Bobby Tenchavez and Carlo Lorenzana: The flavor of true friendship
The secret of Goxo, Bar Pintxos, and Txoko Asador lies in flavor and friendship. Carlo Calma Lorenzana and Bobby Tenchavez started their friendship and their business partnership during their La Salle High School days. Bobby confesses that their first venture was selling PX cigarettes from Subic to their precocious friends. This venture didn’t go up in smoke, so to speak.
Then, as young adults, they secured the franchise for an Argentinian premium brand of wines before cutting their teeth as restaurateurs in a meaty food venture—La Cabrera in Makati.
“This was, maybe 2009, 2010. We’d leave the office early. We would do happy hour, drink a lot. We’d enjoy. And then, we’d say, why don’t we do this?” Carlo recalls their heady beginnings.
They went into a business that they enjoyed—why not—and got the exclusive franchise for Lagarde wines from Bodega Lagarde, a historic, family-owned winery located in Mendoza, Argentina.
“We really didn’t know much about wines—except to drink it!” Carlo recalls with a laugh.
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Since Bobby’s parents Bob and Betsy Tenchavez were also in the food business (like Tender Bob’s), the food business was not foreign territory to him.
“We decided to put up the first franchise of Sumo Sam in Davao,” says Carlo, the son of Lito and Sylvia Lorenzana of Davao. “That’s where we learned how to do restaurant, even though Bob was already well-versed with restaurants because of his parents. From there, we were fortunate enough to discover La Cabrera,” he adds. They brought in La Cabrera from Buenos Aires.
You see, Carlo and his then bride Julia honeymooned in Argentina. The honeymooners discovered not just the depth of their love but saw a business potential. This subsequently added to the meat of the friendship and business partnership of Carlo and Bobby.
La Cabrera was a chunky, juicy hit and thus was born more brands for the duo, who named their company Boca Juan. Boca for “Bobby” and “Carlos; and Juan, for their supportive wives, “Julia” Lorenzana and “Anna” Tenchavez.
“That’s the secret of our partnership, because if our wives didn’t get along, we probably wouldn’t be in a fruitful relationship,” Bobby and Carlo agree.
“We don’t consider ourselves successful. I think we just do our best one day at a time,” continues Carlo. “We’re not really trying to chase money. We just want to make sure that we do everything right and hope that money follows.”
Carlo and Bobby are grateful they identified the flavor that would set their restaurants apart—the flavors of the Basque region, an autonomous community in northern Spain. Basque Country cuisine relies on fresh seafood from the Bay of Biscay, meats grilled over hot coals, and simple ingredients prepared with high precision. Its iconic dishes include pintxos, which are small, artful bar snacks served on bread, with the iconic gilda combining an olive, anchovy and guindilla pepper.
Bar Pintxos started in Alabang as a passion project for Bobby and Carlo. Then it crossed the city in 2019 to Fairways Tower on 5th Avenue. It stood out because of pintxos, with its kitchen running 34 pintxos at once. There are currently two branches of Bar Pintxos, with one branch opening soon in Rockwell, too.
Txoko Asador combines a traditional Basque closed gastronomic society (txoko) with a wood-fired grill restaurant (asador).
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Goxo, the duo’s latest venture, is a Michelin-selected bar-asador soon to re-open in Rockwell, Makati after a successful run in Salcedo Village with a prix fixe and à la carte menu inspired by the Basque Country.
Coined from the Basque word for “delicious,” Goxo brings together timeless Spanish recipes and global influences, unifying the spirit of Bar Pintxos with the fire-driven tradition of Txoko Asador into a singular experience.
Bobby explains their passion for Basque Country cuisine.
“We really look up to the people who really paved the way, like Margarita Fores. She paved the way for Italian food in the Philippines. And so, in the same manner, we’d like to also have our unique selling proposition to the Philippine market. And so, when we discovered Bar Pintxos in Alabang, we were fortunate enough to partner with the right people and expand it. From there, I guess, it just grew organically. We realized, oh, we really enjoy Basque cuisine. So, we decided to come up with Txoko Asador, which is also Basque, but focusing on asador type of cooking.”
Both Bobby and Carlo have been to a txoko in San Sebastian. One of the members had a key to a nondescript hole in the wall.
“It’s an honesty system. When you go inside, you cook, get some ingredients, and then you leave,” shares Carlo.
“From Txoko Asador, it grew to Goxo, which is also Basque, but it changes every quarter. The first menu we had was Basque Asian. And then, the second one was focused on Basque and Japanese. And then, we did Basque and Filipino. And so, it’s another take on Basque,” Carlo points out. “Maybe the best of everything that we experience when we travel, but majority is Basque.”
When my husband Ed and I dined at the pop-up of Goxo at the Sage Bar at the Makati Shangri-la, one of my favorite dishes was Basque Filipino—pancit palabok-style pasta with crab, uni and anchovy.
So aside from the Basque flavors and manner of dining—and drinking!—that they have introduced to the Philippine market that was used to traditional Spanish food, Bobby and Carlo have another secret to their flavorful success.
Their friendship.
“We respect each other so we always say, ‘May the best idea win,’ and not the best man win,” Carlo says.
Bobby says “Ole!”
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