A café that serves mouthwatering doughnuts, cookies, and pastries is nothing extraordinary—there’s a lot of them everywhere.
But homegrown bakery Overdoughs is no ordinary café. That’s because it offers employment opportunities to deaf persons—a result of an encounter that Francis Carl Reyes had when he was visiting a clothing shop many years ago.
“There was this guy who approached me, but he was not talking. He was trying his best to really assist me, and it was then that I noticed that there was a name tag and the word ‘deaf’ was placed there,” said Reyes, CEO and founder of Caravan Food Group Inc., the company behind Overdoughs and Elait.
According to him, that experience was the “epitome of good customer service. No matter who you are, he is going to assist you. No judgement.” So when he opened Overdoughs and Elait in 2018, Reyes was set on embracing inclusivity by hiring Deaf Partners.
Both brands were doing well with their Deaf Partners until the COVID0-19 pandemic happened. Reyes was forced to close their stores and rethink his strategy. Since rolled ice cream cannot be delivered, he and his team concentrated on Overdoughs products while finding ways to innovate so that their products will become more delivery-friendly.
As the situation improved and with more time in his hands, Reyes thought of making use of the bigger kitchen area in the Overdoughs outlet in Greenhills. He started his research and development work and introduced a line of savory projects for Overdoughs.
“We started offering Sourdough Pizza, Fat Fries and Chicken Fingers because the outlet is near the cinema. And we also thought of offering our customers the full restaurant experience,” Reyes related.
After months on soft opening to furnish the operations in the branch, Reyes finally opened Overdoughs’ first café last May, adding that this was the direction to which they were heading.
Leveling up on training
For Overdoughs’ Deaf Partners, this would mean that they would have to level up on their training because they will not only be baking cookies and serving, they will have to learn how to set up tables and give customers the full restaurant experience.
“To solve the communication barrier, we put up wireless buttons or pagers on the tables. So, if customers need assistance, they will just need to press the button and each of our deaf partners has a wrist band that will vibrate. That is what we are doing to make the system easier,” Reyes said.
He added that he would be putting up sign language posters all over the restaurants so that customers can learn sign language during their stay in the restaurant.
“One of the things that we are working on is to offer sign language classes in the café so you are not just dining in; you will also be learning sign language,” he said.
Instead of putting up more branches, Reyes said he will be converting some of his bigger branches into phases because he realized this direction will further sustain their operations and continue providing livelihood to their Deaf Partners.
“We really want to offer the full experience. And hopefully soon, we can start providing sign language classes so that you can eat, you can learn, and you can interact. This is our way of owning the concept of doing good through good food,” Reyes added.
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