Feature: New York style pizza in MisOcc, why not?

by Jasper Marie O. Rucat

If others can do it, why can’t I?

Zeny Lanzado, proprietor of D’ Hermanos New York Style Pizza with over three branches in Misamis Occidental, particularly Tangub, Ozamiz, and Oroquieta City, and one in Zamboanga, said it was never her dream to become a businesswoman; in fact, after graduation, all she wanted was to work in an office and become an employee. 

Well, she graduated with a bachelor's in commerce, but contrary to what other people tell her, business was not for her.

Of course, fate redirected her path.

She married her husband, whose family was into business. They started their own business but failed; they went bankrupt, so Zeny went back to work.

She said, "Pero magkalisod ka diha na gyud mugawas imong pagkanegosyante. Makaingon ka wala man ko'y choice ani, magnegosyo gyud ko."

(If you are in a difficult situation, your business-minded self comes out. You can say, I don’t have a choice in this; I have to build my business.)

It was 2018 and there was no pizza store in Tangub City. Zeny and her kids would have to go to Ozamiz to eat pizza or bake in their existing bakeshop. So it gave her the idea to open her own store in Tangub.

But her husband said no. In fact, a big no!

He was afraid it would fail again. But Zeny said, "Why not try? If it fails, at least they tried."

After she finished her training from the Kapatid Mentor Me (KMME) program of the Department of Trade and Industry in Misamis Occidental she decided to finally open her own separate pizza store.

"Kitang mga babae kinahanglan mu stand gyud ta kay kung ato lang mga bana atong saligan, nga mao na ilang plano, dawbi og ilang plano, dili mao, apektado ang tanan. So kung unsa ang plano dapat estoryahan," she said.

(As women, we should stand on our own because if we depend on our husbands for decision-making and their decisions fail, it will affect the entire family. So whatever the plan is, it is important to discuss it)

"Dili ingon kay lalaki siya; siya lang gyud mubuhi sa pamilya, so unsaon na lang ang needs sa atong mga anak?," she said.

(It doesn’t mean that he is a man, or that he is the only one to provide for the family; how about the needs of the children?)

Small beginnings

It was a simple pizza place, with only four tables and two staff helping in the kitchen, but Zeny was not content. She wanted to improve the quality of her product, so she went to a workshop in Manila to learn how to make a New York-style pizza.

After the workshop, she realized she needed the correct equipment for this type of pizza. She only used ordinary ovens, and she could not afford to buy those big industrial ones; it was just impossible.

Then she thought of the program of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), where she obtained equipment worth P500,000.

In fact, later, when she opened another branch in Oroquieta City, she was granted another P1.1 million worth of equipment.

"Naka-start ko pagsugod sa among New York-style pizza tungod sa DOST. Kay kung wala ang DOST, maglisod ko kay mahal ang equipment, dili ko ka afford," she said.

(I was able to start with our New York-style pizza because of the DOST. Because if it were not for DOST, I would have a hard time because the equipment is so expensive and I cannot afford)

It motivated her. The support from the government gave her another sense of confidence to move forward. She described that, after DOST, she was able to get financial support from SB Corporation through DTI to augment her capital.

Since then, they have also moved to a new store, which has more comfortable features like air conditioning and, most importantly, better pizza.

New and improved pizza

"Our pizza is always fresh," she said.

This is not pre-baked or just being re-heated. Customers can see the actual making and baking of the pizza right in the open kitchen.

The concept was to show customers how it was made in real time; that was the innovation, she said.

"We hand-toast the pizza," she added.

Marketing is one challenge, Zeny said; it is not always that they have customers, but the goal is to not stop but to keep moving.

You have to motivate yourself because if you stop, there will be no progress, Zeny said. (JMOR/PIA-10/Misamis Occidental)