Oteph’s BBQ will be offering “Payday Friday Bundle” for a mere $25 starting this Friday, Sept. 18. (Contributed Photo)

A barbecue stand in Chalan Kanoa will be offering a new promotion starting this Friday that will certainly give budget-conscious large families something to think about.

Starting Sept.18, Oteph’s BBQ will be launching “Payday Friday Bundle” for a mere $25. The promotion is a trio of the barbecue stand’s bestselling food items. Bundle 1 will have whole chicken, tofu sisig, and 12 pieces of shanghai rolls. Bundle 2 is made up of whole chicken, tofu sisig, and 12 pieces of siomai.

Owner Michelle Olita said “Payday Friday Bundle” is their own way of thanking the patronage of their loyal customers. She also acknowledged that times are tough right now and the bundle meal could go a long way for large families wanting to celebrate on a tight budget.

The “Payday Friday Bundle” is also a way for Oteph’s BBQ to welcome customers back as they only opened full-time last Sept. 7. Olita said they were forced to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic last April 1 and they remained shuttered until June 1. When they did reopen, it was still intermittent (three hours a day in August).

She said the pandemic really hit their small barbecue stand hard, especially after her husband, Jun, had to go off-island due to a medical emergency.

Oteph’s BBQ’s pork sisig. (Contributed Photo)

“It has had a big negative effect on our small business. It’s a big challenge for us that we need to face in our daily lives. My husband stopped working and went home to the Philippines last February for medical reasons. The lockdown was then declared and he wasn’t able to come back here to Saipan. Our small business is the only source of income to support and provide for our family’s needs,” said Olita.

Oteph’s BBQ reopened last week with a revamped menu to keep in step with the changing times. “Due to the economic crisis brought by COVID-19, we revised our menu to avoid delay in our serving of orders. We continue to serve the ones that are fast-moving and we stopped serving the ones that are not really saleable.”

Still on Oteph’s BBQ’s menu are liempo, shanghai roll, siomai, deep-fried whole chicken, sisig, chicken inasal, pork chop, slab baby ribs, lechon kawali, and crispy pata. They also occasionally roast pork belly lechon and have recently introduced pork and chicken asado siopao.

Like other food services in the time of COVID-19, the barbecue stand is strictly following safely guidelines set up by the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force and the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.

“Our food services are limited to take-out and curbside pick-up. We also require 6 feet social distancing, customers are required to wear masks while picking up orders. We’re also accepting orders via phone or in our Facebook page to avoid too much exposure and more risks. We are planning on setting up a delivery service also to lessen the risk for our customers and employees as well,” said Olita.

Oteph’s BBQ’s crispy pata. (Contributed Photo)

For Oteph’s BBQ staff, employees are required to do frequent handwashing before, during, and after preparing food. They’re also told to wear masks, gloves, hairnet, and apron during working hours and to hand-sanitize often or between transactions.

Through thick and thin, Olita said Oteph’s BBQ will continue to serve the local community with their grilled and non-grilled food favorites.

“Our team would like to thank our customers for giving us a wonderful opportunity to serve you. It is our desire to keep you satisfied with our services. You are our inspiration in doing our very best. We are very grateful for your continued patronage because we wouldn’t be here without loyal customers like you. You could’ve chosen any other barbecue stall, but we appreciate that you are still supporting us,” she said.

Oteph’s BBQ is located along Francisco St. corner Lucia St. in Chalan Kanoa District 1 and it is open from 11am to 2pm and from 4pm to 9pm daily.

For advance orders and inquiries, call Olita at 488-0722 or 588-5509.

The Saipan Tribune gives its readers timely, accurate, balanced, and wide-ranging coverage of what is happening in the Northern Mariana Islands and around the globe.

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