INDANG, CAVITE — Mrs. Dolores Pio de Roda Gonzales founded Pio de Roda Restaurant and Catering Sevices in the 1980s. Located in the heart of Indang, Cavite, the restaurant became famous in serving delectable and heirloom Filipino dishes. With its initial success, the business expanded and added an events place that Mrs. Gonzales co-managed with her daughter, Ms. Amy Gonzales. The business have been doing well for years until it almost reached “decline” stage due to the changing market, but Mrs. Gonzales insisted on keeping the business running because of its employees, even in the midst of the pandemic.
Pandemic was the time when her granddaughter, Ms. Diana Gonzales Rosales, entered the business. She was forced to leave her flourishing HR Career in Manila because of the health risks brought by COVID-19. The challenges inspired Ms. Diana to pursue her passion and interest in being an entrepreneur. Through her family’s encouragement, she helped co-manage their business.
Like other businesses that boomed in the pandemic, Ms. Diana opened the Pio de Roda Café in their family business’s vacant rental space. Through social media, Pio de Roda started to gain popularity among the young millennials and Gen Z. They began to offer various in-house blended coffee drinks and pastries. It is how they became one of the sought-after cafés in the municipality of Indang.
Even with the restrictions of the pandemic, Ms. Diana and her husband strived to develop their products and enhance their entrepreneurial skills.
Before the pandemic, Ms. Diana joined the Calle Negosyo, where she discovered the Kapatid Mentor Me program of DTI. During the KMME- MME Women’s Sectoral 2022 Batch, Ms. Diana was selected to be one of the mentees. The program helped her develop a human resource manual to upskill their staff efficiently. She also utilized her learning on digitalization, where she sees her target market and uses social media insights. She’s currently preparing a complete operation manual to attract future investors.
“Love what you do, do what you love and everything else will follow. Kahit gaano kahirap ang trabaho or yung business, basta mahal mo ipaglalaban mo hanggang sa umigi ang business. – Ms. Diana Gonzales Rosales”. ♦
Date of Release: 28 March 2023