Marvin Agustin is married to his food empire
‘This is not a job,’ the actor-restaurateur says
Marvin Agustin is unstoppable. The company he cofounded, SumoSam Group of Restaurants, shows no signs of slowing down with 11 restaurants and 47 branches to date.
The 35-year-old actor-turned-entrepreneur says his restaurants (and occasionally, acting) give him a different high.
That’s why he committed to only one project, the soap "Flordeliza" in ABS-CBN, the network he has returned to after moving to GMA-7 and then TV5.
“Gusto ko mag-start agad kasi mahirap mag-commit. Ang dami kong ginagawa sa business side,” he told Yahoo Philippines.
Driving force
He’s loveless, yes, but he found love in his growing food empire.
“This is what i love doing. Well, so far this is my love and this what I enjoy,” he replied when asked if he still has time for love.
Marvin continues: "I don’t actually consider this as a job e. This what makes me wake up everyday. Restaurants, and sometimes acting, drive me to do more things.”
For now, Marvin oversees Alqueria, the newest addition to his chain of restaurants. Their first Spanish restaurant is a product of his newfound love for authentic Spanish cuisine, thanks to his trip to Madrid early this year.
The celebrity restaurateur has high-profile partners for this business. Among them are actresses Mylene Dizon, Solenn Heussaff and Agot Isidro, stylist Liz Uy, and even ABS-CBN President Charo Santos-Concio and OctoArts Films owner Orly Ilacad.
No untold story
Aside from partnering with SumoSam cofounders Raymund Magdaluyo and Ricky Laudico, Marvin says there’s no “untold story” about his success in showbiz—just pure hard work.
The ‘90s matinee idol concedes business has now overtaken showbiz in his order of priority: "Honestly, yes (on prioritizing business over showbiz) dahil nga dati akala namin pa-isa-isa lang yung bubuksan namin until we expanded in a lot of areas.”
Meanwhile, Marvin says there are still a lot more territories to conquer for their company, but they would like to stick to food and improve their services.
“We’ll focus on food and upgrading the quality of our restaurants, not just with food but with service, to give our customers a total experience.”
Proud dad
Marvin also speaks candidly about his 9-year-old twin sons Santiago and Sebastian.
"[I’m] very proud of them. Ngayon varsity sila ng La Salle Zobel for baseball. They’re in 4th grade,” says the proud dad.
The actor wouldn’t mind seeing his kids follow in his showbiz footsteps as long as they want the job.
"Ako naman I will never ever stop them from doing what they wanna do. But of course, lagi naman sinasabi, it’s best if they focus first on their studies."
