ROBERT Bolick is never one to pass up a shot.
When an opportunity to invest and put up a business of his own opened, he bravely went for it. Together with his wife Cassandra, Bolick launched their very own Kurimi Milk Tea Bar branch at Ayala Malls Feliz in Pasig.
But as big of a gamble as it is may seem, the NorthPort star felt this was a serendipitous move.
Milk tea joints have mushroomed across the archipelago. But of all the drinks he's tried, it was only Kurimi's which Bolick liked the most.
"Ang daming milk tea na natikman namin ng wife ko pero di ko talaga nagustuhan. Tinatapon ko pa nga yung iba," he said with a chuckle.
"Pero ito, nagustuhan ko talaga."
His favorites? Oreo cheesecake milk tea and brown sugar milk tea.
Robert Bolick gets into milk tea biz
It also happened that Richie Cuna, a close supporter of his back in his time in San Beda, paved the way for the possibility to become a reality. Soon enough, the Bolicks were set on giving the business a go.
"Matagal na kami magkakilala ni sir Richie at nung in-offer niya yung chance na magtayo ng ganito, hindi kami nag-alinlangan na subukan. Bedan bond kumbaga," he said.
Bolick has always been frugal when it comes to money and has made several investments in the past, most of them in real estate.
But Kurimi is a different beast of its own. Bolick had to understand how risky it is to put up a food business.
Luckily, they found an optimal location: at the fifth floor near the mall's movie theater, which fits perfectly to his target market.
"Nakatulong din ganda ng location namin. Yung mga gustong manood ng sine, pwede silang bumili sa amin. Pwede rin silang tumambay dito kung gusto nila," said Bolick, highlighting the store's open wall layout which allows customers to freely enter and exit the branch.
Bolick's is the 60th store of the Japanese milk tea bar. And while Kurimi's signature cartoony aesthetic is still very much present, his love for hoops is definitely felt inside, from the Slam Dunk-inspired mural to Bolick's jersey number 8 popping up on the walls.
Yet as lucky as he felt in putting up his own branch, Bolick emphasized the need to really believe in your own product, which he feels is the biggest factor in terms of the business' success.
"Madaling mag-business kung meron kang pera, pero iba pa rin na gusto mo yung produkto mo. Parang basketball lang din yan. Dahil mahal mo yung ginagawa mo, mas madali para sa iyo na magsikap para mas gumanda pa lalo yung tatakbuhin ng business mo," he said.
Together with his wife, who is running managerial duties on the store, "malaki ang tiwala namin dito sa Kurimi at sa mga taong tumutulong sa amin. Dahil doon, naniniwala kami na magiging maganda yung future ng store na ito."
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