There is a new restaurant being touted as the next “it” place to go – to see and be seen. Pre-opening, the whole of Bulacan is already a-buzz with the character and novelty the restaurant will offer. The name is The Recovery Room Restaurant and Bar, quite a catchy name; and it is with double meaning, the restaurant being located in front of the Santos Clinic along McArthur Highway.
The owners are Charles and Sherill Harris. Sherill is a native of Pampanga and has for a number of years worked in the restaurant and entertainment industry in Hong Kong and Singapore. Charles is a transplanted American born in Texas and raised in New York. He has lived and worked in Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, China, Philippines) for the past 26 years and has had regional position in companies like IBM, Unisys, Deloitte Consulting and is the owner of his own management consulting firm. He has owned other restaurants in Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.
When asked how long they plan to stay in the restaurant business, the couple answered “a lifetime.” Incidentally, Charles is looking to retire in two years and while he’s still busy working in his own firm and doing consulting for other Asian firms, Sherill will take care of business; something that she is not a stranger to.
For their menu, the couple offers different foreign and local dishes and has Grilled Lapu Lapu, Sizzling Garlic Shrimp & Mushroom, Sizzling Scallops, Sautéed or fried Calamari, Fried Seafood Platter; Filipino Specialties (served with rice) like Crispy Pata, Pata Tim, Bicol Express, Chicken Pigata, Beef Lengua, Crispy Ulo, Sinigang na Baboy, Tokwa con Lechon, Nilagang Baboy; Japanese dishes like Tempura, Italian spaghetti, Western specialties like Texas Chili with Rice and Steaks; and as to be expected, the menu is full of interesting read like “doctor’s orders,” “gets the blood pressure going” for their hard drinks, “under medication” for their non-alcoholic drinks. Many entries that are quite appealing and novel.
The place is open from 8:00 AM to 12:00 MN, and offer breakfast, lunch and dinner, with an all- day snack menu. The Recovery Room is an upscale dining and entertainment place and it being a theme restaurant, the couple thinks that they will be able to attract a diverse customer base like business people, professionals, families, even the young generation. After a hard day’s work, this is the place to go to rejuvenate and “recover” especially the patients and staff of Santos Clinic or other hospitals. And why not? Probably The Recovery Room is where they can be “cured” from their illnesses. With a healthy menu and a great atmosphere for fun and socializing, this place might just be the answer to their problems. Just coming in the door is already a treat, with the main door a mural of an ambulance’s rear, complete with siren and lights.
The restaurant during the day will be a busy food place teeming with professionals, by all means not limited to those working in the hospital but all other companies, as well. At night it converts into a fun place, and will be busy with people who want to watch the best entertainment, talents handpicked and directly hired from Manila. This is why the couple thinks that the people of Malolos don’t have to travel to Manila to enjoy the best food and entertainment, because now it is available in just steps away and neatly located along McArthur Highway.
Sherill, who speaks to friends and relatives in her native Kapampangan, is very enthusiastic about their soon-to-open business. She said that she had to buy the uniforms for the waitresses which are definitely in sync with the restaurant’s theme, so they will be nurses – all white, complete with their nurses’ caps and shoes. She also had to interview each staff personally, making sure that they will fit the image of the restaurant.
Charles has too many ideas, which is what is to be expected from a business-savvy person that he is. He hopes that his “long distance” and proxy management of the place will do for now, as he is quite confident his wife Sherill will be up to task. Among his marketing ideas is having a “Ladies Night” where all the ladies customers shall have discount or free drinks depending on the night. The other is having a van pick up customers who have no access to private transportation. In addition they will have special promotions for golfers as well as nurses and families.
The bar, which is called “Pharmacy”, has tequila drinks in fashionable dextrose container. The walls are decorated with hospital stuff and paraphernalia. And there is a wheelchair, which may or may not be a display item; people actually sit on them, the elderly especially. The bathrooms are called “Maternity Room” for the ladies and “Prostrate Check” for the gentlemen. And the big sign “Operating Room” is where the kitchen is, while “Recovery Room” is on the walls of the stage. All these amount to something new that perhaps not only the Bulakeños will enjoy. If word spreads, maybe Manileños will also flock the town.
Charles and Sherill are positive they can be competitive in the food industry, not only because they are a theme restaurant, but also because the place will offer happy hour, affordable price of food and drinks, great entertainment, excellent service by trained and professional staff. They will also offer endless promotions to entice new clientele and create repeat customers, if not loyal patrons.
The grand opening of The Recovery Room is slated on Saturday, September 30, 2006, which incidentally is Sherill’s birthday. They have been diligently planning for months the arrival of this new place in Malolos and they will have the famous alternative/crossover band 6Cyclemind (with their hit singles, “Biglaan” and “Sandalan”) to play plus another band, Peace Armada, playing in club circuits around Manila, headed by lovely vocalist Dianne Eclar. To add flavor and sizzle, they also invited members of D’Bodies, sexy femme fatale singer-dancers who have recorded their albums and are successful chart hitters, also with their own-produced movie, “’Wag d’yan, ‘Wag d’yan, May KILITI ako d’yan.” To add glitter and glamour to the occasion, the owners also hope to invite as many famous personalities.
The restaurant just had its Inaugural/Blessing and Ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, Septmber 20, 2006. The guest of honor invited was no less than the Governor of Bulacan Josie Mendoza de la Cruz and Charles’ best friend Butch Marking. Although the good Governor was not able to make it, she sent some flowers and his staff. And Butch Marking was all smiles as he assisted Charles and Sherill Harris open the restaurant’s doors to the public.
Watch out for The Recovery Room. Be well, be cool, be there.
