Trade venture turns into family adventure

MANILA, Philippines—One big adventure is how Niña Rodriguez-Abrigo describes the business of running a bar at a popular night spot in Pasig City.

Niña’s bar, Blufrog, is now a year old, but it has grown by leaps and bounds.

“We used to just sell liquor. But then our customers sought a place to consume the drinks they purchased from us,” Niña says.

It was what her customers wanted, so she added cocktail tables at her liquor store. Later, Niña hired a waiting staff to serve her thirsty clientele.

The idea of selling liquor originated from her parents, Danny and Gigi Rodriguez. The couple collects imported liquor brands.

Third place

Her brothers, Dave and Christian—who were then fresh from college—sought a place where they could hang out and enjoy a few bottles. This idea turned the usual family gathering into a brainstorming session for a business venture.

“We wanted to create a brand that would change the mind-set. We wanted to add a different twist to the usual bar concept,” says Niña, who graduated from Assumption College with a degree in advertising and public relations. “We arrived at the concept of ‘third place,’” or a place where one can work, play, party and unwind after a tiresome day at the office.

As for the name, Blufrog, it stems from a family joke, she relates.

“Every time my Dad would come home from work, all of us would say ‘O nandyan na si Blue frog,’ because he has a blue car. The headlights look like frog eyes to us,” Niña explains.

Hence the name Blufrog.

Path of uniqueness

And since they were trekking the path of uniqueness and wanted to stand out from the rest, the name helped by arousing the curiosity of customers, particularly those who had a taste for the unconventional.

“In fact, that is one of the frequently asked questions from our customers,” she says, referring to the name of the bar.

Blufrog is located at the Ortigas Home Depot where it sits humbly on a 30-square-meter lot. Later, the family decided to take a leap and opened a bigger branch at SilverCity in Pasig City. The new Blufrog stands on a 200 square meter property. Inside, there is a VIP room of about 80 square meters where customers can hold parties and other functions.

Although they do not sell local beer brands, they do offer 30 different beers from all over.

“It was a dilemma at first—not having local beer—but we really wanted to change the mind-set of our customers,” Niña says.

Cheaper by the bottle

Apart from the beer, they sell foreign liquor by the bottle. Some customers prefer this arrangement, arguing that the bottle comes out cheaper than buying shots.

And when customers are not able to finish a bottle, the Blufrog staff will label the name of the customer on the bottle and store it for future consumption.

This and other little things are part of what the Rodriguez family calls “unique selling points.”

“For us, it’s the little things that matter. Things like our waiters and staff calling [customers] by their first names,” Niña says.

They have trained their waiting staff to not just be efficient and courteous, but to establish rapport with customers.

“Some are surprised that the next time they walk into our place, somebody calls them by their first names,” Niña relates.

Quiet, secure

On matters of security, the owners are proud to say that, so far, Blufrog remains a quiet, secure place. Niña gives credit to her customers who know how to handle themselves.

Also, after a night of drinking, she makes sure that the customers arrive safely at their destinations.

“We don’t push them to finish an entire bottle. We allow them to rest until they feel that they are ready to drive again,” she says.

Manpower is vital to every organization. Niña makes sure that her staff is taken care of and well looked after.

“We treat them as business partners. We offer them profit-sharing. In a way, it creates loyalty, and we want to develop a sense of ownership in each one of them,” she says.

Niña thinks of her staff as an extension of her family.

“Since Blufrog is a family venture, the most important thing for us is to treat them well and provide for each of them,” she says.

Niña believes that people should know what they want to happen in their business, and that they must always listen to their customers because they will point the business to the right direction.

“This is a family business and this is something very personal to us. So we are all hands-on all the time, especially my parents and sister, Nathalie,” she says.

Niña cannot stress enough how hard “it is to run a business.”

Niña and her siblings are thankful to their father for guiding them in their day-to-day operations. The elder Rodriguez ran a successful print advertising business for 30 years.

“We are blessed to have a Dad with a vision,” Niña says.

She particularly relishes those times when her Dad would sit down with her and talk about new ideas for the bar.

For Niña, she wants family members, especially her other siblings, to be involved in deciding on the future of Blufrog.

She says that sometimes, the lines between family time and business meetings are often blurred.

“But I prefer it this way because it’s closer to my heart,” Niña says.