NAGA CITY, Philippines?In this corner, Michael Phelps is a fish?a tuna to be exact?that food lovers can eat for just P370 at JAQ Restaurant, Sports Bar and Dance Club.

Manny Pacquiao, Wesley So and the Dallas Mavericks are also on the menu.

?I named all the food served in our restaurant after famous sports figures because my father and I are sports buffs,? says Jack Hernandez, 41, owner of the sports-themed resto on Peñafrancia, Magsaysay and Melchor T. Villanueva avenues.

Hernandez started the food business as a tribute to his parents, especially his father. ?I?m a daddy?s boy,? he says.

The former resident of the United States returned home when he learned that his father would be undergoing a sensitive medical procedure. He decided to stay for good so he could closely watch for his father.

?I love Naga City. When I was in college [in a Manila university], I would always look forward to a long weekend when I could go home to Naga.? he says.

One day, while he was eating in a restaurant along Magsaysay Avenue, he noticed an empty space in a nearby building. It instantly occurred to him that the place could be a good area for business, especially a restaurant, which he had long dreamt of.

P5-million capital

Using his savings from his past employment, Hernandez opened the restaurant in 2009 with a capital of about P5 million, and family and sports in his mind.

?I originally envisioned it as a place where everyone can eat good food while being introduced to the world of sports,? says Hernandez, who is also a corporate communications instructor.

Now, JAQ Restaurant, Sports Bar and Dance Club is fast-becoming a watering hole for sports enthusiasts and food lovers. What primarily attracts them is curiosity about its food items named after sports figures and superstars.

Famous gymnast Nadia Comaneci is a vodka cream with smoked salmon and caviar. Swimmer Mark Spitz is salmon crusted with one of Bicol?s foremost delicacies?the pili nut. Tennis great Martina Navratilova is a porterhouse steak. Jake La Motta is an osso bucco (braised veal shanks).

The world?s most famous football players are not missed out. Ronaldinho is pork chop, while David Beckham is fillet mignon (beef tenderloin).

54 food items

Hernandez personally named all the 54 items on the menu. The number corresponds to that of a card deck with two Jokers.

JAQ is actually a complex of facilities. Aside from the restaurant, it has a sports bar and a club for those seeking relaxation.

In fact JAQ, aside from being a namesake of its owner, is an acronym??J? for Jaq family restaurant, ?A? for Ace sports bar, and ?Q? for Queen Club. Each of the establishments is dedicated to Hernandez?s parents.

The way he relates to his employees is one of the reasons his restaurant is relatively thriving despite the economic slowdown, Hernandez says.

?I would always tell my employees that our relationship is not that of an employer and employees but as one family,? he says.

When the original bartender died, the club closed shop ?so all of us could attend to his wake,? he says. ?I even framed his uniform so everyone in the restaurant would remember the person who was instrumental in establishing the restaurant.?

The restaurant offers lunch buffets for families on Sundays. Anyone who comes in sports clothes is given a discount.

Hernandez says he learned from his travels that one need not spend too much on good food, and he had been trying to replicate the experience. ?I want to share to Naga City folk that food does not have to be expensive, as long as it is good.?

JAQ Restaurant, Sports Bar and Dance Club plans to incorporate wakeboarding in its sports menu as homage to the tourism boom in Camarines Sur. A world-famous wakeboarding hub, Camarines Sur Watersports Complex, is found in the province.