lot of repeat customers, so we have to keep them satisfied," he said.
The restaurant's relationship with the bowling alley is also different from the norm, according to Kona Bowl General Manager Jeff Gillum.
"I've managed bowling centers on the mainland and usually the restaurant business is driven by my business," he said. At Kona Bowl, however, "the restaurant could be full and I could have one lane going."
Tante's does not have a liquor license, but the bowling alley does, so diners often take food to the bar, which stays open until 2 a.m. Tante's is open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. "but if we're really slammed, they're going to accommodate that," Gillum said. Kona Bowl is open until 12:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Urban sponsors an annual bowling tournament, "to give back to the bowlers," he said.
Gillum said Urban puts out a spread and fills all the lanes, with an estimated 120 bowlers for each tournament. "It's a two-way street. The bowlers appreciate Tante and he appreciates the bowlers," Gillum said.
Tante's is the official caterer for the bowling alley, which regularly hosts private parties.
Clientele includes the Maunalani Bay Hotel & Bungalows and the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel.
They never complain about the food, prices or service, Gillum said, "and they're discriminating."
"For me as a GM, with the restaurant situation, it's been wonderful ... I don't worry about the food. It's going to be good and it's going to be done on time. I'm so glad it's here -- I don't have to worry about that part of the business," Gillum said.
Gillum estimates that he has had as many as 800 meals at Tante's in his five years with Kona Bowl. His favorite dish as a "white boy from California" is the shrimp tempura.
A year after opening the restaurant, Urban signed a contract to run the employee cafeteria at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott, where 120 or more employee breakfasts, lunches and dinners are served every day.
Noelani Whittington, spokeswoman for the hotel, asked him how he was doing one morning. His enthusiastic response was, "I'm just terrific. I just finished listening to my inspirational tapes and I feel great," she said of his answer. "He's always complimentary, never negative. He's a positive person and you hardly see turnover in his department," she said. "It's always a good sign in a business when your employees are consistent."
Urban founded and is current president of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Kona and has twice served as president of the Filipino Organization of Kona.
Urban spoke to TheBuzz from the airport, where he, his wife Araceli and four other family members were looking forward to spending the weekend in Honolulu -- but not just for play. Urban and other partners in Kona Gold Entertainment Corp. are putting on tonight's concert at Hilton Hawaiian Village by Gary Valenciano, a popular entertainer from the Philippines.
"A trusted friend" is minding the store, he said.
Urban also does some real estate investing.
Does he have any spare time?
"Gotta keep busy," he said, his smile audible.
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Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at: eengle@starbulletin.com