Margaret Cunanan

Pancake House Group

Pancake House was known to be the first and only restaurant that offered pancakes and waffles to a consumer market that was only accustomed to rice-based food. Its menu included other popular international food fares such as spaghetti, tacos and chicken. On its 30th year of operation, Martin P. Lorenzo led an all-Filipino investor group that acquired Pancake House and its commissary. This paved the way for rapid growth and renewed strength of the brand. Pancake House's organization has also expanded with a workforce almost doubling from 350 in 2000 to nearly 650 in 2006. Today, Pancake House Inc. is more than pancakes. It also operates and franchises two other popular casual dining chain of restaurants: Dencio's and Teriyaki Boy. In 2004, the Lorenzo group purchased Dencio's Foods Specialists, Inc, which owns and manages the Dencio's Bar and Grill chain. Dencio's broke ground in 1991 as the pioneer in bar and grill restaurants serving favorite Filipino dishes such as sisig, kare-kare and sinugba, primarily to young professionals who were loyal patrons. In 2005, the company acquired another robust brand, Teriyaki Boy, famous for its trendy Japanese dining concept – delicious Japanese-with-a-twist dishes (such as its best-selling Chicken Teriyaki), the colorful and hip interiors, and the quick and friendly service. Since then, the company has given birth to two new infant companies whose growth the company aims to see through by itself. One is a neighborhood Chinese take-out, delivery and dine-in service and the other, a modern Japanese steak restaurant. In 2006, the company obtained Singkit, a New York-inspired Chinese take-out and delivery service, which originally served a neighborhood in Makati. Warming up to a market seen to widely receive modern Japanese steak preparations is Sizzlin' Pepper Steak. It aims to serve a crowd with a passion for ingeniously prepared steak and beef dishes in a modern Japanese way.