- The duo behind Rocco’s
This past week saw International Friendship Day fall on 30 July. For all you naysayers out there, yes, International Friendship Day has its roots in capitalism. It was originated by Joyce Hall, the Founder of Hallmark cards in 1930, and was intended to take place on 2 August each year. Friendship is the cornerstone of humanity. We have always been social creatures drawn to one another, because we understand that no man is an island, and sometimes you just need someone to lean on (other than your family, of course).
In 2011, 1 August was proclaimed The International Day of Friendship by the UN General Assembly with the idea that friendship between peoples, countries, cultures, and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities. In 2012, two friends in Sri Lanka, (Nawala to be exact) decided to come together and start their own business – a business that has come to be well loved by Colombites far and near: Rocco’s.
In the spirit of International Friendship Day, Brunch sat down with Judy Wikkramatillake and Krishanti Perera, the two remarkable ladies behind Rocco’s, to learn more about how their almost 25-year friendship has grown into a business, and how being friends has helped them build Rocco’s up to what it is today.
A match made in pizza heaven
Judy and Krishanti met through their husbands who had been close friends with each from their childhood days. “We met very informally first,” Krishanti recalled, adding: “And as our husbands got together, we’d go along and we realised we both loved food. That was what bonded us and we would then get together and go out for dinners just the two of us.”
Eventually Judy and Krishanti’s friendship grew to the point where they decided they wanted to venture into business together. Their initial plan was to start a coffee shop together, but that eventually (thankfully) grew into Italian food. “We loved our pizzas,” Krishanti said, adding: “And when we started, our husbands left us alone and helped us when they were asked.”
Rocco’s began in 2012 with a wood-fired oven built in Krishanti’s backyard. Krishanti and Judy shared that at the time Rocco’s was created, there was slim pickings in Colombo when it came to pizza, with Pizza Hut and Domino’s being the major names in pizza, with Bayleaf, Michaelangelo’s, and the five-star hotels being the only other pizza alternatives. In Judy’s words, “there weren’t many places for the normal who wanted to go out and have a proper pizza”.
From friends to business partners
As friends going into business, Judy and Krishanti decided to play to each other’s strengths, using their strengths and skills as a base to build Rocco’s. Judy, by Krishanti’s own admission, is very good at the operational side of keeping a business running – at doing the everyday stuff and knowing when something can go wrong and fixing it. Krishanti’s strengths are in the backend, computers, costings, and keeping that end of the business in check.
Both ladies worked on PR and interacting with customers, understanding the importance of keeping customers happy. “In any business, making a customer feel wanted, making them want to come back, and caring for them is one the most important things,” Judy said, adding: “We always say it’s community before commerce, and to date, we have lots of customers call us direct with requests like ‘we want X table’, and we make sure to go the extra mile and try and sort that out.”
Judy and Krishanti also credit feedback as being a big part of Rocco’s success, explaining that despite their best efforts, mistakes can and do happen, and they appreciate when customers call them to give them feedback and let them know when there is an issue.
Going into business with friends can feel daunting, dealing with when to prioritise which relationship over the other, but Krishanti feels differently. “Being friends, it’s easy. Lots of people say it’s difficult. There’s a lot of give and take, which is why I think they say it’s difficult for friends to work together, but I think it’s difficult to work with anyone. You need to back down at a certain time and stand up at a certain time. We know our strengths and when to listen to each other.”
For Judy, regardless of who you’re working with, honesty is what builds success. “Anything is built on honesty and integrity; that should be the number one thing anybody brings to the table. Otherwise it won’t work.”
True enough, trust plays an important role in Judy and Krishanti’s friendship as well as their work ethic, especially given the two ladies handle different parts of the business. They mostly trust the other one to handle things properly. “We have our moments,” Krishanti said, adding: “Like any friends or family would. But at the end of the day, you get on and run your business, and I think it works for us because we know each other so well.”
Building Rocco’s together
For the first two years of Rocco’s journey, Judy and Krishanti worked as home cooks out of Krishanti’s backyard, tantalising their friends, neighbors, and acquaintances with their delicious pizza. Word of mouth was how Rocco’s made its name, coming to the point where it was time (after a lot of popular demand) to open a restaurant.
A friend of theirs had a building in Nawala that had just fallen vacant, and when Judy and Krishanti visited it, they just knew it was the place. (Well, Judy did. She saw the potential the second they walked in. Krishanti was less convinced but went with it because she recognised Judy’s talent for seeing potential, yet another example of the supportive give-and-take nature of their friendship.)
Moving to Nawala was a turning point for Rocco’s as a brand. The brand got a branding makeover too from long-time loyal patron Ashraff Associates Managing Director Aman Ashraff who came up with the brand’s tagline “A Taste You Can’t Refuse”. Ashraff Associates still works on all of Rocco’s branding needs today.
Krishanti shared that the Nawala restaurant has been something of a good luck charm, and has grown along with the area, being one of only two restaurants in the area when they opened, and now being part of a vibrant little food hub, adding that at the time, there were very few restaurants in suburbs like Nawala and Rocco’s was very lucky to have opened at the correct time, saying: “We may be home cooks, but we learned the hard way as we went along. We always wanted to do the correct thing and were happy to do it. When you have that kind of intention things tend to go well.”
Judy and Krishanti took us behind the scenes of Rocco’s a bit, sharing some stories with us of what the customers don’t see. Judy shared that when she first ran the idea for Rocco’s by a friend whose husband is a restaurateur, her friend had simply told her she was mad because of the amount of work and attention that is required to keep a restaurant going. Judy shared that her friend had been correct in a way. “It’s not a 9 to 5 job where you can go home and forget about it. You’re on call.” Krishanti confirmed that Judy gets more calls than people would think, and for the strangest of reasons.
Looking back, Judy shared that her favourite thing about building Rocco’s has been the journey itself. “Starting from where we were and coming to where we are has been quite an achievement. Especially when we see that there have been customers we have retained from day one who are still our customers. We’ve seen their families grow, their kids grow. We didn’t do this as a real business thing where we did feasibility reports or calculated breakevens. We just went with our gut, and all that has happened since has been our journey. It’s still a learning curve, but we put our hearts into everything we do.”
To potential friends and business partners
Speaking to aspiring entrepreneurs, Judy said: “If you have an idea, just go with it. Keep going and keep working at it. Keep pushing through the hardship. Nothing’s going to be smooth 365 days of the year.”
Krishanti shared that going into business with a friend is something she would recommend. “Being friends helps. When you’re friends, sometimes you become more like a family. But doing business, there’s more to it. Your friendship is there but you have to be a little savvy. You have to understand that your friend might have better ideas than you, and you need to be able to give and take. It’s like yin and yang.”
