Company Profile:
With six restaurants around Jordan, Romero Group offers culinary delights from around the globe. When visiting any of our wonderful outlets, you will experience the pleasure we take in preparing our food; from baking our own bread to making our own ice cream.
The six jewels of cuisine in Jordan, proudly managed by Romero are:
Romero Restaurant (Amman) 1988
The Living Room (Amman) 2004 / The Living Room Loft 2010
Umm Qais Rest House (Irbid) 1991
Pella Rest House (Northern Jordan Valley) 1991
Romero at the Royal Yacht Club of Aqaba 1997
Haret Jdoudna Sister Company (Madaba) 1997
In addition to Romero Events & Catering Department (Amman) 1993
How did you start your business?
It was by coincidence. My friend and neighbor Flavia Romero was visiting us in Jabal Amman. She asked me if I would be interested in buying Romero Restaurant because she was getting tired of the hassles of management. Even though I was trained with a Masters Degree in City Planning, I had always worked as a student during summers in restaurants in London and the U.S. My answer was an immediate yes, as this was my hidden passion. That was 22 years ago, and Romero was established in 1979 making it the oldest established fine dining restaurant in the country.
When you first started your business, were you expecting that it would become not only your full-time occupation, but also a growing company?
At that time, I had no plans to expand since we were dealing with a boutique restaurant. As time went by, I increasingly felt the urge to open new outlets, more out of passion than profit! Our next outlets were in the remote areas of Umm Qais & Pella.
What is the most rewarding thing you have accomplished and why do you cite it above all your other accomplishments?
Haret Jdoudna Project, Madaba, in partnership with Ibrahim & Waddah Jumaian. This was the site of partly habitable, derelict & demolished stone buildings representing periods from the Roman till the 19th century. Most was buried underground. The challenge was to resurrect a landmark that would act as a forum & social node for the proud people of Madaba, a mosaic of local food, crafts, music & culture. That is exactly what happened. It has sustained itself for over 12 years, and personally I am very proud of that.
What were the biggest challenges you faced as an entrepreneur and how did you overcome them?
Challenges that face any potential entrepreneur in our business until today, namely unfair financing conditions by the banks, investment promotions, laws that do not cover our sector, shortage of qualified & trained staff, archaic byelaws & lack of understanding in the importance of our sector by government officials. Through my chairmanship of the Jordan Restaurant Association for the last 3 years, we have dedicated 70% of our time lobbing for changes & improvements in understanding fully the private-public sector partnership.
What do you think it takes to be successful in the industry your company competes in?
Real, flair, understanding what it takes, coupled with passion and knowledge of what the customer wants are the ingredients for success.
What advice would you give to those contemplating starting their own business?
It is getting tough out there. So many people have the slightest idea of what it takes are entering the business and flooding the market with sometimes mediocre concepts and bad designs. You must be creative, choose a good location, retain a good designer, hire a creative chef and be courageous enough to bring him or her from abroad.
What is the question I did not ask, but should have?
“It is true that we make 60% net profit?”
Keeping in mind the very tough competition out there, restaurants average a net profit of 20% assuming all is well. Otherwise many lose, bleed and eventually close from bankruptcy.
Walla Above My Head Mr Zaid
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